Port Isaac

Port Isaac has been a working harbour since the medieval period, shipping Delabole slate and landing pilchards, and its lanes are the narrowest kind: Squeezy Belly Alley is about forty-five centimetres wide at its tightest. The houses run in tiers down to a tidal harbour that empties completely at low water, leaving boats on the sand. Between 2004 and 2022 the village was Portwenn in the television series Doc Martin, filmed here across ten series, which transformed its visitor numbers and its economy. The Fisherman's Friends, a group of local men singing sea shanties on the platt by the harbour since 1995, were signed to a major label in 2010, reached the top ten, and have had two films made about them; they still sing on the harbour in season.

What you actually see

• Squeezy Belly Alley - a lane about forty-five centimetres at its narrowest.
• The tidal harbour - a basin that empties entirely at low water.
• The Doc Martin locations - the house, school and shop used as Portwenn.
• The Fisherman's Friends - shanty singing on the harbour platt in season.

When to go

May to September; the Fisherman's Friends sing on summer evenings, and the village is at its busiest then. Filming has ended, but Doc Martin tourism continues. Winter is quiet and the harbour is dramatic in storms.

Honest expectations

Cars cannot get into the village realistically and the car park above involves a steep walk down and a harder climb back. Parking on the beach at low tide has stranded vehicles when the tide returned. The village is small and overwhelmed in August.

Nearby

Padstow lies southwest across the estuary; Tintagel is north up the coast.