Post by Dave on Sept 13, 2010 17:56:17 GMT
Port Issac
Carol and I watched the trailers for the new program that was coming out called Doc Martin and we were both looking forward to when it was going to be shown on TV. As soon as I saw the first episode, I knew the place they were calling Portween, was really Port Issac.
Sometime before I used to deliver to the real doctors surgery everyday, but that is not in the village, but on the main road that you have to drive along to get to it. Having a bit too much time on my hands one day, I made the mistake of taking my van down into the village. It’s very narrow and the road unbelievably is two way.
My short trip to the harbour and back up to the main road again, took nearly 30 minutes, due to the traffic problems I caused taking such a large van into the village. If you ever go there you can take your car and park it on the beach, there is a charge and you will need to take note what time the tide comes in, get back to late and your car will be floating.
Its best not to drive down into the village, just go a few hundred years further on and you will find a large car park. Then just walk back the way you came and turn right down into the village. You will go down over a steep hill and at the bottom you turn right into the main street (if you can call it that).
Part way down on the right is what was once the village school, it’s now a café come restaurant, a bit further on and you will see the hotel, this is the building that was used as the school in the program.
When we walked down a few cars had made the mistake of driving down the street, there was a few trying to get up the street and what with all the people walking around, everything just came to a long standstill for those car drivers.
When you get to the bottom of this street, it turns past the pub that was used in the program and onto the harbour/beach; you first have to get past the teddy oggie (pasty) shop if you can. The smell was too much for Carol and I and soon we had a pasty and cake each along with a drink we bought.
We walked up the left hand side of the harbour, up past the house that is used as the Docs surgery, you walk as far as you can and turn to the right and start climbing the hillside to the top of the cliff. Here you will find a bench and that is where he ate our pasties and cake. There is a picture in Carol’s collection that shows my face after eating my large cream bun, but after the gravy Davy picture on this forum, I will not put it up.
Funny thing was two weeks later when we were watching Doc Martin, he was sat on this very bench with the school teacher and her pregnant friend, only for the friend to go into labour and the Doc laid her on the grass in front of the bench and delivered the baby. As luck would have it I have found a picture of that and have included it in with the other pictures.
If your feeling fit then carry on around the top of the cliff, it goes around to the left to the next cove. You will see what looks like hundreds of wooden steps that go over the next cliff and onto the next cove. We did not take that route and walked in a large circle that took about an hour. We then found we were in fields and ended up back at the bench over looking Port Issac.
So a walk back down toward the harbour, first taking some shots of the Docs house, only the outside is used for filming and there is a polite notice asking you not to look through the windows as someone lives there. Most inside shots in the program were done in a barn on a nearby farm.
Jut past the Doc’s house is the place that was used as Bert’s café, it really is very tiny and it looked like it was just a holiday home now. Walking the few back streets there are near the harbour, we found the building used as the chemists in the program, but as you would expect it is not really one.
All that left to do is walk back up the street you came down on, only don’t turn right back up the steep hill you first walked down Instead take the coast path walk as the is a very gentle walk and takes you right back to the car park.
If you still have any energy left (we did) just walk past the car park and walk to the next cove along, not sure what it is called. A great place to spend the whole day and on a nice day the walks around the tops of the cliffs are a real joy.
