The British comedy series Doc Martin is a huge hit with PBS viewers. Being in Cornwall, I had to drop by the rugged little fishing port where it’s filmed.
The village of Portwenn in Doc Martin is played by the real-life town of Port Isaac. Strolling its scenic harbor, I remembered the fun I had interviewing the charming and engaging Martin Clunes (who plays Doc Martin) for my public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves.
While Port Isaac is portrayed on the show as a quiet time warp, in reality it’s chockablock with Doc Martin fans. And part of their pilgrimage is to hike up the far side of the village to this building, Doc Martin’s cottage.
You don’t need to go to Port Isaac to enjoy the charm of Portwenn and Doc Martin. It’s commonplace in Cornwall. Just looking out the window at this mesmerizing back-alley view from my B&B in Penzance, I had my own Portwenn…and it was plenty real.