St Ives is a village in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

in the south of England. It lies close to the border between Dorset and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, near Ringwood,

Verwood Verwood is a town and civil parish in eastern Dorset, England. The town lies north of Bournemouth and north east of Poole as the crow flies. The civil parish comprises the town of Verwood together with the extended village of Three Legged Cr ...

and

Ferndown Ferndown is a town and civil parish in Dorset in southern England, immediately to the north of Bournemouth and Poole. The parish, which until 1972 was called ''Hampreston'', includes the communities of Ameysford, Hampreston, Longham, Stapehill ...

. The village is adjacent to St Leonards and

Ashley Heath Ashley Heath is a village in Dorset, England, adjacent to the villages of St Leonards and St Ives, with which it forms the civil parish of St Leonards and St Ives. Ashley Heath is located north-east of Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is ...

. The parish of

St Leonards and St Ives St Leonards and St Ives is a civil parish in Dorset, England. The parish contains the settlements of Ashley, Ashley Heath, St Ives and St Leonards, which have merged to form a single urban area. History The parish was created on 1 April 1932 ...

has a population of 6,672 (2001); 41.6% are retired. The joint population including two electoral wards (east & west) had risen to 6,859 at the 2011 Census. The village has a shop and post office, a doctor's surgery, an ex-services club and two public houses. A

youth club A youth center or youth centre, often called youth club, is a place where young people can meet and participate in a variety of activities, for example table football, association football (US soccer, UK football), basketball, table tennis, v ...

is situated in Braeside Park, St Leonards, next to the

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

hut and the

village hall A village hall is a public building in a rural or suburban community which functions as a community centre without a religious affiliation. United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, a village hall is a building which is owned by a local gover ...

. St Ives First School has 128 students between the ages of 4–9 years old. In 2008

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament. Ofsted's role is to make sure that organisations providing education, training ...

described the school as "outstanding". The school contains a swimming pool which is open to the public during the summer months, and holds several community events such as the strawberry fair and Easter fair. Avon Castle DSC 0017

To the north is Moors Valley Country Park which has many attractions such as train rides, cycle tracks, a fishing lake and a café. To the south is Avon Heath Country Park which has a large visitor centre, play park and picnic area. To the east of the park, by the river Avon, is Avon Castle, a country house built about 1872 and now divided into apartments.

References

External links

*
St Leonards and St Ives Parish Community WebsiteSt Leonards & St Ives Parish Council

Census data
Saint Ives, Dorset {{Dorset-geo-stub