Montol and the Mousehole Lights: How to Do Penzance's Two Big December Nights

Short answer: Montol is always 21 December, in Penzance town centre from late afternoon, free, and very busy. The Mousehole lights are switched on in mid-December and run to early January (off on 19 December). Park in Penzance, do Montol early, then bus or walk to Mousehole — never drive into the village.

This is one of our town-by-town winter guides — the full county picture is in Christmas and New Year in Cornwall 2026.

Montol: the midwinter festival

Montol is Penzance's revived midwinter feast, held every year on 21 December, the winter solstice. It's masks, lanterns, guise dancers in tatters and top hats, drumming, a procession through the town and a beacon lit at the end. It's free, it's pagan-flavoured rather than Christmassy, and it's one of the most atmospheric evenings in Cornwall. Things get going from late afternoon around Chapel Street, Causewayhead and Market Jew Street, with the processions in the evening. The official programme is published on the Montol Festival site a few weeks before.

2026 dates: 21 December, as always. Programme times usually published late November. We update this line the moment organisers confirm.

Montol with children

Fine for most, but be honest with yourself about the noise and the masks — some under-5s find the guisers frightening, and the crowds around the procession are dense. Go for the early lantern part, stand back from the drummers, and have a warm café in mind. Penlee House Gallery & Museum runs family lantern-making in the run-up most years.

The Mousehole lights

Three miles round the bay, Mousehole Harbour has strung lights across the water since 1963: a sea serpent, a whale, the Christmas pudding, the ship for Tom Bawcock's Eve. They're switched on in mid-December (recently without a formal ceremony) and stay lit until early January, turned off for an hour on 19 December in memory of the Penlee lifeboat crew. Tom Bawcock's Eve on 23 December is the village's own night, with stargazy pie at the Ship Inn Mousehole.

2026 dates: switch-on not yet announced — usually the second week of December, lights on until early January. We update this line the moment organisers confirm.

The one rule: do not drive into Mousehole

The village has almost no parking and the lanes jam solid every evening in December. Park in Penzance or at Newlyn and take the bus (the Mousehole service runs from Penzance bus station, more often in December) or walk the coast road from Newlyn — 45 minutes, flat, and you arrive with the lights in front of you.

Doing both in one evening

1. Park in Penzance mid-afternoon; Harbour Car Park Penzance is closest to the action.
2. Montol from around 4pm — lanterns, first procession, something to eat on Chapel Street.
3. Bus or walk to Mousehole around 7pm; the lights are best once it's fully dark.
4. Back on the last bus, or a pre-booked taxi. Book it in the afternoon — everyone else is trying at 9pm.

Eat

The Turks Head Penzance on Chapel Street is where Montol spills into; Ship Inn Mousehole is the harbour pub for the lights, and heaving. Our Penzance guide has the rest.