In St. Ives, I heard seagulls crying all night long.. I wonder when they sleep !

How to go?
Get on the train to Penzance or St. Earth. It'll take about five hours and 40 minites. Then, change to the local train to St. Ives.
<In my case> the first occasion : I changed the train at St. Erth ; the second occasion : I changed the train at Penzance.

St.Ives is a small town in the southwest of England. If you want to go there,get on a train from Paddington and go to Penzance first. It'll take 5 and a half hours. From there, take a local line for about 20 minutes. Finally, you will arrive at St.Ives which is the last station. Actually, it's along way. I think we can't get back to London in the same day. When I visited there for the first time, I took the 10:35 train and arrived at St. Ives at15:57. I had thought that I would take an earlier train, but the station staff advised me that the trains before 9:15 were more expensive. He said that if I took an earlier train, I had to pay about double the cost. Therefore, I used the 10:35 train.I wanted to go there, because I was interested in St. Ives after reading "Mather Goose Koronda"*. The pictures which the authors drew attracted me strongly.
The late Bernard Leach's pottery is located here ; his work are on display. Also, there is Barbara Hepworth Museum ; she was a famous sculptor. Furthermore, there is a Tate Gallery. I think St. Ives is a very artistic town. I understand that many artists have been attracted to the place. The scenery of St. Ives is truly breathtaking, especially the view of the hills with the many houses built on them. At the time of writing, I have to say that St. Ives is my favourite place in England, although I've only been there twice.
　There is a nice beach, so St. Ives is a popular place for many schools to take their students for a summer breath. In summer, almost all B&B's are usually full of school children according to one proprietor.
　When I went there for the first time, it was spring, which isn't the peak tourist season. Therefore, luckly, I could have a double room to myself. However, when I went there the second time, it was summer. Because in Japan I couldn't get enough information about accomodations in St. Ives, I asked my friend to book a B&B. But she coundn't find any B&B after calling a few. Then we stayed in Penzance and visited St. Ives.

* "Mother Goose Koronda" is a title of a Japanese book which was published by Tokyo Sogensha.

You can get to St. Ives after about a 20 minutes ride from Penzance which is 5 1/2 hours from Paddington. You'll arrive there in similar time by using the local bus(right) from Penzance.

　I felt some artistic atmosphere while walking everywhere at St. Ives. I understood that many artists attracted the town.


Around the entrance of tourist information center in St. Ives. It was decorated with
many flowers. I saw lots of flowers here and there.
(If you want to see more flowers in the town of St. Ives, click here,)

In summer, a lot of people go to St. Ives because there is a nice beach.
On my second occasion, I visited there in the mid-summer, but the sea wasn't so crowded. I was relieved.
I think that it is a little weird that there is a surge of people to popular places in Japan!

Tate Gallery, St. Ives

This is Leach's pottery.
It is about 25 minute walk from the tourist information centre.
When I visited there for the first time, I thought that I could find it while strolling in the town. However, I couldn't find it .
I regretted that I didn't visit Leach's pottery, so I went to St. Ives again several years later.
Bernald Leach has already died ; his wife, Janet, succeeded the pottery.
Many years have passed since when I visited.Leach's pottery.
She was born in Texas in 1918. I heard that in 1988, she celebrated her 70th birthday and was powerful to make pots almost every day. However, she died in 1999.
After her death, Alan Gillam bought the pottery and opened it as a museum.
They say that a famous Japanese potter, Shoji Hamada, have stayed there and made some pots.

This is Hepworse Museum.
According to "Mother Goose Koronda", Barbara Hepworse lived and died here. When she died, she had a cigarette in her mouth. How cool she was! In the Tate Gallery in London and St. Ives, we can see her a lot of works. It was about 5 years ago, but I think they are still there.

When I went to St. Ives for the first time, I bought 2 pictures there because the atmosphere of the town touched me very much. Moreover, one of them was a framed picture. That's why my luggage is always heavy!　

If you want to see more pictures which I bought while travelling in England, click here.

(2001.11.19, 2003.1.19)

to Episodes in St. Ives & Penzance

to the TOP

Trip to England

If you want to get more information about St. Ives, click here.