Making a Day of it in Mevagissey

hayley_bp
1 October 2022

Mevagissey is one of those picture postcard Cornish villages that perfectly captures the spirit of Cornwall life. Situated about five miles outside of St Austell, it dates back to 1313 and is named after two ancient saints, St Meva and St Issey.

Steeped in history

The tightly packed streets flood down the steep valley sides and lead down to the centre of old Mevagissey. The inner and outer harbours are busy with pleasure boats and working fishing boats and the area has a thriving fishing industry. The harbour is the second biggest fishing port in Cornwall, first is Newlyn.

Many of the cafes, pubs, fish and chip shops, wet fish stalls and restaurants that line the narrow streets of Mevagissey provide you with plenty of choice to sample the fish of the local area.

Seafood at Sharksfin

Right on the edge the inner harbour Quay is a large white building called Sharksfin, a Grade II listed waterfront pub restaurant and pilchard grill. What was once a derelict hotel and tea room is now a premium bar after £443k was invested into the transformation.

Salmon caesar, pan fried mackerel fillets, crispy calamari, hake loin, whole plaice and of course beer battered cod are all on the menu. The stone walls provide a cosy atmosphere typical of an old harbour building and the views of the coming and goings of the working harbour through the sash windows will keep you entertained whilst you tuck into your meal and pint of Korev.

Sea creatures at the aquarium

Mevagissey Aquarium is housed in the old R.N.L.I lifeboat house which was built in 1897 and was home to three different lifeboats until 1930. In the mid 1950’s it was turned into an aquarium. The aquarium is open Monday – Sunday 10:00-18:00 from May until the end of October.

The charity project asks for donations at the door and aims to raise awareness and bridges the gap between the fishing industry and the general public. Showcasing local marine wildlife you will get to spider crabs, conga eels, shark eggs, pollock and many other species up close as well as learn about the history of the local fishing trade.

Spooky stories at The Ship Inn

The 400-year-old Ship Inn has a spooky history and local legend has it that it is haunted by the former landlady Lil Barron. Lil’s photo has taken pride position above the bar for as long as locals could remember but it mysteriously vanished in 2012.

The Ship Inn began to be flooded regularly earning it the title of ‘Britain’s Most Flooded Pub’. Lil’s photos was eventually discovered in a back room and reinstated above the bar. Since then the pub has avoided three flooding disasters that have hit the rest of the village causing plenty of damage. Allow the barmaid to tell you of other spooky happenings whilst propping their bar up this autumn.

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