Carbis Bay, Near St Ives, Cornwall, England.

Carbis Bay is situated just outside of St Ives in Cornwall, England.

It is a lovely bay that has cottages and houses of varying size clinging to its wooded slopes. At first sight this beautiful bay is reminiscent of such a bay on the continent. It has more of a French than an English feel to it.

Carbis bay also has a selection of holiday homes, and a couple of hotels. Unless over development has took place, since we visited 2 years ago, it still has a charm all of its own.

There were some new developments under construction when we visited but these seemed to be sympathetic to the area.

We decided to take a short break in Cornwall a couple of years ago. This was to be one of the National Holidays type which are available in the UK. For the price of your holiday you receive:-

• Transport to your holiday resort, via a coach.
• A few excursions.
• Accomodation in a hotel which includes bed, breakfast and an evening meal in the price.

These holidays reperesent exceptional value for money. Usually they are not designed with children in mind. Because of this they used to have the reputation of being for older people, even pensioners. However, what we have found is that, these days, there are all age groups on such holidays. Of course we are not that far from retirement now ourselves. Still most people find at least a couple of other people whose company they enjoy.

Our stay was to be at Carbis Bay, in the Cottage Hotel. We had not viisited Carbis Bay and St ives before and Hubby had not visited Cornwall before either. The nearest he had got was Torquay in Devon.

After a rather long and monontonous journey (that's motorways for you) we arrived at the outskirts of St Ives. Turning off a road we were a little shocked to see the steep incline the coach had to manouvere in order to access Carbis Bay and approach our hotel. However we were instantly stunned by Carbis Bay. It is so beautiful.

Carbis Bay Cottage Hotel

Our hotel was a little tired but it was fine. It did serve fabulous food and our room had a lovely view. The trouble was that the room furnishings were a little worn and the entertainment was dire. Still the older holidaymakers seemed to enjoy it. However, with St Ives so close by, there was no need to stay in the hotel on an evening unless you really wanted to.

The grounds around the Cottage Hotel are nice and there is an outside swimming pool, if the weather is warm enough, or if you are brave enough.

On the whole we were pleased with the Cottage Hotel, considering how cheap our holiday was.

Other accomodation in Carbis Bay

There was at least one luxury hotel in this area. The Carbis Bay Hotel was closer to the coast than ours and more luxurious. Some of our fellow guests decided to have the odd afternoon tea over at this hotel.

There are also guest houses and cottages to let around the Carbis Bay area.

SO WHAT'S ON OFFER AT CARBIS BAY, I HEAR YOU ASK?

Carbis Bay is not a hive of activity. However there are some great places to explore around here. It is a beautiful area to walk. At the end of the road local buses regularly pass by. These will take you all over Cornwall or to suitable links. You can walk into St Ives via the road which takes about one hour, to one and a half hours, if you are strolling or you can walk along the coastal path.

The coastal walk takes you uphill for half the journey and down hill for the final half. It is through the countryside that borders the coast and is very pretty. You pass by some stunning local houses and gardens. This walk takes about 40 minutes.

As you enter St Ives from the coastal walk you pass by Porthminster beach which is lovely. There are a couple of really nice cafes and restaurants here and a decent miniature golf course.

The train runs through Carbis Bay and if you hop on this you will be in St Ives in around 10 minutes. The train station in Carbis Bay sits between the hotels, some more accommodation and the beach. The beach is downhill from the hotels and so you will have a steep walk back.

The train fare from Carbis Bay to St Ives is very reasonable and return tickets work out cheaper. In season the train service is more frequent and there is a ticket master in a small sentry type box that will sell you the necessary tickets and give you local timetables. The prices, as well as the timings, vary at different times of the year.

Carbis Bay Beach

Near to the beach there is a small seaside type shop selling snacks, small toys, postcards and the like. Other than that there is nothing. However there is a beautiful clean sandy beach and lovely waters. Walk along the opposite direction, away from St Ives, and you will come across long sandy expanses of beach. The views are stunning. It is perfect for getting away from it all, enjoying water-sports or simply relaxing.

ON THE WHOLE

Carbis Bay is a great place to stay on many levels.

It is so close to St Ives that it is a perfect destination to base yourself if you want to visit St Ives. The accommodation here is less expensive and the area less bustling than the heart of St Ives.

For those looking for a relaxing, quiet holiday it will fit the bill.

For families looking for a lovely beach and simple holiday fun Carbis Bay is just right.

I look forward to visiting this charming tiny resort again in the near future and perhaps this time we will visit Cornwall more extensively.