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Art gallery
Tate St Ives
Gallery of modern British art with links to the St Ives area. Tate also manages the Barbara Hepworth Museum in the town.
A mini guide to
St Ives & West Penwith
Galleries, harbour beaches and the granite moors of Penwith
Photos
1 / 8Welcome to the area
Galleries, harbour beaches and the granite moors of Penwith
St Ives is a seaside town and former fishing port on the west side of St Ives Bay. Tate St Ives looks over Porthmeor Beach, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Leach Pottery are a short walk away, and Visit Cornwall says the town is known for the quality of its light, which has drawn artists for over a century.
West of the town the road runs out along the north coast of the Penwith peninsula. Zennor and its church lie below the granite headlands of Zennor Head and Gurnard’s Head, while the moorland inland holds the Iron Age houses of Chysauster and the standing stones of Men-an-Tol. The mining coast around Pendeen is covered in the Penzance, Mousehole & Land’s End area.
Highlights
Start here
If you only have a few hours, these are good places to begin.
Museum and garden
Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
Studio and garden where the sculptor Barbara Hepworth lived and worked from 1949 until her death in 1975, kept much as she left them.
Directions Website Report a problem with Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
Pottery and museum
Leach Pottery
Pottery founded in 1920 by Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada, now with a museum and a working studio.
Church
St Ia's Church
Grade I listed parish church dedicated to Ia, an Irish saint of the 5th or 6th century.
Beach
Porthmeor Beach
Surfing beach on the north-west side of St Ives, below Tate St Ives.
Beach
Porthminster Beach
Beach with almost half a mile of sand on the south-east side of St Ives.
Find your way
On the map
The map shows St Ives & West Penwith and the streets around it. The Getting there page lists nearby stops and stations.
Insider tips
Before you go
1
Take the branch line
The St Ives Bay Line runs 4.25 miles from St Erth and Visit Cornwall describes the journey as one of the most scenic in Britain. It also lists a park and ride at St Erth.
2
Pair the Tate and the Hepworth
Tate manages both Tate St Ives and the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. Check Tate’s pages for opening times and tickets.
3
Choose your beach
Visit Cornwall names six town beaches: Porthmeor, Porthgwidden, Porthminster, Bamaluz, Lambeth Walk and Harbour Beach. Wikipedia describes Porthmeor as a surfing beach and Porthminster as having almost half a mile of sand.
4
Leave time for Penwith
Zennor Head and Gurnard’s Head are headlands on the north Penwith coast, and the moorland between them and the town holds Chysauster and Men-an-Tol. Check English Heritage for Chysauster’s current opening.
Tips from the Britlens editors
Explore this guide
Everything for St Ives & West Penwith
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Open the mini guide →Photo credits
- St Ives & West Penwith (area photo): ArildV, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tate St Ives: flickr user "Steve Parker", CC BY 2.0, source
- Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden: Tom Parnell, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Leach Pottery: Jordanhill School D&T Dept, CC BY 2.0, source
- St Ia's Church: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, source
- Porthmeor Beach: DS Pugh, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Porthminster Beach: ArildV, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Smeaton's Pier: David Medcalf, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- St Senara's Church, Zennor: The original uploader was Nabokov at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Zennor Head: Matthew Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Gurnard's Head: Jim Champion, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chysauster Ancient Village: habiloid, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Men-an-Tol: Bkroll, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Carbis Bay: Andy F, CC BY 3.0, source
- Godrevy Lighthouse: Stevekraken, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Penzance, Mousehole & Land’s End: Lewis Clarke, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Falmouth & the Helford: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, source
- Newquay & the North Coast: Otto Domes, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Padstow & the Camel Estuary: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Fowey, Polperro & the south-east coast: Marika Reinholds, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
Keep exploring Cornwall