On my Cornish Bucket List was the pretty and very traditional fishing village of Port Isaac. The village is the filming location of the BBC TV show, Doc Martin and by hook or by crook I was going to tick Port Isaac off my bucket list…I was so desperate that we were out of bed early!
Remember: All my Port Isaac Travel Tips with links can be found at the bottom of this post!
After filling my tummy with a full English breakfast and a chat with the owner of the B&B about why so many Kiwis and Aussies are desperate to visit Port Isaac…apparently it’s a rite of passage for Southern Hemisphere tourists visiting Cornwall; we explained that Doc Martin is a rather popular TV show, probably more so in NZ than in England.
Parking up, we headed down the hill into the tiny fishing village…
…dodging cars trying to find their holiday home in the village…
…stopping to take in views over the harbour, the tide was out so families were playing….
…it made me miss a breathe as it was just so beautiful!
Port Isaac isn’t large, it’s easy to wander around and that’s what we did…we waddled…
…to the Doc’s house complete with car (reminding me slightly of the Banana Mobile at Arlington Row in Bibury)….
…we enjoyed the views over the harbour to the hotel which features as the school in the show…
….we sniffed out the chocolate shop which is the pharmacy in the show…I didn’t buy any medicinal chocolate however I think the shop is missing a trick here…
…basically wherever you look, you could spot a location from the show and I loved it…A LOT!
There are a couple of little shops selling beautiful homeware items if you fancy picking up a souvenir or two…I managed to talk G out of buying another coat (seriously how many coats does one boy need?!? Apparently I have enough coats to fit out a family of four…I proved this when my family was over last week!)…
…and there are plenty of beautiful little cafe’s to grab a bite or two…including a gluten free pasty (unfortunately it had so much onion that I couldn’t eat it…I’m rather intolerant to onions and garlic, more so than gluten!)…how cute is the Krab Pot?!
THE RNLI also have a lifeboat station down by the harbour so G had a snoop inside…
…if you do visit Port Isaac make sure you look at the old photos just inside the door as they show how they used to bring the lifeboat down from the top of the village with only centimetres to spare on each side of the lifeboat which is pretty amazing…
…if you look hard enough when visiting Port Isaac you will see some grooves in the buildings from the old lifeboat.
If you walk past the Doc’s house and keep walking, you are provided with some truly beautiful views over Port Isaac…
…all the puffing is totally worth it, trust me!
Port Isaac totally floated my boat…much to the RNLI’s utter joy I’m sure…we visited early and maybe we were lucky that it wasn’t overrunning with tourists first thing. There isn’t a huge amount of things to do in the village but it’s lovely to see a spot in Cornwall which is still holding onto it’s roots even though it’s become a tourist attraction thanks to Doc Martin.
Gulls really just wanna have fun!
I managed to find a beautiful little door…
…and the prettiest mailbox.
I think this is my favourite photo of Port Isaac…
…just love the little white flowers.
Travel Tips for Port Isaac, Cornwall
- There is a car park at the top of Port Isaac which has quite a few car spots available however am guessing this would full up quite quickly during peak season in Cornwall. Make sure you have some coins with you, I can’t remember if the machine actually accepts cards as well. The walk down the hill and back up is okay however sensible shoes are required!
- I wouldn’t bother trying to take your car to the bottom of the village as it’s a rather tight squeeze and you’ll most likely shave your bikini line.
- We were in Port Isaac for just over an hour and we managed to waddle around the whole village however we didn’t stop for a meal as we still had a belly full of English breakfast.
- There are a few spots that offer gluten free options including the Krab Pot and Nicky B’s Pasty Shop which had some gluten free pasty options!
- There are some lovely walks around the coast however all that fresh salty air made me want to take a lunch time nap!
- You can buy a map with the locations used in the filming of the BBC Show, Doc Martin however they are pretty easy to spot when walking around.
- The School is actually a hotel which you can book here if you fancy staying in the village.
- If you’ve never watched Doc Martin then you can find the series on amazon, it’s truly wonderful…I’m old school and still buy dvd’s!
- The RNLI offer a great service and are always looking for a bob or two…so if you have a spare penny or two lying around then why not donate to this worthy cause…G has being rescued in the past by the RNLI so we donate when we can…I’m not sure who is more of the disaster, G or me?!?!
- If you fancy reading more posts on Cornwall then way not take a gander at these puppies – Is the Eden Project Worth the £27.50pp Entrance Fee, Exploring Poldark Country with a Visit to Charlestown and Our Road Trip Around Cornwall
xx
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