St Ives and Carbis Bay

St Ives and Carbis Bay sit along the western side of St Ives Bay, where the coast changes from harbour walls and compact town beaches to sheltered coves and broad, open sand. Porthminster, Carbis Bay and Porthkidney each have their own character, linked by a coastline of wooded slopes, rocky points and clear blue-green water. Across the bay, the beaches of Hayle and Gwithian curve towards Godrevy, with its white lighthouse marking the distant edge of the view.

The South West Coast Path follows this shore between St Ives, Carbis Bay and the Hayle Estuary. Beyond Hawke’s Point, Porthkidney Sands opens into a much larger stretch of beach, backed by dunes and the landscape around Lelant. At its eastern end the river meets the sea, cutting channels through the sandbanks. The changing tide transforms those shapes, revealing wide areas of pale sand and shallow turquoise water that look very different from the smaller beaches around the town.

My collection begins at Porthkidney, looking across the estuary mouth towards the long sweep of sand on the far side of the bay. Photographed between mid and low tide, it is a view about space, colour and the scale of this coast, with Godrevy Lighthouse small on the horizon. Explore the photograph as a wall print, greeting card or fridge magnet, and return as I add more views of St Ives, Carbis Bay and their surrounding shores.