St Ives Harbour

St Ives Harbour
A beautiful day in St Ives
Showing posts with label luxury accomodation st ives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label luxury accomodation st ives. Show all posts

Friday, 18 December 2015

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

Monday, 12 October 2015

Winter bird watching in Cornwall


The West Penwith area is not just well know for it’s outstanding beaches and coastal towns such as St Ives but it is also infamous amongst ornithological groups for it’s bird life. With a diverse range of habitats and some of the best kept wild landscapes in the UK, West Penwith is home to an epic selection of native species from buzzards to choughs and also commonly visited by foreign birds known as “vagrants”. The term vagrant refers to birds that have strayed or been blown from their usual migratory course and in the case of those that turn up on Cornwall’s coast lines it’s North American birds which get blown across the Atlantic on route to South America. This autumn there have been a record number of American vagrants including spotted sandpipers and red-eyed vireos, as a direct result of Hurricane Katia.


Our beautiful, luxury self catering apartments in St Ives are perfectly located to make the most of this rich area of wildlife so pack your binoculars and stay at The Sail Lofts this winter. Here are a few nearby sites we recommend for spotting Cornish birdlife:

The Island
Just moments from our luxury accommodation in St Ives is The Island which unlike the name suggests is a small grassy peninsula off Porthmeor Beach offering spectacular views of the Atlantic ocean on three sides and views of the whole town and towards Godrevy lighthouse from the top of the mound. From The Island common sightings include gannets, cormorants, herring gulls, puffins and other coastal wildlife such as seals and dolphins.



Hayle Estuary
A 15 minute drive from The Sail Lofts five star holiday cottages in St Ives you will find Hayle Estuary which is the most south westerly estuary in the UK and one that never freezes. The rich pickings on the mud flaps, which are exposed at low tide provide a bird buffet attracting wading birds including curlews, little egrets and oyster catchers. The estuary opens out onto the vast sands of Porthkidney Beach where you can continue watching the birds whilst enjoying the fantastic scenery.



Marazion Marshes
This reserve overlooks the beautiful St Michael's Mount and boasts Cornwall's largest reedbed. In the car from our luxury holiday accommodation in St Ives the marshes are about a 20 minute drive. More than 250 bird, 500 plant, 500 insect and 18 mammal species have been recorded here. In some years starlings roost here from October-December and their spectacular aerial acrobatics over the reedbeds are a sight worth seeing.


For availability at The Sail Lofts this winter please follow the links below:

November
December
January
February

and to speak to one of our team please call the office on: 01736 799175 or email: info@thesaillofts.co.uk

Hope this inspires you to get out and about in the great Cornish landscape.

Abi x