A day in and near Port Isaac

From Roscarrack HIll, a familiar Doc Martin setting

Sea, fence, trench, meadowland; perhaps a WWII vantage?

On the stairs below Bert's Restaurant set

Every town in the world has the same saying: “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute.”  This could actually be true for Port Isaac.  Rain thrummed on the roof through the night and eased the sunrise in at 5-ish.  We cursed it through the first two cups of coffee and then our curses were answered with sunlight! (if you believe in that sort of thing).  We grabbed our cameras and headed up Roscarrock Hill, across the bay.  As we hike up the hill past Doc Martin’s place, we are joined by other pilgrims from all over England, and maybe beyond, taking their turn posing in front of the famous ‘surgery’ of the famous ‘Doc’.  Port Isaac is encircled by a steep hill, and at the top the entire village appears as ‘no bigger than a fingernail’, to quote a story in the London Times.  We follow the famous Coastal Path for a mile or so and get to inhabit the show for a few moments, looking over the little port town.   As we climb higher we can see Tintagel, home of King Arthur (if you believe in that sort of thing) and the next headland beyond.  The high fields are full of cattle, and a stone wall and ditch serve one of two purposes: a) romantic/warrior—a defense against German invasion in WWII or b) prosaic—keeping sleeping cows from rolling down the hill and off the cliff into the ocean.  We’re betting on “b”. 

Gulls wheel above a rocky bay below us

Fishing boat (not a prop) - surely PW stands for  Portwenn?

Steep old slate roof with crenelation of red - clay?

Cornwall has more colors that we sometimes realize.  Rooftops and cave entrances are not where one expects to see mixtures of orange and red and greens.  It’s remarkable how many caves appear just above high tide, all along the cliffs.   

Black harbor dog meets tourist lab

Great if you're not the crab

Jackdaw's prize

Long line to low tide

Dinner coming in from the sea

This is pirate territory, and it’s easy to see how they could do business with all the complexity of the coastline, and the treacherous rocks.  There’s a particular path marked by buoys that guide the fishing boats into Port Isaac, and they follow it carefully.  Everyone turns out to watch them come in at high tide, as this is tomorrow’s lunch and dinner.  Each boat ties up, then little motorboats come out and haul in the catch for the day.  Once all the boats are tied up, and the tide is up to the restaurants’ door, everyone comes out with their dogs and it’s time to play in the tide.  We get to watch the show.  And so do you.