Fireworks, fancy dress & a carnival style street party...

New Years Eve in St Ives is famous for it’s carnival style street party, wild fancy dress and stunning midnight fireworks in the Harbour. Whilst it sounds like a raucous affair this long-standing tradition is also family-friendly and is great fun for all ages.

If you are planning to spend New Year’s Eve in St Ives we have a few hints and tips to see you through the party:

Fancy-dress

An absolute must I’m afraid if you wish to avoid the friendly chants of ‘Where’s your costume’ from the slightly merry locals. Anything goes, some go all out on their creations, others simply pop on a wig and they are good to go. The local charity shops are a great source of inspiration and my favourite part of New Year is making a costume from scratch. My personal favourite was my husband and I dressed as Woody & Jesse from Toy Story… 

Restaurant Reservations

Again an absolute must. Some eateries, especially the popular Harbour front venues are booked up months (and I mean months!) in advance. Most will offer a limited or set menu on New Years Eve and there’s usually two or three sittings; an early, a late and a very late! Very late tables can usually be kept all evening so if you want a table to see in the New Year, book the latest sitting you can. Most restaurants will give staff a break to see in the New Year so service may be suspended for a time. Make sure the wine is ordered early to ensure supplies don’t run dry!

Pubs

As you’d expect, the pubs on New Years Eve are extremely busy. Some charge for entry but most do not. There are a few child friendly venues, but once the party is in full swing you might find the evening more enjoyable simply wandering the streets and spotting your favourite characters. Drinks early doors tend to be favoured by families, as the pubs are less busy early on. If you’re childless then it’s traditional to embark on a pub-crawl through the town, ending up on the Harbour Front at midnight to see in the New Year.

Taxi’s

Two word’s – Gold dust. If you haven’t booked one you’re in for a long wait. Despite having lived here for over 30 years, booking a taxi is something I quite frequently forget and come 12.30am a two-mile walk home never seems appealing. Of course, if you book one of our luxury self catering apartments in St Ives you won’t need to worry about cabs as the fun is just a short stroll away!

Accommodation

New Year in St Ives is extremely popular and accommodation gets booked up quickly. We are all but fully booked with just Surf, a one-bedroom property, still available over New Year but if you fancy joining the party next year, check-out our 2016 availability. Our 5* self-catering in St Ives is perfectly located in a quiet area tucked away from the heart of it but within easy walking distance.

Whatever your New Year plans, we wish you a happy one.

Kelly x

Happy New Year!

The majority of The Sail Lofts team spent New Year in St Ives - and what a night it was! Fancy dress prevailed, Managing Director Philip was dressed as a hippy, Emma our Housekeeper in burlesque, and the others? You will just have to wait for the pictures!

It was a great night as usual and we thoroughly recommend, from our own experiences!

...And from all at The Sail Lofts - We wish you a very happy and successful 2011!

Autumn in St Ives

The middle of November has arrived quickly but autumn has undoubtedly arrived (possibly even winter?) as the leaves turn golden and the sea whips up large swells. The town has quietened and the opportunity to really explore St Ives and the surrounding area has arrived.

For the surfers amongst us, there has been no shortage of swells for the last few weeks although the winds have been very strong. The south coast has lit up a few times and the sheltered spots have been shining with Porthmeor having some great days. The next few days are looking rather nice with lots more swell coming through and the occasional offshore day at the exposed beaches. 

For those of you thinking of going away for Christmas we still have some availability left but bookings are coming in quickly for this period. Likewise for those of you who are considering St Ives for New Year, a great place to see in 2011 particularly for families, we still have some availability but we are receiving a number of enquiries. 

Don't forget to check out our last minute availability for some fantastic deals starting at £199. 

Making the most of 2009

After a few days off it was back to the office yesterday and its been very busy with new bookings (perhaps taking advantage of the 15% Vat?). The Christmas break was brilliant, some dry days, walking along the coast paths and of course a few visits to some fine public houses. 

I made a visit to the Trengillywartha Inn at Nancenoy (the other side of Helston), and what a lovely pub it is, great food and atmosphere and a some rather tasty ales! I would recommend it to anyone, only a half hour drive from St Ives and it is a convenient stopping point for some good walks. 

We were gifted with some surf over the Christmas break, a couple of North coast days with some solid waves and a brilliant south coast day on Sunday at Praa Sands (20 minutes from St Ives). This week has and will see some small but clean conditions and looking into the weekend it should be small but offshore on the North Coast. Porthmeor had a wave this morning but its dropped away near high tide.


St Ives is bustling away with tourists making the most of the sales and the independent shops and galleries, and the preparations for St Ives' famous New Year celebrations are beginning. Fancy dress all the way!

As a thank you to our blog readers we are offering 20% off all apartments for January vacations, and if you book before the 31st December you can take advantage of the 15% VAT. To find out more please give us a call and tell us where you saw the offer on 01736 799175.

Lastly we would like to take the opportunity to wish you a very happy and prosperous new year!