Thursday, 8 July 2010

Super St. Ives

We have had a super stay in St.Ives, a town I am ashamed to say, I had not visited in the past.  A town with real character, plenty of historical buildings and a rich history to boast about.  Granted a charter by King John  (King John seemed to grant a lot of charters/licences allowing a town to hold a market - probably money in it for the Royal exchequer..) St. Ives still holds a market though the traditional sheep market and cattle market are sadly no more.  This is yet another town that has an attachment to Oliver Cromwell who lived in the town for some six years.  Yes there are too many charity shops but in the present economic climate that is hardly surprising.  There are plenty of eateries and attractive Inns though not as many as there once were, 70 pubs for a population of 3500 in 1870 indicating how busy the markets were at that time.
I was able to get an appointment to see a dentist which is a real bonus given our nomadic lifestyle, get my hair cut and have all our winter bedding cleaned at the local launderette.  We are moving on now but we will call back in on this great little town on our return journey.

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