photo: Port Isaac : Doc Martin

We can't count the number of times we looked down on this scene in the BBC blockbuster series - Doc Martin. Of course in the series, there was always blue sky, bright sun, colorful fishing boats and, to be sure, high tide.

We had planned a Chrsitmas visit with our daughter, Karen and our son-in-law, Kyle, in London but after 32 episodes of Doc Martin, Medi decided we could not be so close, give or take 7 hours, to Post Isaac and not visit the town. Karen was quite the trooper offering to drive the entire way with husband Kyle as navigator. She did point out that "no one goes to Cornwall (the area of Port Isaac ) in the winter. " We did go however and we had an exceptionally fun time.

We got to visit Doc Martin's house ( third on the left ) and take a few pictures. We had seen two movies about Doc Martin, all 32 BBC episodes and the movie Saving Grace which introuduced Doc Martin.

But there were other movies filmed in this town. here is what Wiki says :
Despite its isolation the village has had several visits from celebrities. The BBC series Poldark (1975-77) used locations in the area; the BBC drama serial The Nightmare Man (1981) was filmed in and around the village, which doubled for a Scottish island and it was a location for the film of Oscar and Lucinda (1997). The local village hall has been decorated by the team of DIY SOS, and to date, five series of ITV's Doc Martin have been filmed there although the village has a fictional name of "Port Wenn." Saving Grace, a successful comedy film, was filmed in and around the village.

There were many signs to the various buildings appearing in Doc Martin. Life does follow art. There was no indication from these signs that these buildings so identified were not really the same buildings in real life.

What would a British TV show be without the local pub?

Medi decided she needed "her daily pint" while we were there. The number of pints she drank (3) equalled her annual beer consumption. Kyle was deep in thought over the next Doc Martin episode and forgot to toast.

We had dinner at the Old School House where so much of the Doc Martin show takes place. We asked if it was originally a school house later turned into a hotel. The waiter said he did not think much learning would have taken place with the bar on the first floor. Some people are so literal.