Trevose Harbour House, St Ives

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St Ives, Cornwall

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Imagine living in the U.K. for 12 years and hearing about a mythical place located about 5.5 hours away from your house. Imagine spending a lot of your time on planes, flying off to various destinations on the reg. Some only an hour away, some up to 11 or 12 hours away. So many miles spent flying, searching for a perfect beach, turquoise sea and friendly faces, yet the answer was on my doorstep, nestled on the Cornish coast.

I think I mentioned before that I haven’t been particularly great at travelling within the U.K., I suppose in a way it means I’ve assimilated pretty quickly – I don’t know many Brits who spend their hard-earned vacation days in the motherland. As I recently found out though, perhaps they should. And perhaps I should as well. My epiphany came in the shape of a beautifully decked out guest house in St Ives, lovingly restored by a chic couple: Trevose Harbour House.

I travelled to St Ives on my own, for three short days (two of them mostly spent wandering around the first class coach on GWR). Staying at Trevose Harbour House was a bit like being at home. Upon arrival, I was greeted by warm and friendly reception staff, shown to my Harbour View room and given a map of the little town. I was feeling a little weary after my railway adventures so I made myself a cup of coffee (each room has its own little cafetière etc) with fresh soy milk, ate a biscuit and then went off exploring the town. After a short walk on the pier – and a rather amusing seagull encounter – I returned home to Trevose House, ready to wind down for the evening.

I had a warm shower using their Neal’s Yard toiletries and then sat in bed to do some writing, with a Neal’s Yard scented candle burning on my bedside table. My room had a view of the harbour and so as I was working away on my laptop, I saw the tide receding and a ballet of fishing boats coming in to dock for the night.

I am so very preoccupied with life admin and moving chores at the moment, I can’t remember the last time I just sat somewhere in stillness and felt relaxed… Yet the fleeting few days I spent at Trevose House left me feeling so zen. I suppose if was a combination of solitude, calm and beautiful surroundings… I checked out with a mental clarity I certainly didn’t have when I checked in.

If you are a creative type on a quest for inspiration, or if you want a romantic weekend with your lover, do check out Trevose House. It is a long but easy journey on the train, it takes 5.5 hours from Paddington Station with GWR. Treat yourself to a first class journey too, it is well worth it.