Doc Martin Land

A really exhausting, but wonderful day. The weather.com forecast? Four days of rain (90%) with thunder and lightning. The reality? We woke up to cloudless skies and a great breakfast at the Brookdale B&B in Wadebridge.

Breakfast at Brookdale B&B

We have the top floor (2 rooms)

We really didn't have anything planned. Since we thought we'd only have one day of nice weather, we took our Camel River bike ride yesterday. So, on the spur of the moment, we decided to visit Port Wynn (actually Port Isaac) where one of our favorite PBS series, Doc Martin, is filmed.

We purchased a 1-day Rover Pass (for less than 2 single rides) and took off on our adventure.

Taking off on our 1-day Rover Pass

We drove by the Polzeath Beach surfing mecca, in full swing on a Saturday morning.

Polzeath Beach Surfing Scene

When we got to Port Isaac, it was low tide, but very recognizable from the TV show. Right off the bus you can look across. You can see the Doc's surgery, third building from the right.

Port Wynn (Port Isaac) Looking at Doc Martin's Surgery

We walked downtown, which doesn't look exactly like the show. They must build some sets and rearrange things while they are filming. They finished up with the 6th season about 2 weeks before we arrived.

Downtown Port Isaac

Once through town, you'll see a small plaque on one of the walls showing you where to go.

Walking up the lane to the surgery is really recognizable; it appears several times per show.

The lane up to the Doc's Surgery

However, once you get to the surgery, there are no Doc Martin impersonators or concession stands selling Doc Martin gear. (In fact, there was no Doc Martin gear in all of Port Isaac. I think they need to take a lesson from Hollywood.)

The Doctor is Out! I'm trying to fill in.

Walking past the surgery, you head up to the headland overlooking the town. This is part of the Cornwall Trail which goes up and down the coast. As you can see, it is really beautiful.

View of Port Issac from the 10-mile Port Quinn Walk

Kathy and I overlooking Port Isaac

Kathy and Port Isaac

Down the trail towards Port Quinn

Port Isaac Overlook (front view)

Port Isaac Overlook (back view)

Once we came back from exploring the headlands, we walked through town. This is one of the "streets" you walk through. This is called Medowstile Lane.

Medowstile Lane (imagine cars going both directions)

By the way, the roads all throughout Cornwall are not much wider than this. (Well, maybe a little.) For an American, already terrified by barreling down the "wrong" side of the road (much like the chase scene in any action film), watching two cars trying to pass each other on a road that obviously isn't big enough for a single Morris Mini is heart-attack producing. There are no footpaths on either side of the highway, and bicyclists just blithely ignore the cars careening around them. 

Just before we left Port Issac, we stopped and visited the "school" where Louisa teaches in the show. (It's really a restaurant, but actually was the Port Isaac school starting in the late 1800s.)

The "school" where Louisa teaches

Leaving town, we took one last look back. In the three hours we'd been in town, the tide came in and the town looked much prettier.

Port Isaac three hours later

Since our Rover pass lasted all day, instead of heading back to Wadebridge, we decided to head up to Tintagel, the legendary birthplace of King Arthur, the 6th century Cornish/Briton king who fought the invading Saxons. The British Heritage folks make a point of downplaying that connection, but the town really plays it up. The 11th century castle on the headlands and island were reportedly built on the site of Arthur's birthplace.

Hiking up to Tintagel Castel

Lunch in Tintagel

The climb out to Tintagel Island (Kathy in the middle)

At the top of Tintagel Castle

Tintagel Castle (Island half)

Tintagel Castle (island side)

Castle Remains

Around 6:00 we caught the bus back to Wadebridge. Instead of heading up to our room, we wanted to get the most out of our bus pass, so we caught the bus out to the opening night of CreationFest.

CreationFest Signage in Wadebridge

We met a lot of old friends, listened to some music, and then stopped by the Tesco before catching the last bus of the day at 8:45. It was a really long day, and both of us were really sunburned. We brought lot's of sunscreen for the bike trip, but didn't expect to use it in rainy Cornwall. Instead, God surprised with a day where it didn't rain once.