Well, that obviously depends on what you are looking to get from your visit.

Mick and I chose to visit one of Cornwall’s most famous seaside villages last Wednesday because the weather was supposed to be the best for weeks. And we were not disappointed.

This was our first ever visit to Cornwall too by the way.

We drove there via Okehampton, and enjoyed the luxury of larger roads – with centre lines no less – which eventually joined the majestic four-lane A30. It was a pleasure to drive.

However, the timing of our visit meant that many of the businesses in Port Isaac were shut for the winter and / or for much needed renovations.

Readers of this blog not from the UK might be asking why Port Isaac is famous. To be honest, Mick and I had not made the connection until quite recently. But once we knew we were only a 90 minute drive from there, I really wanted to go.

Arriving at the main carpark on the edge of Port Isaac around 11.00am, Mick and I started to get the idea that we had picked a perfect time to visit. There was only one other car there. Either that or there was another carpark closer to the centre of the village.  The Citroen in the front of this photo is our snazzy Avis rental, complete with glass sunroof, and more importantly, a GPS.

We followed a sign down to the village, about one kilometre of a pretty steep descent to get to the ‘port’ area, and the main businesses. What struck us both as we walked was there were no signs advertising the village’s notoriety. Not one mention. On the contrary, there were signs more of this sentiment.

The signs were different from some we had seen in Cardiff that prefaced such information with “Polite Notice”; nothing polite about these. Visitors are not welcome.

But Mick and I pressed on, passing some pretty homes on the way, convinced there would be some signs of welcome, and celebration of its fame. I was busting for a coffee after my ‘big’ drive. But at the first sign of a cafe, we got the message that the place was almost in ‘shut down’.

The seats out the front got our hopes up, but there was a sign in the window saying it was closed until February.

Undeterred, we continued down a familiar looking street, and found one (of two as we were later to discover) cafes open for business. But things were not going too smoothly for the operators. They had no internet and so it was cash only. We ordered a coffee each but when Mick ordered a scone he was told they had only just gone into the oven. He was pretty disappointed with that news – it was more of a concern than the need for cash.

Okay….. have you worked out where we are and why this place is famous yet?

A few more clues then.

HINT: Port Isaac is known by another name, the name that has made it quite famous.

Portwenn

Yes…. Port Isaac is ‘Doc Martin‘ territory.

I’m a big fan of the TV program ‘Doc Martin’, click on the above link if you are not familiar with it, and since 2004, Port Isaac has provided the backdrop for the TV series. I later read that the locals (all 700 of them) are fed up to the back teeth with the actors and film crew. Even to the point they have staged protests during some filming by clogging the very tiny roads with caravans, and honking their horns during filming. Now that explained why there was not one mention of Doc Martin in any window or on any building in the village. The (possibly non-business owner) locals are sick of the disruption the filming of this series, and other television programs, causes to their quiet little fishing village.

That didn’t stop us, Mick and I continued to search out buildings we knew from the show.

This shop is used for the Chemist, a popular spot for patients of Doc Martin. It certainly was the quaintest shop front in the very small village.

Our good friends, Derek and Helen, had visited here during last summer and enjoyed a great meal at a restaurant about 50 metres from the ‘chemist’, facing the beach. I had tried to make a booking for lunch through their website, and when I was unsuccessful I thought we might have more luck on the day. But when we found the restaurant, it was clear why I could not book, the place was shut, and would reopen on 4 February.

But right next door to the beach, opposite the closed restaurant, was the third business in Port Isaac open on the day of our visit – Port Isaac Fisherman Ltd. But we could not stop there… yet. I had other things to find……

….. along familiar streets.

And then we found it, up a steep street.

But no one was home.

I insisted we get a selfie here, although I later read we could stay there if we wanted to. It only costs £255 per night.

This home is used for Doc Martins’ surgery, known as Fern Cottage.

It was harder to find some of the places we knew, because as I said earlier, buildings were undergoing major renovations. Like this one.

The light is not great in this photo, but this is the building that is used for Large Restaurant in the TV series, owned by the character Bert Large, well at least during some episodes. He seems to be forever in some sort of (financial) trouble.

Before we left Port Isaac, we returned to the fish market and purchased some mussels, grown and caught about 5 miles away, and some fish pie pieces.

Mick had not forgotten about the scones being cooked in the cafe where we first stopped, so before we headed up the hill, back to the almost empty carpark, he popped in and bought a (takeaway) scone. He was asked if he’d like jam and butter, but that would have made the task of walking and eating too difficult, so he declined. After she had put the pretty large, warm scone into a paper bag, she then said “That will be £3.65, thank you.” Wow – that made that scone the most expensive scone ever, at $AUD7!!. But, Mick said it was delicious.

 

Part way up the hill we passed the Old School that is used, sensibly, as the school in the TV series. But it too was closed.

Just as we made it back to the carpark, we spotted something we had never seen before. It certainly wasn’t there an hour earlier when we arrived.

Parked on the headland was this red van – a mobile Post Office. There was a woman sitting inside who cheerily said hello to us. Had we known she’d be there beforehand, it would have saved us some drama in Okehampton, as we had to post a parcel for the home owners of where we are house sitting. Never mind – but that would be a pretty cool job.

As far as Mick and I were concerned, we picked a great time to visit Portwenn – the weather was glorious and we got a perfect park – two very important criteria.

Footnote:

The mussels were delicious.