MEVAGISSEY

Mevagissey must have had an interesting smell hanging over it in the late 1800s. It had a power station which ran on pilchard oil, and which was used to provide electricity for the lighthouse and streets. In fact, it is claimed to have been the first town in Britain to have electric street lighting. Perhaps the pilchard smell was washed off using Pear’s soap; the founder of Pear’s Soap, Andrew Pears, was born here in 1768. The town’s name is derived from the names of two saints, Meva and Issey. The town's story is told in Mevagissey Museum.

The town still retains its traditional feel to this day, and still has a thriving fishing industry. It is a popular pitstop for tourists, not least because of its proximity to The Lost Gardens of Heligan, several miles outside the town, one of the many famous gardens in the county of Cornwall. A walk westwards along the South West Coast Path will take you past tiny Portmellon and out to Chapel Point, where the listed Chapel Point House stands proud.  The  house was featured in the Daphne Du Maurier novel The House on the Strand.  Like Mousehole, Mevagissey is charming at Christmas, with festive lights arranged at strategic points around the harbor.

Live streaming webcam view of the harbour.

Map of the area.

Mevagissey. Photo by JK the Unwise, via Wikimedia Commons.