10 interesting things about St. Ives
1.Irish origins. Historically, Cornwall was part of a maritime trading network known today as the Atlantic Bronze Age, which comprised of trades between Ireland, England, France, Spain and Portugal. This led to the arrival of many Irish inhabitants on our shores.
2. A town not short of pilchards. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, fish became the principle trade in St Ives and heavily supported the local people. Between 1747 and 1756, the four principal Cornish ports saw an average of 900 million pilchards pass through their ships each year. That’s a lot of fish.
3. Safety at sea. In the health and safety pandemonium of the twenty-first century, it can be difficult to imagine a time without great British institutions such as the fire service or the Royal National Lifeboat service. It wasn’t until 1840, however, that the first lifeboat arrived in the United Kingdom, and that very lifeboat was issued to the proud town of St Ives. This was followed up in 1867 by the construction of a boathouse that has now become an iconic feature in the town.
4. Olde England . With a rich and varied history, St Ives hosts a great variety of architectural delights, including quaint old English inns up to 700 years old. The Sloop Inn, a favourite haunt of Australian artist Louis Grier, dates back to ‘circa 1312’ and offers an authentic experience of ‘William’s England’.
5. An artistic hub. After the Great British Railway rocked up in St Ives in 1877, a great flood of artists was drawn to our beloved coastline due to the deluge of light available in the region.
6. St Ives is a town in Cornwall, England, known for its surf beaches, like Porthmeor, and its art scene.
7. Winner of a showcase of national awards including best family holiday destination by Coast magazine and one of the 10 best European beach destinations compiled by TripAdvisor
8. Behind the 14th century Sloop Inn on the Wharf and the Harbour beach there is a maze of narrow cobbled streets and fisherman’s cottages. This is the heart of old St Ives, known to the locals as ‘Downlong.
9. It's sister town in Sydney is almost as beautiful.
10. Most of the sporting activities in St Ives seem to be water based, e.g. sailing, sea fishing etc. Coasteering looks interesting. There is a leisure centre with pool and gym.
