HISTORICAL FISHING VILLAGE (MAYBE) NAMED AFTER A MOUSE’S HOLE. A ‘MOUSEHOLE,’ IF YOU WILL…
First things first, it’s not ‘Mouse-hole’. It’s pronounced ‘Mowzel’ or ‘Muzzle’. Second things second, this picture-postcard Cornish fishing village on the far side of Mount’s Bay, just a couple of miles down the coast from Penzance out on the wild west reaches of Cornwall, is a timeless gem of a place. Mousehole is full of old world charm, from its gorgeous little harbour (the main venue for the annual Sea Salts and Sail festival) with its steady stream of fishing boats bringing in crab and catches of day to its quaint streets, Lamorna granite cottages, cute ice cream shops, photogenic gift stores and quaint eateries. The village, which is rich with fishing heritage and was actually the main port in Mount’s Bay from the 13th century until Penzance and Newlyn stole that honour in the 1700s, is awash with history, be it devastating shipwrecks (like the Penlee lifeboat disaster in 1981, which is still very much remembered by the community), attacks from the Spanish (like the reprisal for the sinking of the Armada in 1595) or, of course, smuggling in the 18th century (at least one of the local cottages still has a smuggler’s tunnel running out to, well, who knows where from behind a false wall…). Protip: parking in the village, which either got its name from the Cornish for ‘young woman’s brook’ (‘Moeshayle’) or from a sea cave nearby which literally resembles a mouse’s hole, is an utter nightmare in those narrow, twisty, turny, steep roads down to the harbourside so make sure you park at the top of the hill and walk down if you arrive by automobile. It’s well worth it, though, for a day of tradition, history and photogenic charm, Mowzel-style.