Mousehole

We had a week staying in Mousehole (pronounced Mouz'l), a fishing village on the south west Cornish coast near Penzance and Newlyn and only a few miles from Land's End.

A traumatic and defining event in the recent history of the village was the Penlee lifeboat disaster of December 19, 1981, in which the lifeboat and its entire crew, all based in Mousehole, were lost during an attempted rescue in hurricane-force winds. Mousehole is known for its Christmas illuminations, created each year to raise money for charity. Since 1981, every December 19 the lights have been turned off in memory of the victims of the lifeboat disaster. Tom Bawcocks Eve is a unique celebration held on December 23 each year to celebrate the ending of a famine in the 16th century by local resident Tom Bawcock. This festival is the inspiration behind the book “The Mousehole Cat” by Antonia Barber.