St Ives

We had 4 lovely nights in this B&B just outside the town of St Ives. I never knew England had nice sandy beaches until coming to this area. The sea was aqua in colour and very clean with white sand and low swell. St Ives use to be a quiet fishing town until the Tate Gallery opened or that was the opinion of one of the locals. Our first drive into the town was very stressful with very narrow roads which were mostly two ways and lots of traffic and people walking around and all parking station full. We did find one up on top of the hill which was available and free after driving around in circles for ages.

We discovered that it was better during the day at least to catch the local bus into town and at night drive as the roads where then quiet and parking easy. A visit to the Tate gallery was a must and we purchased a ticket that included an entry into the Barbara Hepworth museum. The Tate gallery was set in a stunning location looking at to sea and was very interesting but some were a bit too modern for me. I don't get three coloured lines on a canvas...WT. There was however a room showing a video of dances which was fantastic. The way the men and women moved in skin tight suits was unbelievable to watch. We also saw some fantastic sculptures. 

We visited the Hepworth gallery and gardens the following day and saw many of her works set into the gardens. We also saw a production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew by the Kings Shakespearean Company in the Guildhall one night which was very well performed. The town also had a cinema so we went to see a movie (our second one since leaving Australia) called Summer in February set in Cornwall in the early 1900s about artists A J Munnings. A nice story about a love triangle and a sad ending but interesting. 

We left St Ives wishing we could stay longer and headed back up the country to drop the car off at Shrewsbury. We stayed there overnight then caught the train up to Holyhead where we stayed in a guest house. The next morning we boarded a ferry to Dublin.

Holyhead is in Wales so I can now say I have been to Wales. We had a great Indian meal for dinner and the guesthouse room was very pretty. We are excited about going to Ireland as we both haven't been there before. 

As you can see from the photos below my camera is stuffed as it seems I have picked up some dirt on the sensor. Might have to buy a new one in Ireland.