Pictures of Mousehole

About Mousehole

Increasingly popular 21st-century tourist destination which interestingly was sacked by Spanish troops in the 16th-century when all but one house was raised to the ground.

Today a delightful mix-match of houses and cottages crowd the tiny harbour which is usually full of fishing boats, pleasure craft and visiting yachts. Above the village is the famous Wild Bird Hospital where the lives of hundreds of birds are saved annually. Flanked by Newlyn and Lamorna Cove, Mousehole looks out across the wide sweep of Mount's Bay, on a clear day there are stunning views towards Prussia Cove and Trewavas Head. In spite of winter gales, early in December this little place becomes a 'winter wonderland' as the whole of the village is decked in Christmas lights for the famous Mousehole Illuminations.

Pleasant coastal walks take you to Lamorna where steep bracken-clad slopes above the bay are still studded with huge rocks cut from nearby quarries. Walking due west you come to Tater-du, Britain's first fully automatic lighthouse which first came into operation in 1965. In the opposite direction the coastal path takes you to Newlyn. Along here is the Penlee Point lifeboat house, where on a dramatic night in 1981 the Solomon Browne set to sea in a fierce storm in an attempt to rescue eight men from the coaster, Union Star. Sadly, all lives where lost and the boat's coxswain was posthumously awarded a Gold Medal, the RNLI equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

This delightful coastal village, with its wealth of history, lovely old harbour and beautiful headland walks, makes an interesting base for exploring the superb scenery of Mount's Bay and Land's End.

Places to visit include: Penzance, Lofty Cribba Head, Take a sea fishing trip, Geevor Tin Mines, St. Michaels Mount, Cape Cornwall and Minack Open Air Theatre.