There are over 8 million of them and sometimes it seems that they have all descended at once on the little North Cornish fishing village of Port Isaac. No we are not talking about seagulls or Portuguese – Men- of- War but viewers of the ever popular TV series, Doc Martin.

Every year fans of the programme flock to visit the village ( the fictional Port Wenn ) and other nearby locations used in filming. The poor owners of the property used as Doc Martin’s house have even had to put up a sign outside pointing out that it is only used for exterior shots and that people are therefore requested not to keep peering through the ground floor windows.

Some residents in Port Isaac are calling for filming to be banned from the village because an influx of tourist visitors is causing traffic chaos in the narrow streets.

\”We have had the golden egg from the filming and we have had enough visitors now,\” said one resident, Ted Charles.

\”Surely they have enough footage of Port Isaac on file so they don\’t need to come back?\”

Of course, Port Isaac is not always heaving as a result of the programme’s popularity. Much depends on the time of year and whether the schools are on holiday. However, anyone planning a visit needs to be aware that overnight accommodation ( as opposed to holiday lets ) is limited along this stretch of coast and a better option is probably to stay slightly further away and just make a day trip.

A popular base is the family -run Camelot Hotel at Bude which is about 25 miles to the East.

The 45 minute drive to Port Isaac takes visitors along the coast via other interesting spots such as King Arthur’s Tintagel. Tintagel is situated on the North coast of Cornwall and is renowned for its association with the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The magic of the association is captured particularly by the castle, King Arthur\’s Castle, which is reached by steps leading from the main land. Originally the Castle was attached to the main land but by erosion over the years a bridge had to be built.

Another site worth seeing is the cavernous open-cast slate mine at Delabole. The north Cornwall village of Delabole grew up around the famous slate quarry. Delabole slate has been mined in the area since the Medieval Times. The village of Delabole came into existence in the 20th century; it is named after the Delabole Quarry. There were three hamlets: Pengelly, Medrose and Rockhead. When the railway arrived, the station was named Delabole after the quarry, and the three hamlets merged in order to keep the name consistent and prevent confusion.

Port Isaac is so charming that everyone falls in love with the place. It surrounds a picturesque harbour and nestles in a narrow sheltered valley, with whitewashed cottages crowding the narrow streets and alleyways (one is so narrow that it is affectionately called Squeezeebelly alley).

The Camelot Bude Hotel is the perfect base for exploring atmospheric North Cornwall, discovering deserted coves or lying on the beach soaking up the sun. For more information visit Accommodation Bude.

The Camelot Bude Hotel is the perfect base for exploring atmospheric North Cornwall, discovering deserted coves or lying on the beach soaking up the sun. For more information visit http://www.camelot-hotel.co.uk

Author Bio: The Camelot Bude Hotel is the perfect base for exploring atmospheric North Cornwall, discovering deserted coves or lying on the beach soaking up the sun. For more information visit Accommodation Bude.

Category: Travel
Keywords: bude, cornwall, port wenn