Port Isaac, Cornwall

On By Coral WaightIn England

Anyone who’s followed my blog or read my books will know I’m besotted with film locations.

I’ve been waiting for a chance to visit Cornwall ever since the seventies, when I watched the Poldark series, with its ragged cliffs, waves crashing into coves where smugglers plied their trade, windswept moors, tin and copper mines and, let’s face it, its leading man. This was my chance.

Apart from the Poldark locations I was hoping to find, my main aim was to stay in my most-loved film set of all – Port Isaac, used as Portwenn of the Doc Martin series. Port Isaac is on the north-west coast, in what Australians would call, ‘the back of beyond’. It took me two trains and two buses to get there from Salisbury but it was worth it.

I ploughed down an almost perpendicular hill from the bus stop to my accommodation at The Old School Hotel, used as the actual school in the show.

The Old School Hotel
My little room at the Old School Hotel.

Walking out of my room, attached to the side of the hotel, I looked directly across the harbour to the Doc’s surgery. I was in heaven. Childish, you ask? And I continued to be childish for the three days I was there.

The walk down to the harbour was steep; even steeper coming up. There’s hardly a flat surface in Cornwall, it seems. I felt very fit by the time I left.

The harbour in the sunshine.

The village is unbelievably pretty.

Squeezy Belly Alley, the narrowest alleyway in England.

Other than the change in a few signs, the village is pretty much as it is in the show.

The steep hill up to the Doc’s surgery.

The property is a private home but people were still rude enough to invade the front patio. One man even stood with his hand on the door knob for a photo.

The Doc’s surgery.
Mrs. Tishell’s chemist shop.
Louisa’s cottage
Aunt Ruth’s house.
Bert Large’s restaurant.
The Police Station, needing a paint job.
The Doc’s tiny cottage at one end of Squeezy Belly Alley.
The Slipway
A drink at the Slipway Hotel after a hard day’s exploring. You have to read Daphne Du Maurier when you’re in Cornwall.
Port Isaac harbour at night.

I nearly killed myself climbing the cliffs that overlook the town but that’s a story for next time.

12 thoughts on “Port Isaac, Cornwall”

  2. Thanks so much. I didn’t realise this would be the last series. I suppose they have to do that otherwise they’ll all be getting around in wheelchairs. I remember watching it with my grandson when he was five; he’s now 14.

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  6. Suzanne Byrne's avatar Suzanne Byrne

    I’m not a fan of the characters in the series but do admit to watching it “for the scenery” ha ha! Your photos are wonderful, and it’s nice to see that the buildings are real working buildings 🙂

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