St. Ives and the Lizard

After yet another wonderful breakfast at Venton Vean, we headed out for a driving day of sightseeing.  As a reward for sitting in the rain yesterday, the travels gods gave us a glorious sunny day for our final day in Penzance.

We headed immediately north about 20 miles to the town of St. Ives.  This is a good place to arrive early as the parking lots fill up fast.  We secured a spot and walked a short distance to the Tate St. Ives, a modern art museum gloriously located right on the beach.  It’s small and manageable to do the entire place in an hour or so.

Then we walked to the bluffs overlooking the beach, a beautiful sight in the bright sunshine.

Another short walk took us to the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Museum and Garden.  This too is small and intimate and very enjoyable.

By now it was just after noon and after gassing up we drove to the Lizard Peninsula, a pleasant 45 minutes away.  The National Trust runs all the overlooks and scenic vistas here.  No admission charge but there is a parking charge for non-members.  Again, joining before we left home saved us the parking charges.  First stop was at Kynance Cove.  Ten minutes walk from the parking lot and you arrive at this glorious cove with a small beach, all a feat for the eyes.  They have a café and we enjoyed a nice lunch overlooking the award winning beach.

Our final stop of the day was still on the Lizard Peninsula at Lizard Point, another feats for the eyes, especially under the beautiful blue skies we were enjoying.

Then it was home to our B&B to rest up for dinner.  Elaine ventured out for a walk to Penzance’s Jubilee Pool, recently renovated and reopened.

Dinner was at the Penzance’s #1 rated place on TripAdvisor, Mackeral Sky. It was good but not great.  I started with a nibble of white anchovies – very nice and not as salty as the anchovies I am used to.  Elaine’s starter was salt and pepper squid while I had the special scallops in a Shopshire blue cheese mornay.  My main was a whole plaice with a crab leg. Elaine had linguine with Newley crab.  We shared an apple and raspberry crumble with clotted cream for desert.  Time for bed!

Whole Plaice with Crab Leg