St Ives’ oldest twinning partner – a commune in Finistére, Brittany
The connection between St Ives and Camaret-sur-Mer began in 1982.
2022 was the 40th Anniversary of the connection. We celebrated this with a number of events:
Snapshots and Stories Photography Workshop on Wednesday 24th August 2022
Your Views of St Ives Postcard Exhibition submissions and exhibition 25th September 2022.
We also created a St Ives & Camaret community Facebook page that will continue the link and shared experiences into the future.
Camaret-sur-Mer (Breton: Kameled) is a commune in the Finistère department in northwestern France. The commune of Camaret-sur-Mer has 2,543 inhabitants, it is located in the far west of the Crozon peninsula in the heart of the Iroise Marine Park and the Armorica Regional Natural Park. Camaret-sur-Mer appeals to nature lovers as well as heritage and art enthusiasts. This maritime and artistic city cultivates a strong identity, carried by its population and its visitors. Camaret-sur-Mer is part of the Community of municipalities of the peninsula of Crozon and Aulne Maritime, which brings together 10 municipalities.
Wikipedia Camaret sur Mer
Camaret sur Mer website
Visits
21st – 25th September 2022
13 guests from Camaret visited St Ives during the September Festival for 4 days, a range of activities were arranged including concerts, tours, a bus trip and a focused exhibition at Penwith Gallery.
September 2013
Short films to mark the visit:
A SALTY SLICE OF St IVES – SUR LA MER AVEC NOS AMIS de CAMARET-SUR-MER
A WELCOME SLICE OF St IVES FOR OUR GUESTS FROM CAMARET-SUR-MER, BRITTANY
Surf links were also forged as part of twinning between St Ives and Camaret Sur Mer. See the story as reported in the french press, with a rough translation – ‘During their visit last September to St. Ives, the twinning committee from Camaret met the dynamic Tassy Swallow, 20, surfing champion of the British federation ” Surfing GB ” and 19th in the world rankings. She runs a women’s surf school in St Ives, all year round.’
Following these contacts, Tassy and four of her young students were invited to stay at Camaret by families , including exchanges with the local surf school Moby Dick , which sits at the entrance to the city. The young Cornish stayed for a week. “This is the second time I’ve been in Britanny. The first time was during a school exchange in the center of Britanny, but here in Camaret is much better, I can go surfing” reflects young Charley 12. Other young students of Saint Ives are : Hetty , 13, Sabrina , 12, and Faith , 9 .
