Day 12. Rest Day. Surfing at Gwithian and a visit to St Ives.

Day 12. Rest Day. Surfing at Gwithian and a visit to St Ives.

We set off to Gwithian, a 15 minute drive towards St Ives at 09:00, so that Mitch could go surfing and Ian could go body boarding. The tide was out but the waves looked good for surfing, so the boys slipped on their wetsuits and set off for the Ocean. Gill and I had a lovely long walk along the beach towards Carbis Bay and St Ives. It must be a popular surf spot as almost everyone making their way down to the beach had a surfboard or bodyboard tucked under their arm.We made it back just as they were getting out of the water, having had two hours of great surfing.

As we hit the B3301 we joined all the happy holiday makers as we snaked our way slowly along the beautiful Cornish coast. As we drove through the narrow streets we realized that parking was going to be a challenge but we managed to follow some signs that took us right to the very top of the town,where we found the last available parking bay. It was quite a walk down into the picturesque village bulging with tourists.

St Ives is known for it's many art galleries and sports the St Ives Tate which we did not visit. 

Lunch was a delicious Cornish Pasty from Warrens Bakery that is one of the many that claim to bake the Best Cornish Pasty in towns, which we ate on steps of the war memorial before strolling through the quaint streets passed shops and fisherman's cottages in search of art galleries. We were not disappointed and found a few gems, pity we had no space to fit a canvas or two!!

We walked along the harbor where the boats were resting on their sides as it was low tide before heading back to the car.

Dinner was a delicious Greek chicken and a great bottle of Pinot Grigio back in Portreath.