What's on in St Ives, United Kingdom through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in United Kingdom, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Atlantic swell at Porthmeor (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Out of season (1 Nov – 1 Mar (usually))

Busy — February half-term in United Kingdom, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  St Ives Feast and the Silver Ball

  4–11 Feb · usuallyMajor festival

  On the first Monday after 3 February the town hurls a silver ball through the streets and along the beach for an hour, ending at the guildhall. It is a local day, not a staged one. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic swell at Porthmeor (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Out of season (1 Nov – 1 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Holiday

  Easter bank holidays

  3–6 AprEaster & Holy WeekCrowdedClosures

  Good Friday is a bank holiday across the UK and Easter Monday everywhere but Scotland. The long weekend opens the domestic touring season: popular towns, coasts and parks get busy, rooms cost more, and rail engineering works often cut or replace train services. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic swell at Porthmeor (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Out of season (1 Nov – 1 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Easter bank holidays, Easter / spring holiday in United Kingdom

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Easter bank holidays (3–6 Apr)

Peak crowds — Food and Drink Festival, Late-May half-term in United Kingdom

• Festival

  Food and Drink Festival

  15–17 MayFood & drink festivalCrowded

  Three days on the sand at Porthminster in the middle of May, before the school holidays and while the town is still walkable. Source ↗

Busy — Late-May half-term in United Kingdom, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Peak crowds — English school holidays, Summer holidays in United Kingdom

• Holiday

  English school holidays

  18 Jul – 1 SepCrowdedBook early

  The town is medieval-narrow and takes the whole of August at once. Leave the car at the Lelant park-and-ride and take the branch line in; the drive down to the harbour is a mistake. Source ↗

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, English school holidays

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: English school holidays (18 Jul – 1 Sep)

Busy — English school holidays, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  St Ives September Festival

  12–26 SepArts festival

  A fortnight of music, open studios and poetry across the town from the second week of September, running since 1978. The light that brought the painters here is at its best in the same weeks. Source ↗

• Season

  Atlantic swell at Porthmeor

  15 Sep – 31 Mar · usuallySurf season

  Porthmeor only really works when the autumn and winter groundswells come in, which is exactly when the town is empty. Wetsuits every month of the year.

Still on: English school holidays (18 Jul – 1 Sep)

Busy — October half-term in United Kingdom, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Atlantic swell at Porthmeor (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Closure

  Out of season

  1 Nov – 1 Mar · usually

  A good share of the restaurants and galleries close or drop to weekends from November, and the Tate keeps winter hours. The harbour and the coast path are the reason to come anyway. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic swell at Porthmeor (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Christmas and Boxing Day, Christmas holidays in United Kingdom

• Holiday

  Christmas and Boxing Day

  24–28 DecChristmas & New YearClosures

  Christmas Day and Boxing Day are bank holidays. Public transport is minimal or absent on 25 December and thin on the 26th, and most shops, attractions and many pubs and restaurants close on Christmas Day, so plan travel and meals ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Atlantic swell at Porthmeor (15 Sep – 31 Mar (usually)), Out of season (1 Nov – 1 Mar (usually))