September in St Ives – Our Top Reasons to Visit

St Ives September Festival

The September St Ives Festival is an exciting celebration of the arts and includes, but isn’t limited to, music events, workshops, theatre, poetry, exhibitions, comedy and street performances! All of this can be enjoyed over a two week time spam between 10/09/22 – 24/09/22. The September Festival originated back in 1977 and it was then just a gathering of musicians and artists in a kitchen along Teetotal street and now it has manifested into something spectacular.

This year, you’ll find a huge variety of acts to enjoy, workshops to try and so much more across several different venues across St Ives. Here are just a few examples for you!

– Barnoon Workshop
– Community Orchard
– Penwith Gallery
– Royal Cinema
– St Ives Museum
– Tate St Ives
– Towednack Church

These venues will be host to hugely talented artists of all kinds coming to St Ives and celebrating. The St Ives September festival is of huge significance to the cultural life in this small fishing town and it is definitely something we’d recommend experiencing.

Weather

Ahhh the September sun!
The weather in September has always been memorably warm and sunny. Of course, it is not immune to a few classic Cornish rain showers, however, some sun is always on the cards. In 2021, the weather in September averaged around 20 degrees  throughout the first three weeks of September last year, so visiting at this time of year means you may have room to squeeze in a few beach days. Coming on holiday in St Ives when the weather is a little better means you can enjoy a large number of things without having to worry about dropping temperatures and long dark evenings. Here are a couple of ways we love to spend a warm September day:

Watersports
We can’t guarantee the water will be warm, but it sure will be fun! The St Ives surf school as well as the local Watersport hire centres are still open and thriving throughout September so be sure to head there for some seaside fun!

Walking
Walking is one of our favourite ways to enjoy the great Cornish coastline and on a warm September’s day when it is a little quieter throughout, heading out on foot is always a day well spent.

Enjoy the views
Whether it is from the comfort of your Cornish holiday cottage or your favourite beachside restaurant, we think making the most of Cornwall’s beautiful views in the last of the summer sun before autumn well and truly settles in is an absolute must if staying in St Ives in September.

Less crowded

Summers in St Ives are wonderfully busy but we appreciate the hustle and bustle of the school holidays isn’t for everyone. That is when September in St Ives truly comes into its own! It allows for visitors to experience all the joys of visiting whilst there is still a great buzz about the town, just without the huge crowd numbers. If this sounds like you, here are a few of our recommendations of how to make the most of St Ives in September without the crowds:

Eating Out
During the summer months, you may find that your favourite restaurant is fully booked for weeks, or you may just enjoy going when the atmosphere is a little more relaxed. During September, there is still a great buzz in all the restaurants throughout the town but you’re much more likely to get a booking at that spot you’ve been dying to try!

Beaches
The beaches in St Ives start becoming a lot more roomy in September, you’ll find the most popular stops become a lot easier to access which can often be welcoming to people. Many may avoid these hot spots in the summer, but come September, it is a great time to make the most of the idyllic beaches in St Ives.

Shopping and fun things to do!
Fore Street is renowned for being home to an amazing collection of local stores, but in the summer this narrow cobbled street attracts a large amount of visitors. However, it can get very busy, very quickly! Come the September, it’ll be a little calmer, meaning you can make the most of the great local stores in St Ives. It is also a great time of year to get stuck into things you’ve maybe always wanted try, why not head to the Tarquins Gin School to take part in a distilling masterclass or a chocolate work shop from CoCo Kitchen?

Easier Parking in St Ives

Parking in St Ives. This topic probably crosses everyone’s minds more than it should, but it is definitely important.

The car parks in St Ives are all relatively small in comparison to the large number of guests that visit throughout the summer. For example, The Island Car Park which is perfectly located near Porthmeor Beach and Porthgwidden only has 129 Spaces! There can often be long queues and a lack of spaces throughout the town, throughout the peak weeks. Although September still welcomes a high number of visitors, it is quieter, which means more space, fewer queues and less stress!

If you’d like to find out more about parking in St Ives, check out our guide on getting around in St Ives.

Dog Friendly St Ives

Another reason why September is one of our favourite months in St Ives is that it is the time to welcome back all the lovely dogs! Now, dogs are welcome to visit St Ives all summer and have a great time, but for some, it is too hot, too busy and with the beach bans across most beaches, it can be a little less fun our four legged friends.

Beaches
During September, not only do you still have access to Bamaluz Beach which is dog friendly all year round but From the 1st of September, the St Ives Harbour Beach and Porthgwidden allow dogs throughout the day again. This often results in a lot of happy pooches!

Eating Out
Dining out with your dog in St Ives also gets that little bit easier in September. Often, many of the dog-friendly restaurants in St Ives are the first to be booked up in summer, or it can simply be a little bit too hot and busy for them. September allows for a much more relaxed dining out experience for both you and your dog. Take a look at our dog-friendly guide to St Ives to find some of the best dog-friendly eateries this September!

Dog-friendly holiday cottages
Our dog-friendly cottages are hugely popular all year round but unlike the summer where a gap in the calendar is like gold dust when the school holidays end, you may be lucky enough to find availability at your favourite dog-friendly cottage. We think St Ives in September is wonderful for owners and pups alike!

Less Costly

The fact is that during summer school holidays, rental amounts are at their highest for the year. Sadly families with school-age children or teaching professionals mean they are restricted to going on holiday when a very large demographic of the UK, European and International population is also on holiday which drives prices up. Coming on holiday outside of school holidays does equate to cheaper rental rates. Now, as we have mentioned above, September in St Ives has still so much to offer and when the sun is still warm and shining, the sea is approaching its warmest temperature, two weeks of organised entertainment and so much more, the rates are indicative of this but we believe, for those of you not tied to school holiday dates, September has to be the best time to have a week or two holidays in St Ives, Cornwall!