Mevagissey, an historic fishing village takes its name from two saints, St Meva and St Issey (St Meva hag St Issey), and is picturesque with its narrow streets, unique double harbour and numerous restaurants and pubs serving wonderful local produce, fish and meat at remarkable value. The village is 6 miles from St. Austell, and within 20 miles are the holiday resorts of Newquay, Fowey, Polperro and Looe. It has 8 great gardens within a 25 mile radius, Eden, Caerhays, Heligan, Trelissick, Pine Lodge, Lanhydrock, Glendurgan, & Trebah. Sheer bliss for the avid gardener and near heaven for those who like to enjoy other people’s gardens. There are a number of smaller scale gardens within that 20 mile radius that are also well worth the visit. There are a number of quiet, sheltered, sandy beaches nearby, with sailing and watersports available. The Shipwreck and Heritage Centre at Charlestown has a fine collection of sailing ships and artefacts and the National Maritime Museum Cornwall at Falmouth is the national small boat collection.
A ferry plies between Mevagissey and Fowey, a very picturesque way to visit this natural river harbour and home to Daphne du Maurier, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, and Kenneth Grahame.The du Maurier Festival takes place every May and is hugely popular, with music & talks by leading figures in politics, broadcasting, law and the performing arts.
The Coastal Path goes to Fowey to the east and round, past the magnificent Dodman Point, to St Mawes in the west. Charlestown, Gorran Haven, Portloe, and Mevagissey have all been used as film sets for cinema or TV productions, and the scenery is some of the most dramatic, picturesque and easily accessible in the country. Mevagissey celebrates Feast Week at the end of June and there are carnivals, dances, musical performances, and fireworks to celebrate the pilchard harvest ( regrettably the pilchards are no longer harvested - EC rules). The whole village parties for a week, with the raft race on Friday evening. See the Feast Week page.
