In our heads St Ives is always bathed in wonderful sunshine, but in reality we get our fair share of "liquid sunshine" (rain!).
Here is my list of things to do if the weather is just too bad to be outdoors in St Ives
1. Tate St Ives
The Tate St Ives is a lovely place to while away a few rainy hours. The galleries are large and airy and we especially love the main one that overlooks Porthmeor Beach!
Standard entry costs £10.50 per adult. There is a lovely cafe on the top floor, and a really tempting shop full of fab gifts.
2. St Ives Museum
When it is open, St Ives Museum is really worth a visit. It is jam packed full to the rafters of interesting and unusual bits of history from St Ives. From the fishing industry to the mines, the train line and tourists. It provides so much detail about the town and it's history.
As someone I know remarked, it's like the inhabitants of St Ives have cleared out their attics for all to see. Some of it is odd, most of it is fascinating!
It costs £5 per adult for entry and children go free. Dogs on a lead are welcome.
3. Art Galleries
There are lots of little independent art galleries in St Ives which are lovely to wander round. Grab a brolly and start on Back Road East and wend your way through the streets.
4. St Ives Farmers' Market
If you are in St Ives on a rainy Thursday morning, head to The Guildhall on Street-an-Pol to the fabulous St Ives Farmers' Market.
5. Go For A Swim
There are several places in St Ives where you can pay to have a swim.
The leisure centre which sits above the big Trenwith car park is a decent place to swim. It costs £6 for an adult swim. More info >>
You can also pay for day passes to use the pool at some of the hotels and resorts.
6. Spa Days
If you are feeling swanky, you could book a spa day at one of the lovely hotels and spa resorts. The main ones to look at are St Ives Harbour Hotel, Una Spa and Carbis Bay Hotel.
7. Soft Play
If you are here with young children, there are several soft play places near St Ives (nothing actually in town though). The nearest one is the Jungle Barn at Paradise Park.
8. Cream tea
A rainy day is always a good day to indulge in a cream tea. Find a quaint little cafe and while away the rainy day eating scones, jam and cream all washed down with a pot of tea. My favourite cafe for a cream tea is Olives, but there are lots of other good ones to choose from.
9. Go To The Pub
Who doesn't love sitting in a quaint old pub out of the rain? And we have lots of lovely old pubs to choose from in St Ives. I personally like The Lifeboat Inn as you can sit in the window and watch the harbour.
10. Walk in the woods
Okay, this is not everyone's idea of fun in the rain, but my family love going up to Tehidy Woods when it is raining. Stick on a mac and welly boots and go stomping through the trees. At the North Cliff side of the woods, the trees are quite close together so you might not even get too wet!
11. Pod at Porthmeor Cafe
My idea of heaven is sitting in a heated pod overlooking Porthmeor Beach eating something tasty and drinking something even tastier! You need to book ahead as the pods are like gold dust!
12. Meal with a view at Pedn Olva
Another lovely place to sit and watch the rain is in the Pedn Olva hotel. If you manage to get a table by those huge windows overlooking St Ives and the bay, I guarantee you will not want to move for the rest of the day!
13. Take An Art Class
There are several places where you can take an art class or craft workshop in town. One of the best is Barnoon Workshop which offers a lovely range of classes throughout the year. Porthmeor Studios, The St Ives Arts Club and The Island Centre (Cygnets) also offer classes and workshops.
14. Visit The Library
St Ives Library is an amazing place. It not only doubles up these days as the Tourist Information, but upstairs there is an amazing collection of books about St Ives. Even if you are not a member it is fine to go in and have a read.
15. Cafe Art
Cafe Art is a lovely cafe based in the Drill Hall just off Royal Square. It is a great place to go for a coffee but they also hold lots of events and sell lots of art there too.
16. Chocolate Making Workshop
I Should Coco on Tregenna Place in St Ives offers lovely chocolate making workshops. What could be more lovely to do on a rainy day?
17. Shopping
The rain often puts off day trippers to St Ives, so you quite often find Fore Street less busy than usual. What better time to go and wander round the shops?
18. St Ives Cinema
The cinema in St Ives is often overlooked. We go there lots and sometimes we are the only people in the whole place! It isn't a swanky up country cinema, but it does show good films, and doesn't cost the earth to go!
19. A Big Day Out
There are several big days out that are good for rainy days that are a drive from St Ives. The Eden project is lovely inside the biomes when it is rainy. The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth is all inside (one of my childrens favourite places to visit). Geevor Mine is another good indoor place, as is Truro museum and cathedral.
20. Go Surfing!
Unless the weather is stormy, going surfing in the rain isn't much different to going surfing any other time! Let's face it, you are going to get wet anyway, so what difference does a few drops of liquid sunshine make?
A delightful bonus of being in St Ives in the rain is that there is often sunshine too. Which produces rainbows!
Have you read 101 Brilliant Things To Do In St Ives Cornwall?
It will give you so many ideas of things you can do on your next visit to our lovely town!
Have You Heard About Our St Ives Game?
If you like St Ives you will love playing it!
