As a bit of a surprise after three nights’ camping, on the final day we drove to Mevagissey, a part of Cornwall I’d never previously been to (or heard of!). A gorgeous little fishing village nestled into the side of a hill, it struck me as being rather like Padstow without the tourists. [I fell in love with it instantly.] We stayed in the wonderful Tregorran Guest House with beautiful views over the harbour.

As the sun set, we were captivated by the light and the different colours of the houses…

And the way the reflections looked in the tranquil harbour.

In the other direction it was extremely rural… Truly a Cornish gem. We were recommended this village by a colleague, and it was a great tip!

Although smaller than Padstow, Mevagissey isn’t without its share of lovely places to eat and drink. Our wonderfully friendly host at the guesthouse recommended Sharksfin as a great place for dinner. Newly opened this summer, we initially worried it would be an uncomfortable mix of pub, bar and restaurant. Quite to the contrary, though, it was amazing!

The food was great (I had a pint of prawns and a glass of rose, and he had some variation on American BBQ chicken), although we were both floored by the size and sugariness of the puddings (sticky toffee pudding and a chocolate brownie). The atmosphere was lovely and we were seated next to each other, which confused us for a second until we realised why – it was perfect to look out through the big window/french doors at the dusk on the harbour, as Sharksfin is right on the harbour front:

The next day, we spent the day exploring some of the beaches around Mevagissey (after watching the bird life out of our window!)

We first visited a remote beach accessed by 190 steps (they said 200; we counted, they were wrong) which was very beautiful, although not as empty as we’d hoped.

Then we had some final fish and chips back in the town itself and discovered what for one half of the group [she loved it almost more than I did, despite what she might try to convince you] was the highlight of the trip; the Mevagissey Model Railway. An epic miniature world including a beach, mountain range, industrial and residential areas, this really was something to behold… (and extremely hard to capture on camera!)

To finish our trip, we found a nearby holiday park which had an exceptionally sandy beach, so I went for a swim (nearly… It started to rain!) This beach had an exemplary tractor ready and waiting to haul any boats out of the water, as the other is doing in the distance in the photo below!

It was a brilliant holiday, despite the inconsistent weather, and we’re glad that we had our ‘staycation’ – if you haven’t been to Cornwall, we’d definitely recommend a visit! If you have, what’s your favourite part of the county?