10 Photos Of Mevagissey Cornwall And The Monkey Hanged As A Spy

It was a nice cold winter's day on Wednesday so we went to the fishing village of Mevagissey about seven miles from where we live in Cornwall.

Many of the fishing boats were in the harbour - actually there are twin harbours so the boats are quite sheltered from any storms or bad weather.

It's hard to imagine that back in 1886 Mevagissey landed 255,000 hundredweight of fish - the highest quantity of any port in western England.

On our walk around the harbour walls the sea was quite rough and I got a bit wet taking the photo below as a wave crashed into the entrance to the outer harbour. The lighthouse can be seen on the opposite wall.

The lobster and crab pots were stacked along by the harbour.

A small boat entered the outer harbour with two men standing aboard.

Along side the harbour there is the old Fountain Inn and ...

...  the Wheel House restaurant.

And before the visitors leave they usually grab a postcard to send home to say what a great time they are having!

P.S. It is said that the locals at Mevagissey hanged a monkey they took to be a French spy during the Napoleonic wars! There's always a legend wherever you go in Cornwall.

Photos: © Mike Perry
For more photos and posts on Cornwall go to Mike's Cornwall

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Mevagissey The Two Saint Fishing Village In Cornwall

It's winter here in Cornwall but at the time of writing this it's actually dry, but very cold. Karin and I decided to head down to Mevagissey, which is about 7 miles from where we live, for a walk round the harbour.

Mevagissey is a small fishing village, though today is mostly known for tourism. In the summer it's heaving with visitors but today there's hardly anyone about - which is nice!

The strange name of Mavagissey is a combination of two saints: St Meva and St Issey. The 'g' in the middle is taken from the word 'hag' which is the Cornish word for 'and.'

A settlement has been here since the Bronze Age but the first mention of the name was in 1313.

It is still a working fishing harbour as can be seen by the photo above, and the picture below shows the buildings where fish are landed for sale.

Mevagissey has an inner and an outer harbour. The beacon at the end of the outer pier shows the way for boats. On a clear day a lot of the coastline can be viewed from here.

If we venture down the narrow streets away from the harbour itself there are old pubs and shops. The Fountain Inn to the left of the photo below dates back to the 15th century and ...

... offers traditional fish and chips.

There are other pubs like the Ship Inn and several restaurants and small take-a-way shops.

Tourist usually flock to the small shops with pottery, artwork, antiques and the like.

And a final look for today at the inner harbour and some of the small boats.

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