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Port Isaac and nearby Port Gaverne on the north coast of Cornwall and the edge of Bodmin Moor is surrounded by countryside and is of the most isolated villages in England, the harbour of the ancient fishing village offers the safest haven along this part of the Cornish coast from the storms which roll in from the Atlantic.
In an area of hills cut by the steep valleys of streams which emerge from the cliffs to join the sea, Port Isaac and Port Gaverne are two separate communities which occupy adjacent valleys. The area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a Heritage Coast. The old fishing village itself is designated as a Conservation Area.
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Wadebridge, the nearest town to the picturesque village, is 16km (10 miles) away and Port Isaac itself is only accessible by narrow and winding roads which only allow one vehicle at a time to pass. In 1820, the village was described as �secluded from the rest of the world�.
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The Platt (the Cornish word for a market square), adjacent to the harbour, is the center of the village much of which consists of 18th and 19th century cottages. The Golden Lion which dates from the 18th century is the only pub in the village and became the "Crab and Lobster" in the Doc Martin TV series.
The Old School Hotel and Restaurant occupies the village school which was built in 1877 and closed in 1976. Appropriately, it was used as the fictitious school in the Doc Martin TV series.
The name "Isaac" could be derived from "yzack" meaning "corn" and indicating that corn was shipped or transhipped in its little harbour. It is recorded as fishing port in 1340.
Coal, Limestone, ores, pottery, salt, stone, timber and other heavy commodities were shipped and trans-shipped the little harbour until the 19th. century. Port Gaverne Slate which was quarried from the Delabole quarry was loaded into sailing ketches in Port Isaac's harbour where the broad bottomed boats could rest upright at low tide. As ships increased in size the village's harbour became too small to accomodate them and the advent op the railways and increasing use of lorries ended the coastal trade at the start of the 20th century and Port Isaac became reliant on its recreational visitors as the mainstay of its economy. Fishing and fish-processing have been an important local industry since the Middle Ages and there are still some fishing boats working from the harbour.
Flooding of August 16th, 2004
In the worst flooding in the area for fifty years, parts of Bude were reported to be submerged in up to six feet of water as a normal month's rainfall fell in only two hours. Nearby Boscastle was devastated as up to three feet of water rushed through the coombe at up to 40 miles per hour and the Bude and Port Isaac lifeboats were called out to assist in the recue which involved seven helicopters. The village of Tintagel, legendary birthplace of King Arthur, and Camelford were also inundated by torrential rain.
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The floods hit Boscastle almost exactly 52 years to the day after floods swept through Lynmouth, in Devon, killing 12 people.
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Port Isaac was used to film the television series "Doc Martin" first screened on ITV in September 2004 in which it was renamed "Portwenn", the accomodation in the ancient fishing village usually occupied by tourists and holiday makers serving as quarters for the cast and crew during the filming.
The village has made amny appearances on screen including the "Poldark" TV series, the "Nightmare Man" (in which it was depicted as a village in the Hebrides) and "Amy Foster".
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The RNLI is funded entirely by voluntary donations and legacies. For it to continue to save lives at sea and fund its plans for the future of this invaluable service, it needs your help - please support it - for details click on the picture below.
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| Portquin |
| About two miles along the coast to the west, the village of Portquin has been abandoned twice; the first time was when all the men of the village were drowned at sea and again when the pilchards on which its ecenomy depended failed. |
| | | | OTHER PLACES | | Willows and Wetlands Visitor Centre
Stoke St Gregory, Taunton, Somerset TA3 6HY
The Willows and Wetlands Visitor Centre is situated in the heart of the Somerset levels, an internationally recognised wetland area. Visitors may browse free of charge in the Levels and Moors Exhibition, Basketware Museum and video room. | 142.7 km NE | | Boyles School
High Street, Yestminster, Vale Of Blackmore, Dorset, England
The 17th century scientist Robert Boyle who lived
nearby at Stalbridge endowed the school to teach twenty poor boys of Chetnowle,
Leigh and Yetminster | 162.3 km NE | | Sandford Orcas Manor House
Sandford Orcas, Vale Of Blackmore, Dorset,
England
The ancient manor house, open to the public
during the summer months, is reputed to be haunted | 167.4 km NE | | Sherborne Abbey
Dorset, England
The abbey church was a cathedral church for many centuries after King
Ine of Wessex established a see here and made his kinsman St Aldhelm the first
bishop | 167.8 km NE | | Sherborne New Castle
Dorset, England
The
new castle built by Sir Walter Raleigh when he found the Old Castle not
to his liking | 169 km NE | | Sherborne Old Castle
Dorset, England
The castle, built by a medieaval Bishop of Sherborne became the home of
Sir Walter Raleigh | 169.1 km NE | | British Empire & Commonwealth Museum
Clock Tower Yard, Temple Meads, Bristol BS1 6QH
The British Empire & Commonwealth Museum represents the first serious attempt in the United kingdom to present a publicly accessible history of the British empire and to examine its continuing impact on Britain and the rest of the world. This was the larg | 183.6 km NE |
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