Activity & Enrichment
“Everything was super in every way. A fantastic town with such welcoming and understanding hosts for a school group. We will definitely be back next year.”
Ceci Bitterlin, Colston’s School
St Ives is also an awesome base for exploring South West Cornwall and with amazing places to stop at on the way to or from St Ives even the journey can be a great day out.
In this section:
To and from St Ives | Art & Art institutions | Activities on the beach | Activities off the beach | Day and half day trips out
To and from St Ives
The travel days can be just as fun as the time spent in St Ives. The Eden Project is a must-see for any visit to Cornwall. A feat of horticultural engineering it’s breathtaking and glorious fun whatever age your students are.
An hour away from St Ives you’ll also find Bodmin Jail where students can wander through the depths of the jail and discover what life was like behind bars for an 18th Century prisoner.
Both Eden Project and Bodmin Jail have experienced education departments to sort tours, workshops and food; and a 3-4 hour stop can really break up the journey.
There’s also Tintagel Castle and Lanhydrock House & Gardens, both of which are easily accessible from the roads to or from St Ives.
Art & Art institutions
Tate St Ives, the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden and Leach Pottery, all situated no more than a 10 minute walk from Cohort, offer fantastic opportunities for student activities and engagement.
From pottery workshops where students can try their hand on the wheel and get their work glazed and fired afterward, through to gallery workshops inside Tate and sand sculpture outside on the beach, there’s never been a better (or safer) place for students to explore their artistic side.
Book a lesson with a working artist in their own studio at the St Ives School of Painting or St Ives Society of Artists; participate in a mosaic workshop using found materials from the beach or grab a sketch pad and hit some of the most spectacular vistas you can find in the UK.
Activities on the beach
You can’t come to St Ives and not visit the beach. It’s just the best place to be for your mental health and wellbeing. Numerous studies have shown the connection between being by the water and wellbeing and with 4 spectacular beaches St Ives was unsurprisingly named one of the happiest places to live in the UK.
Hook up with the highly recommended St Ives Surf School (St Ives) and/or Ocean Sports (Carbis Bay) to try your hand at bodyboarding, surfing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding or coasteering *or even a bit of everything.
Play beach volleyball, have sandcastle building competitions or bring your own equipment and have a beach BBQ (it’s not impossible, a school did it!).
Activities off the beach
The SW Coast Path in either direction represents miles and miles of FREE activities. Take the coastal train to Lelant Saltings and walk a gentle 4 miles back or, for older students, take them on the more challenging 6.5 mile hike to Zennor. Stop for picnics, games, photography opps along the way.
Take a tour with St Ives eBikes where the Cornish hills are made that much more bearable or tough it out with Lands End Cycle hire who offer bikes for all ages.
Take a boat trip out to Seal Island or go a bit more native and partake in a 4 hour (beginner) fishing trip with some of St Ives’ saltiest fishermen.
See a show at the award winning and nationally famous Kidz R Us theatre, split into teams and do a treasure hunt around St Ives that will take you through all the back streets or join Shanty Baba for one his ghost walks through the darker side of St Ives.
Day & Half day trips out
St Ives is a great place to base yourself for exploring SW Cornwall and we can sort your transport if you’d like to do a day or half day out of St Ives.
Short drives will get you to the following famous landmarks:
- The Minack Theatre
- Land’s End
- Porthcurno Telegraph Museum
- Botallack (otherwise known as the Poldark film set)
- Geevor Tin Mine
- St Michael’s Mount & Marazion
- Hayle Towans & Godrevy Lighthouse
- Lizard Point, Kynance Cove & Falmouth