Half an hour later he called to tell me to start the tour without him, as he was having some issues. Seems we used the remainder of our cash change getting tickets for the tour and the parking machine would not accept card payments - they have everywhere else! As the time had run out he needed to move. He also discovered there is only one ATM in town (nowhere near the car park). A few terse phone calls were had, as Daryl continued to get more frustrated with the system. The phone reception in Port Isaac is poor, especially once you get into the village proper. The poor man, was clearly given a rough hand. Finally a carpark was found. The next challenge was getting change. Daryl said he nearly jumped the counter and took out the rude checkout chick after she refused to give him the right change for the meter after he bought a bottle of water. I suspect the hot, humid conditions did nothing to reduce the rising tempers. While Daryl was getting hot under the collar, the tour had indeed started, without him, but at a very slow and considered pace, in the hope of him catching us. I was joined by two ladies from America, Christina and Harriet, along with Mick, the tour guide. A local who has played minor supporting roles in the series. They were all very kind and quite concerned with Daryl’s dilemma. I suspect Mike went extra slow, until we finally saw Daryl at the end of the laneway. His appearance was greeted with a loud cheer and a “Praise the Lord” from Christina. She is a Wesleyan fan and was delighted when we came across a church belonging to the ministry that was set up in the port. The tour took us to parts of the village, the average tourist would not see, as we simply wouldn’t know about it. Tucked away through the smallest alley in the world, measuring 18 inches wide (it used to be 15 inches) along narrow cobbled stone roads, we meandered along hearing about some fantastic stories about the town, it’s characters and the quirks of working on a film set. We stopped at the iconic stores in the show including the pharmacy (really a sweets shops), the school (now a popular hotel), Luisa’s home (rented out for £1200 per week and booked well into next year), Aunt Ruth’s home, the police stations, the iconic Doctor’s surgery and the pub. We learnt that most of the buildings are only used for their front doors, as the inside is way too small.
A studio was built about two miles up the hill for the sole purpose of this series, and the remainder of the filming is undertaken there. During the filming season the crew and cast stay in the village and rent out 27 homes within the centre of town. Filming is done for 12 hours a day and a good day will result in three minutes of filming. Crazy. Mike told us tales about stunt doubles, in particular where Luisa had her terrible car accident. I have included photos on the Facebook page of her, her stunt double (well padded) and finally the dummy used for the shot. A camera in the back of the offending vehicle captured the shot and shocked all viewers for its realistic depiction. Daryl was up close and personal with the Doc’s Lexus and watched with some trepidation as it was driven down one of the narrow roads, we quickly found a gateway to get out of the way! While waiting outside the doc’s surgery we saw Mrs Tishell as she prepared for her next take. The Doc himself came out and said hello to fans from the pub patio. Full of smiles and offering odd, commentary he was quite amusing.
Mike explained how the town continues to operate, as normal as possible, during filming, and you can see the crowds of people congregating around the filming spots hoping to get a glimpse, a photo or an autograph from the stars. You can hear the crew asking the crowds to be quiet while filming takes place, and a for a few minutes, everyone in the area is silent. The tour, took in some of the local businesses including the story of how the local got the rescue boat down the village Main Street within four minutes to the water. The boat was housed up the hill, the only place large enough and could only just get through the narrow corridor thanks to one home owner giving up part of his lounge and allowing them to cut away his external wall. Daryl wandered further up the hill and enjoyed some spectacular views, while I enjoyed a cup of tea in a quaint little cafe with my iPad handy.
To finish the day we booked in for a sunset boat cruise. Departing at 7.30pm from a wealthy little town called Rock, we had a quick bite to eat (most expensive pizza you could find) and we joined two other travellers. Max, our skipper, was a 19 year old with a clear dream of working on the waters. He was relaxed and delivered an informative and fun trip. We took in Port Isaac from the bay, Port Quinn, a lighthouse, land marker, sea rescue station, castle, and then played with the dolphins and porpoises. The porpoises had teamed up with a small flock of Gannets, in turn they had managed to round up school of fish that were under attack from the depths and dive bombed at great speed from above, what a sight! The Gannets are streamlined, sleek birds capable of hitting the water at speeds up to 62 miles per hour. With skin like bubble wrap, u der their feathers and internal nostrils they are spectacular to watch as they hone in on their underwater targets. The dolphins and porpoises are such beautiful creatures, they danced around the boat and try as I might it was very hard to capture a decent shot. The sunset was beautiful and the low cloud provided the backdrop for some mesmerising colours.
This was a wonderful way to end a rather special day, especially for us Doc Martin geeks.
On a side note, on our way to Port Isaac, we decided to get breakfast on the way to Port Isaac, and found ourselves travelling through the moors again, home of the New Forest ponies and headed towards Two Bridges. As we drove down a hill we saw a cyclist standing next to a pony laying on the road, and my first thought was the cyclist may have been hit, but as we got closer and subsequently stopped, the pony was clearly unwell. Another pony was standing next to his buddy, right on the road. The pony was too big to help so we did the next best thing and reported the unwell pony to the receptionist at our stop a few minutes later.
We had no idea what was, if anything, at Two Bridges, and found the Inn. A restored grand hotel, where geese welcome you, it was so impressive and breakfast was quite delicious. Thankfully the receptionist called one of the farmers and help was one it’s way to the little pony.
Quirky fact of the day: In one of the Doc Martin series, all scenes requiring the doc to drive a car were changed as he is reported to be quite a lead foot and had lost his licence. The Lexus was parked and he walked everywhere!
We are now off to the land of Shakespeare. Chat soon.
Until next time,
N
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