Yes, in a special, one day only, kind of deal, the sun has come out in Cornwall!

When I moved down to Cornwall I had fond memories of holidays when the sun always shone, the beaches sparkled and the sea was crystal blue. Sadly, the reality has proved to be rather more grey and damp, with more rain and lower temperatures than the national average for the last four summers. I’m left wondering wether this is the effect of global warming, or just my lousy memory.

That said, when the sun does come out down here we know how to make the most of it. And so, with a sunny day promised, we abandoned all our plans and made for St Ives for our final visit before the school summer holidays.

Walking through the back streets on our way to the beach, I was struck by this fantastic floral display. Although the houses don’t have much outside space, I love how much colour they have managed to cram in. The thing that looks like a curling iron at the bottom of the picture is made from granite and I dread to think how much it weighs. While I don’t know what it was originally used for, I would bet that it could anchor a boat in one place!

It was 21 degrees, so I have no idea why the couple in this picture were still in their anoraks!

Looking down the hill towards the harbour.

We walked along the pier to the lighthouse at the end:

St Ives still has a working harbour, although there are many leisure boats and boat trips operating out of the harbour as well.

These were some of the lobster pots drying on the pier wall (in winter we often see huge groups of sparrows inside these pots, but haven’t been able to work out if this is for shelter or food).

While we were on the pier, we noticed a group of people, and a group of seagulls, transfixed by something in the water:

This wily seal was collecting dead fish from the bottom of the harbour where they had been discarded by the fishing boats. He’d then bring them up to the surface to eat them, at which point the seagulls would dive bomb him trying to get their share! Sorry I couldn’t get a better picture but I only had my mobile phone.

The beaches were surprisingly crowded considering that the schools haven’t broken up yet:

Anyone would think it was summer! Sadly, today we’re back to work and back to grey skies and drizzle.