Mevagissey Holiday Guide for 2024

Mevagissey is a small village set around a working harbour on the South Coast in Cornwall. The town has a small population of around 2000 but this increases dramatically during the summer months as the village is a very popular tourist destination. The main trade there is tourism now even though the harbour is working and fish are still caught and shipped internationally. There is a reason that this picture-perfect village in Cornwall is so popular as it is stunning and unspoilt. The streets are narrow and some of the buildings date back several hundred years. There are quaint tea shops and bakeries and traditional pubs to visit when you spend time in the village.

The history of Mevagissey is steeped around fishing but the people of this town are known for their resilience as they have carried the village through, pandemic’s, world wars and other tough times.

Back in the 17th century Mevagissey was a thriving fishing village and was most famous for pilchard but there have been around 23 species fished in Mevagissey including lobster and spider crab. The village was also a hot spot for smuggling when taxes were raised and this meant that all sorts of products were smuggled in mainly from Roscoff.

More recently during both world wars Mevagissey lost many men who fought overseas, this left young boys and older men to carry on maintaining the fishing industry but the people of Mevagissey battled through. One of the best things from a fishing point of view is that even today the younger generation of men in Mevagissey want to be involved with the fishing industry meaning that it can continue even in modern times.

One of the most charming things about Mevagissey is its small streets. This makes the village lovely to explore but not too great if you are in a car.

The best thing to do is to park your car in one of the car parks and then walk into the village, that way you can park and not have to worry about getting your car through the busy streets of Mevagissey.

The car park is pretty reasonable and as of 2022 only charging £5 per day. There are also toilets nearby too which are public and super convenient if you are out exploring all day.

There are buses that go to Mevagissey, be sure to check the timetable, there will be more during the peak months.

One of the more picturesque ways of getting to Mevagissey is the Mevagissey Ferry, this will come from Fowey which is also a very popular village on the South Coast. Again check the timetable here to make sure that you get the best time.