Mevagissey

Mevagissey is a picturesque fishing village on the coast of South Cornwall.

Understand

Enjoy time wandering around the harbour and the shops, eating Cornish pasties or ice cream (a recipe for a heart attack, according to a local GP!) There are restaurants and pubs, and it's a good base for visiting local attractions such as the Lost Gardens of Heligan and the Eden project.

There's a large car park as you enter the village which is a good place to stop since the lanes ahead get quite narrow and busy, especially in the Summer months.

The winter months are also a great time to visit, especially over New Year where everyone dresses up in fancy dress and wandered between the pubs.

Mevagissey is pronounced 'Mevagizzey', with the stress on the penultimate syllable, i.e. gizz.

Get in

If you are driving, take the A390 to St Austell and turn off at McDonalds. If you are coming from Exeter or beyond, the A30 into Cornwall is half an hour quicker than the A38 via Plymouth.

There is a mainline train service through St Austell, and a regular bus service from St Austell to Mevagissey. National Express also stops at St Austell.

Newquay airport is about 45 minutes drive away, and there is an expanding range of air services flying into Newquay - try Air South West, BA and Ryanair.

Ferry from Fowey in the summer.

Get around

Best not to try to drive around the village while you are here - unless you like squeezing past other cars and pedestrians in the very narrow streets. The streets can be very busy with cars, and pedestrians must usually wedge up against a wall to let cars, vans and lorries go past. Park up and walk! The harbour car park is the best value, and this helps to support the harbour, which is a charity. Cycling is forbidden along some parts of the harbour, although there are no such restrictions for cars.

See

Caerhays Castle

Most people come to see the harbour and its fishing boats. The aquarium and museum, both on the harbourside, are also worth a look. Both are charities and rely on donations from visitors.

• 1 Lost Gardens of Heligan, Pentewan, St.Austell, PL26 6EN. 19th-century Gardenesque-style botanical gardens. 80 acres of stunning landscaped scenery with a huge complex of walled flower and vegetable gardens (updated Jan 2017)
• 2 Caerhays Castle and Gardens, Caerhays Estate, Caerhays, Gorran, PL26 6LY, ☏ +44 1872 501310, enquiries@caerhays.co.uk. The gardens will be open daily from 19 Feb-June 17, 2018. The castle will be open for 45-minute guided tours from the 19 Mar-15 June 2018, M-F only, including bank holidays. Tour times: 11:30AM, 1PM and 2:30PM. 140 acres (57 hectares) gardens that are the home of the Williams family. The gardens originated from the work of plant hunters in China at the start of the 20th century. Caerhays bred the very first williamsii camellias and is today the home of a Plant Heritage National Collection of Magnolias containing over 600 species and named hybrids from around the world. The gardens have an international reputation. Admission to the gardens or castle tour: adults £8.50, seniors £7.50, children 5-16 £4.50. A combined ticket costs £13.50, £12.50, £6.50 respectively. Children under 5 enter free. (updated Sep 2017)
• 3 Mevagissey Museum, East Wharf, Inner Harbour, PL26 6QR (left hand side of the harbour). Easter to October: Daily 11AM - 4PM (July Aug: 10AM-5PM). The Mevagissey Museum is very interesting. free. (updated Jan 2018)
• 4 Mevagissey Aquarium, 27 Polkirt Hill, PL26 6UR. Easter - Oct, daily 10AM - 6PM.. A charity run small aquarium in the old lifeboat station. The station was built in 1897 and has housed an aquarium since the 1950s. free, donation requested. (updated Oct 2019)

Do

Feast week is an annual event in June when there's a carnival, live music, dancing, processions, raft races etc. It is always the week with the 29th of June in it (St Peter's Day - patron saint of fishermen and of the local parish church). If the 29th is a Sunday, that is the first day of Feast Week.

In July and August you can take an hour trip around the bay on one of the local fishing boats, or hire a self-drive motor boat from the Aquarium slipway.

Eat

• 1 Alvorada, E Wharf, PL26 6QQ, ☏ +44 1726 842055. Excellent Portuguese restaurant run by a husband and wife team, with a friendly atmosphere and classic peasant cuisine. Phone in advance to check their (slightly unpredictable) opening times. £20-35. Now offering tapas from £5 a dish lunch times and evenings. Try the broad bean and choriza. (updated Jan 2018)

Sleep

• Mandalay, School Hill, +44 1726 842435. Friendly B&B with plenty of parking for all rooms. Prices from £25 pppn.
• Fountain Inn, Cliff Street, +44 1726 842320. A pleasant real ale pub, serving superb home cooked food.The rooms have been updated. B&B rooms with ensuite from £30 pppn.
• The Moorings, Polkirt Hill - +44 1726 843476. A B&B with 2 double en suite rooms from £25pppn overlooking the harbour, and with its own parking (which is a rarity in Mevagissey).
• 1 Pebble House, Polkirt Hill, Mevagissey PL26 6UX, ☏ +44 1726 844466. Chic B&B on hills above village, they also have self-catering. Open Feb-Nov, no children under 17 or dogs. B&B double £180. (updated Aug 2020)
• 2 Tregorran, Cliff Street, PL26 6QW, ☏ +44 1726 842319, info@tregorran.co.uk. The views are amazing and it is a short drive from Eden project and the Heligan Gardens. The breakfast is good and the owners very friendly. From £65 including breakfast. (updated Sep 2017)
• 3 Trevalsa Court, School Hill PL26 6TH, ☏ +44 1726 842468. Relaxing modern hotel on cliff tops with fine dining, open mid-Feb to mid-Nov. B&B double from £120. (updated Jun 2020)
• 4 Lower Barns, Bosue, St Austell PL26 6EU, ☏ +44 1726 844881. Bosky B&B in several buildings in the hills of Roseland peninsula, often booked up by wedding parties. B&B double £130. (updated Jul 2020)

Go next

During the summer months there's a regular passenger ferry between Mevagissey and Fowey, which is a nice way to spend 30 minutes on a sunny day. Alternatively walk along the coastal path in either direction passing by some beautiful and quiet beaches, or hire cycles in the nearby Pentewan village and go for a ride along the many cycle paths nearby.