The Wilds of Cornwall – Like Being on a TV Set

Day 21, 2023 North Atlantic Adventure

Thursday, June 1, 2023; Falmouth, England.

I wish I had a week to see Cornwall. Or at least two more days. It’s a somewhat wild county, with coasts both on the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. If you are a fan of British movies and television, you’ll find the landscape, the stark cliffs and the charming seaside villages familiar. Think Poldark, Doc Martin, Fisherman’s Friends.

So Port Isaac proved to be a highlight of my day. It is the distinctive harbor town I first met while watching the Doc Martin series, and takes place in the fictional seaside village of Portwenn. Our guide, Steve of Tour Cornwall, said when taping is in progress, the town just goes about its business. I guess they are used to the stars and film activity.

The streets are narrow, steep and crooked. Cottages have names, not street numbers.

Sunny skies and temperatures near 70 brought out the tourists. We were too early for the pub, but stopped in Nicki B’s for “award winning” Cornish pasties. (All claim to be award winning, Steve said.) A pasty is a baked pastry filled with, in our case, steak, potatoes and cheese. They were designed as lunches for the miners in the area. Similar in style to an empanada, but bigger. Given our full day’s schedule, we ate them on the go.

Up the hill to one side of the harbor was Doc Martin’s surgery, now a private house but during taping leased to the production company.

We saw Mrs. Tishell’s pharmacy, now a fudge and gelato shop. Louisa’s school is a hotel. The tide was out, so fishing boats were on the damp sand awaiting its return.

Just a few years ago I watched the movie Fisherman’s Friends and was delighted to recognize this very harbor. The local fishermen used to sing sea shanties by the harbor, and a vacationing recording studio manager happened to catch them, booked them and made them stars in Great Britain. Last night I watched the sequel on the cabin television in preparation for visiting the harbor today. Steve said the fishermen still live in Port Isaac and can be seen around town.

Our tour took us further up the Atlantic coast of Cornwall past slate mines to the ruins of Tintagel Castle. It is here that legend says King Arthur was conceived and where medieval rulers lived and defended Cornwall. Today a modern bridge connects the mainland to the castle ruins. We didn’t have time to explore further (and I don’t think I could have brought myself to cross that bridge). But what a place to take photographs and sketch.

Farther south is Carnewas at Bedruthan, or the Bedruthan steps. These giant rock stacks form steps that seem to march into the distance. In the bright sunlight, the water almost took on a Caribbean blue hue. We walked along the coastal path that is part of a 900-mile trail along the south and west coasts of England.

Another great day weather-wise brought out all the crowds to enjoy part of their school holiday at the beaches. We had covered a good deal of Cornwall.

The day ended with a rare dressy night on a port day. This 14-day segment circling the British Isles is packed with ports, so in order to work in a third dressy night, it needed to follow a port stop.

As much as I like sea days, I was disappointed yesterday when Capt. Friso announced at 7:30 a.m. that we would not disembark in St. Peter Port, Guernsey. We had arrived at the Channel Island between England and France to confirm his concerns from the day before – that the unusual wind direction would make tendering too dangerous. Already the larger local boat hired to assist in our operations had canceled because of the weather. So after disembarking a passenger with a medical emergency, we left the island having only seen Guernsey from the ship.

And spent a lazy sea day cruising down the French coast, of course too far away to see the country.

I had booked a private tour through Tours of Guernsey, and before noon Amanda Johns was in contact expressing disappointment we could not stop and promising to fully refund us. By early afternoon the tour company had refunded all 70 of us on various tours, and my refund was in my bank account. I always look for private tours from companies whose policy is to fully refund prepaid tour costs when weather prevents a cruise ship from docking. Otherwise, my trip insurance may or may not cover it. I have switched from the more comprehensive plan I used for the world voyage to an annual plan that mainly covers medical expenses and evacuation. I save so much money on the insurance that it is worth it in my mind to risk losing a little for a shore excursion.