It was the last day of the school Christmas holidays, and we decided to head to St Ives. Our children are teenagers now and not always keen on going for walks, but St Ives still has enough appeal to tempt them out. There are shops to spend Christmas money in and warm cafés with views.

It’s a quiet time of year in Cornwall, so we were able to park easily at Barnoon Cemetery behind Tate St Ives. From there, we walked along Porthmeor Beach, across to the Island, and up the hill. At this point, the eldest teenager rushed off towards the shops, while the younger one decided to stay with us.

We walked around the Island and over the hill, crossed Porthgwidden Beach, and then followed the coast path towards Smeaton’s Pier. We lingered there for a while before heading back towards town, where we bumped into teenager number one again.

It was bitterly cold, so we decided hot chocolate was essential and found a place on the seafront with an amazing view over the harbour. The sun was low in the sky, pale pink clouds hung over Godrevy and St Agnes Head in the distance, and the incoming tide was a striking shade of green.

We watched seagulls circling and people wandering past for a while, before I couldn’t resist heading outside to take a few photos and short videos, while my family watched from above.

When we left, the harbour area was unusually quiet. Mr Sound Badger had his Zoom H4 with him, so he stayed behind to record the sounds while I walked on with the teenagers back towards the pier. Once he’d finished recording, we hurried back to the car. Our parking ticket was running out.

Later, I checked my step count and realised I’d walked nearly 10,000 steps. A good walk and happy teenagers. That feels like a win.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the photos from our trip to St Ives. 

Sound Badger 🦡