Mevagissey Cornwall is an old and yet still working, fishing village located on the South coast of Cornwall. Mevagissey is located between St. Austell and Falmouth.

The name Mevagissey comes from two place names: St Meva and St Issey

Mevagissey is unspoilt and retains its rustic charms whilst offering a wide variety of accommodation, shopping and places to eat. It is a popular location for holiday makers to Cornwall and yet the shops and restaurants keep prices reasonable.

During the summer holidays it can get very busy with hundreds of people wandering the narrow streets and with tourists unfamiliar with the narrow roads causing all sorts of traffic jams as they try to navigate the very narrow streets whilst avoiding OAPs gingerly trying to find their way around with stollers, wheel chairs and mobility buggies. So if you are a nervous driver with a brand new car, avoid driving into the village and park just outside.

Mevagissey isn't a place for children (under 10) as there is little to see or do and they certainly can't be left to their own devices because they can fall down into the harbour and so this Cornish fishing village is for the more mature audience who are looking for visual treats.


View Mevagissey In Cornwall in a larger map

The Harbour

Mevagissey harbour is split into 2 sections: Inner and outter.

The Inner section, which is surrounded by houses and shops is where most of the boats seem to be. You can't see into the outter harbour from the inner section and so if you are eating at one of the restaurants or coffee shops your view will be limited to the inner section but it is possible to walk around the inner harbour to the outter section which has the views out to sea and a few more boats.

When the tide is out, there is a big drop down into the harbour and so young children need to be supervised at all times.

Ice-Cream

One of the pleasures of coming to Cornwall and being on holiday is the chance to eat ice-cream and Mevagissey has more than its fair share of ice-cream shops selling Kelly's Cornish ice-cream with some interesting flavours such as strawberry cheese cake, Candy Floss, dark chocolate with ginger as well as the usual favourites. We had the dark chocolate with ginger and whilst it was nice, the ginger was a little stronger than we liked.

Coffee Shops & Cream Teas

Another Cornish treat is cream teas and there are plenty of places scattered around Mevagissey where you can indulge. Some are by the harbour side and others are set back a bit . The Wheel House, Blue and a number of others.
There is little better when feeling a little tired than being able to walk a few yards to find a place to sit down, take the weight off your feet and indulge in a little decedance.

Places To Eat In Megavissey:

There are plenty of places to eat and you can choose between pubs, restaurants, take-aways and the ubiquitous Cornish pasty shops.

If you choose to grab a bag of chips and / or a pasty, there are plenty of benches dotted around the inner harbour section and hundreds of seaguls ready to snatch a chip if you take your eye off the ball.

The fish and chip shop called The Fisherman's Chippy, which is a restaurant as well as a take away, is quite busy with queues outside on most days and most evenings. The queue length depends on the season: the busier the season, the longer the queue but there other places offering take away fish and chips including The Fountain Inn which is just around the corner, no more than a 30 second walk.

Parking:

Please visit our Car Parks In Mevagissey page for a map and more information.

There are plenty of places to park in and around the village. Some are metered and others are maintained by people handing out tickets when you drive in. 

If you drive into Mevagissey from St. Austell, you'll come across a parking area on your left which is manned by a person handing out parking tickets depending on your duration. It is fairly inexpensive depending on the time of year and there is a short walk to the harbour and shops.

If you drive past that parking area you'll be forced to take a left which is where you'll find a pay and display car park. You can pay at the machine or pay someone at the entrance. The harbour is a 2 minute walk.
Following the road a little further and turning right into Mevagissey, there is a small Pay and Display area but there aren't many spaces.

There are at least three Pay And Display car parks within easy walking distance of the harbour, pubs, shops and restaurants.

Parking prices are reasonable so it's best to pay rather than risk getting a ticket.

• Tickets are checked during the day and evenings as it's a good earner for the local council

If you drive into Mevagissey, there are at least three Pay And Display car parks within easy walking distance of the harbour, pubs, shops and restaurants.

Good Things About Mevagissey

This small fishing village is still unspoilt and very picturesque. You can wander around the inner harbour and also the outter harbour and enjoy some ice-cream from Kelly's or wander around the decent shops which are dotted around the village.

There are plenty of places to eat or just have a drink and so Mevagissey makes for a very pleasant day out.

If you choose to stay in Mevagissey, then there is also plenty of accommodation in the form of hotels, guest houses, bed and breakfasts and self catering cottages.
If you get bored of the village, there is plenty to see and do in the surrounding area such as The Eden Project and The Lost Gardens of Heligan.

There are also some very nice beaches and other villages such as Fowey to explore.

Bad Things About Mevagissey

It is a popular tourist destination and can get very busy leaving little room to enjoy the beauty of the village. With so many people, you spend a lot of time looking for places to sit, eat or drink.

As with many popular tourist destinations, places get complacent about how they have to treat or serve the tourists. Quality can be poor and prices a little inflated with many complaints stemming from staff attitude and rudeness.

The complaints are usually aimed at the same places and thankfully, the number of good places outnumbers the number of bad places.