On Location at Portwenn

North Cornwall

You may remember that several years ago Taylor and I attempted to visit Cornwall.  We drove from Exetor through Dartmoor, heading toward Cornwall when we panicked over driving on the wrong side of very narrow roads.  After having a little incident with the rental car we abandoned it in Dartmouth and refused to go further (although we did eventually return the car to the rental agency).

When we determined to come to Cornwall this year, we decided not to rent a car.  Hence the train, and taxi.  However, we wanted to see the area with its multitude of little villages and twisty roads.  I solved the problem of how to do this by hiring a tour guide to drive us around for two days to show us the sights.

David, our guide, picked us up at Treverbyn House in Padstow and off we went.  Taylor was quite excited to enjoy the view without the stress of managing the narrow one track, two lane roads that are lined with hedges disguising stone walls.  The entire day of sightseeing, with all the beautiful scenery and narrow lanes, was quite relaxing when neither of us was in charge.

Many people travel the world to see historic points of interests.  That, after all, is evidence of intelligence and sophistication.  We realized, as we were wandering through Port Isaac that we aren't among those intelligent folk.  We were exploring a TV set!  Port Isaac - Portwenn for all you Doc Martin fans - is a small fishing village extremely charming and filled with tourists.  We were there on a calm day, as filming  happened the day before. Filming brings huge crowds of lookers along with the people and equipment it takes to film a TV show.  And Port Issac looks exactly like Portwenn does on TV. It does not look, from the outside, like fame and fortune has gone to its head.  I wonder if the production company has required that the village make no changes as long as Doc Martin is being produced.  Even the fish store, where the Doc buys his fish, smells to high heaven.  Other than that, the village looks a little shabby but comfortable.  It certainly is in a great location.

The Doc's house is really quite tiny.  I love the dog in my photo - everyone has a dog in Cornwall.

Louisa's school is really a restaurant.

There are lots of charming shops in town.

I was too embarrassed to have Taylor take my picture in front of the Doc's house, so I had him do it in one of the side streets.  I needed proof that I was there.

Isn't it amazing how small Doc Martin's house is?

We tore ourselves from the TV set and drove all along the North Coast.

One of many beaches on the North Coast.  This one is Newquay (pronounced Newkie). It is popular with surfers.

This huer's hut is where the fishermen would take turns standing watch to look for pilchards and herring.  The lookout would give the cry, and all the villagers would run down to the beach with their baskets and nets to bring in the fish. Poldark fans have seen these fishing scenes on TV.

A village, even smaller than Port Issac.

Here's the quay below the house pictured above.

There are so many perfect little quays like this all along the coast. The contrast between the surfing beaches and these little keyhole harbors is quite striking.

The ruins of Tintangel Castle.  This is the setting of the King Arthur legends.

This was our first full day in Cornwall.  We came home to Treverbyn House exhausted and happy.  Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without fish and chips.

Once again we're on TV location.  Rick Stein is a well know TV personality chef and cookbook author.  We ate at two of his restaurants.  He's got a good product.

Taylor is a happy camper:  no driving required, and fish and chips.