The Sloop Inn, St. Ives

Occupying a prominent position on the St Ives harbour front, The Sloop Inn apparently dates back to 1312. It's a reasonably attractive looking building on a harbour front where rampant commercialism in the form of coffee shops, souvenir shops etc seem to have taken away much of the character and charm that I remember from earlier years. It's certainly the oldest looking, most striking building on the harbour front and is a listed building. Larger inside than it looks from the outside, The Sloop Inn, whilst retaining some semblance of a characterful interior is, of course, part of this commercialism - it makes an unashamed play for the visitor trade by opening at 9 a m for breakfast and selling branded beach bags, baseball caps, sweat shirts etc. A pleasant traditional interior has the trademark dark, low beams and a black painted interior. The public bar on the right has several large tables and has, apparently, frequently appeared on TV and in films. The larger main bar extends back a long way and has some partitioned booths at the rear. The walls are mainly decorated with works of art from local artists. There's a small seating area outside which affords a good view of the harbour across the road, although, on my recent visit, this quickly disappeared when Mr White Man Van parked in front of the pub. I was also conscious all the time of the smell of burnt toast from the next table where substantial looking breakfasts were being avidly consumed. There's a first floor restaurant - The Captain's Table. A series of prominent, rather jarring notices - "Polite Notices" - in large capitals tell you that you can't take your drink across the road because of the St Ives no street drinking policy. Fair enough - but a total of 8 notices across a not very large pub frontage seems to be overdoing things. On my recent early morning visit, beers on were Doom Bar, Ruddles County and Speckled Hen - definitely one of the least appealing selections that I came across in my travels in this part of the world. The Doom Bar - £ 3.10p - was reasonable. This is quite a pleasant, attractive pub and is worth a look in, but I bet it gets impossibly busy in the height of summer

According to the sign outside, this pub dates from c1312, so I guess that must make it one of the oldest in St. Ives. Inside it's pleasant enough, and has a certain olde worlde charm, but certainly doesn't appear that old. Obviously it's had extensive refurbishment over the years. It's a good sized pub, with a popular outside seating spot, and an extensive interior with lots of wood panelling on both the walls and ceiling. The flooring is some reasonably attractive slate tiles. It was packed on a recent Thursday night visit, no doubt helped by the late summer sun and the prime spot overlooking the harbour. Extensive menu with an emphasis on locally caught fish dishes, which was good to see in the sort of place that you might have expected to serve up mass produced microwave food. Having said that, the

This old 2 bar harbour front cottage style pub dates back to 1312 according to the sign outside and probably could tell a few good stories if the walls could speak. The sea shantys that would once have echoed across the main bar have now been replaced with piped music and the smugglers with tourists but it does at least retain some of its olde worlde appeal with low ceilings and a series of intimate snugs to the rear (though you would need to be a contortionist to get into the final one under the stairs). Local art (for sale) is displayed but the moving picture frames are definitely a tacky diversion. The pub's real gem is the smaller public bar to the right of the main door. Furnished with 2 long tables and a couple of benches which direct you towards the open fire, this is the snuggest place in town when the gales lash across the harbour. Portraits and local artwork feature prominently against the black wooden walls and ceilings whilst a collection of jugs and tankards swing away over the bar. It's all very simple but full of character (the bar has apparently featured in numerous films & TV programmes). There is a mention of a cellar bar but I didn't explore this far and being quiet, I'm not certain it was open anyway. The beers are a bit pricey (Doom Bar, Ruddles County & Speckled Hen) ranging from £3 to £3.25 a pint but they do have daily food and drink specials and my Doom Bar was a more reasonable £2.80 the day of my visit. There is some seating outside with the lovely harbour views but, be warned, you will be under constant seagull attack, especially if you are eating. I can imagine in summer the place would be heaving but without the crowds it is quite a charming place to spend a few hours.

Very old fishermans pub (C14th) serving a selection of Cornish beers. Very reasonably priced menu.

Official site of the Sloop Inn, includes menus - www.sloop-inn.co.uk

Official site of the Sloop Inn, includes menus - www.sloop-inn.co.uk