Saint Ives Leisure Centre

The leisure centre sits right in St Ives itself, which means it's handy if you're staying at one of the nearby parks like Polmanter or St. Ives Holiday Village and fancy breaking up a beach-heavy week with something dry. It's your standard local sports facility - pools, gyms, that sort of thing - rather than a destination attraction in itself.

Really, it's most useful for families with younger kids who need a rainy-day activity or older children wanting to burn off energy with a swim when the Atlantic's looking a bit rough. If you're staying at Haven Riviere Sands or Higher Trevaskis, it's worth knowing about but not worth planning your whole holiday around.

Since opening hours and admission prices aren't well documented online, ring ahead before you go - nothing worse than turning up with excited kids only to find it's closed for maintenance. Allow a couple of hours if you're doing a pool session plus a shower, longer if someone wants to join the gym for the week.

As a complement to the parks in the area, it's practical rather than special. St Ives itself is the real draw - the beaches, the restaurants, the galleries - and the leisure centre is just the fallback option when the weather turns. Better than sitting in a caravan, certainly, but don't let it distract you from proper exploring.