Day 4 - South West Coast - Mousehole - Tiny fishing village

Mousehole. I knew I had to spend a night in a town called Mousehole (pronounced “Mowzel”).

It’s a tiny fishing village, in a tiny cove, with tiny fishing boats, with tiny streets, tiny buildings and tiny night-time fairylights. You can walk around the whole village in five minutes.

There’re only a couple of places to spend the night. I am staying at tiny The Ship Inn, which has the best spot, right on the harbour, overlooking the tiny fishing boats, and the tiny breakwater that keeps the very large sea out. The Ship Inn is mainly a pub that serves good food, but they do offer a couple of rooms upstairs.

I am sitting now in front of the bay window of my room, which has a view that might just rival that of The Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove. But it’s a different view. It’s a very comforting view, not an awe-inspiring natural view. The fishing boats in the harbour look safe and sound, like small children wrapped up snuggly in bed. Old fisherman must have felt the same way coming back into Mousehole’s harbour from a night on the ocean. The sounds from downstairs in the pub: laughter and chatter. People passing on the street below. The seagulls doing seagull stuff out on the harbour’s wall.

NB. Just before you get to Mousehole, make sure you visit Marazion, just to the east. St Michael’s Mount sits just off the coast, a spectacular hill island with a superb abbey on top, connected to the mainland by a narrow, low causeway. It really is special to see – its sense of history matches its physical impressiveness: the abbey dates back to the 5th century. It’s currently draped with scaffolding for restoration, but even so, it’s WOW.


Mousehole harbour


Mousehole itself...The Ship Inn is in the middle with the flower boxes

St Michaels Mount, just to the east of Mousehole