Overview

St Ives is a traditional Cornish town and so the streets are made of cobble and are narrow. This said, although it is a bumpy ride, it is accessible in a self propelled wheel chair and we saw the odd mobility scooter. If you have a sever back issue then this is not the place for you! We arrived during peak holiday season and the streets were very crowded. The first time the boy with the wheels went to the town centre it was hard going, the hills are steep and when wet, pretty slippy and the odd push had to be given. Saying that, along the harbour front the road is wide and accessibly flat and the harbour itself is smooth and wide enough to turn and feel safe. It also has the obligatory cheeky Cornish seagulls! There are no disabled toilets in the centre and the nearest were in a car park quite a distance away. The second time we visited the town centre, he used his hybrid bike and mountain wheels, which was better for the terrain but too wide for any shops and restaurants. We only found two places to eat, one was a very accommodating Pizza Express which moved some tables so we could get in and move around and the other was a pub slightly down from the harbour but was too noisy and crowded for us to move around safely! We were openly refused access to one restaurant by the harbour, making it clear (very snootily) there was only a stepped entrance and the boy with the wheels would be too wide to sit on the payment at their tables. It sells Pizza and Pasta by the harbour - don't even bother! The Tate gallery has a long curved if not a little narrow, ramp to the front door and the lady assured us they had full accessibility and toilets (we didn't actually go in after all). If you like to shop, then you maybe disappointed. The shops are mainly traditional low stepped openings and even if you could get in you probably couldn't turn around. We saw lots of mobility scooters parked up! The only place to get cash in the town is the Post Office, which had a couple of steps up to the counter which was a high topped surface.

Transport & Parking

Parking in St Ives is over three car parks. The top car park on the way by the hospital was very large with several disabled spaces, but was a 15 minute walk into the town and all the way up hill on the return journey, which was too much for the man with wheels. We parked in the car park up from the Tate gallery. This only had two blue badge spaces and had the only disabled toilet in the whole of the town centre. The other car park was Sloop hill but despite having 6 spaces for blue badges, they were always taken. One day we ended up parking on the yellow lines outside the Tate for the three hour limit we are allowed with the badge. Its a get up early job! The streets of St Ives are narrow and if you have a big car or van it is a tight squeeze. Sloop hill is on an incredibly sharp turn! Also blue badge holders have to pay for parking so bring change. We do get an extra hour compared to normal drivers. Cornwall council has a scheme where if you pay £10 in advance you can park anywhere in Cornwall for free and it lasts all year. If your car like ours has been adapted you can register for free, but you must have the V5 number available. All this has to be done in advance, as it all goes on your number plate and I watched someone get a ticket who had obviously not registered and not brought a ticket! Details can be found here: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/physical-disabilities/blue-badge-disabled-parking-permits/

Access

Toilets

We only found one disabled loo and that was in the Tate car park and that needed a RADAR key to enter.

Staff

Anything else you wish to tell us?

We did enjoy our time in St Ives. It was busy and over crowded and not much space for the man with the wheels, but we could get to most of where we wanted to go (he hates shops anyway!) We would go again but not on a rainy day. It would be nice if St Ives had more accessible restaurants and it needs more than one loo on the outskirts. Signs to show inclines might also help so we are prepared for the hill!