Doc-Land

We went to see the doc - and we really did see him!

Port Isaac (aka "Port Wenn" to fellow Doc Martin fans) was today's destination, and it was one of those days that proves the adage "timing is everything."  

To start with, we arrived on the outskirts of town and saw a sign reading, "Port Isaac car park - £4" and pulled in immediately, realizing that it would be a walk into town, but, having watched the TV show, knowing that the town has the narrowest, steepest streets imaginable and no place to park.  There were plenty of places to park as we pulled in, but by the time we piled out of the car and got our things together, it was completely full (it wasn't a very big lot at all) and people were driving by looking frustrated.  Whew!

We walked into town, cheerfully snapping pictures like the TV-watching tourists that we are.

Here we are, in front of Louisa's "school" (once a school, but now a hotel and restaurant) - note how fresh and chipper we look.  By the end of the day, after hiking up and down MANY very steep hills and staircases, this look would fade a just tad.

Aside from business signs in front of buildings, Port Isaac looks very much as is does as Port Wenn on "Doc Martin."  

There's the Doc's surgery, right in the middle of the picture.

And there's the church where the Doc and Louisa almost got married.

After hiking up the hill above the Doc's surgery, 

which involved climbing one of many precipitous inclines we'd tackle today,

but would be worth it for the views,

we wandered into a pub for lunch - having worked up quite an appetite - where we had our pick of tables, only to look around almost immediately after getting settled into our seats to discover that the place had completely filled up.  Whew, again.

After the requisite picture in front of Doc Martin's surgery,

a great lunch and perusing a few shops, we trekked back UP the steep hill to the car park.  We took it at our own paces, Sheryle in the lead, me (Carol) somewhere in the middle, and Vicki just behind.  As I huffed and puffed up the last steep stretch, I looked up at a couple walking down the hill and though, "Wow - that really looks like the actor who plays Doc Martin."  As I passed them, I waited for Vicki and asked her if she'd looked at him.  She hadn't, but we watched him walk away and agreed - yes, that was his distinctive gait.  We'd overheard a local tell someone that they'd been filming a couple of days ago and would again in a few days, so it's very likely that it was the actor and his wife out for a stroll.  Another bit of good timing.

Across the bay from Port Isaac is the village of Tintagel (learned how to pronounce it today - tin-TA-jel), which was our next destination.  We parked at the tourist information center, where we asked how to get the the castle, legendary birthplace of King Arthur, but actually constructed, for the most part, by Richard of Cornwall, who wanted to be linked in history to King Arthur (maybe someone should have mentioned to him that Arthur - at least the famous one - was a fictional character, but why spoil his fun?).  

The people at the TI showed us the route on a map, and it didn't look like all that far to walk.  What the map didn't indicate, though, were those handy contour lines that show changes in elevation - because, wow, the elevation changed!  We started on the ridge top, dropped to sea level, then climbed to the top of a bluff.  No switch-backs, by the way, just incredibly steep stone steps that were none too even.

First it was down (realizing with every step that we'd have to climb back up this hill),

then up to the top of the bluff where the castle ruins are located (always a good idea to build a castle on the highest point where you can see who's trying to sneak up on you and drop rocks, boiling oil, or whatever's handy on their heads).

We 're starting to fade a little here, but, again, the views were worth the hike.

By the time we carefully picked our way down from the castle and trudged back up the hill to our car, we were ready to call it a day - a great day!