Barmy Basset Hounds & Martins of Port Isaac

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by Arundhati Basu

The thing with eating your ice cream on the sly is that you gotta pay for it later when your wife goes into an artisan fudge confectionery and arms herself with a sizeable waffle cone. Topped up by gigantic dollops studded with moreish caramel bits.

We had reached the village of Port Isaac (an easy drive from Padstow, Boscastle or Tintagel in Cornwall) when I needed to use the loo at the carpark facing the sea, the water guzzling cow that I am. FYI Cows can drink up to and over 90 litres of water on hot days. I came out of the loo and why there stood my husband quietly tucking into a mint chocolate chip ice cream. A sheepish look surfacing upon the visage as he spotted me. His supplier: the ubiquitous Mr. Whippy.

Then he offered me a lick. A Lick. It was your veritable ‘just you wait, ‘enry ‘iggins’ moment.

Providence is a sweet woman. She took me by the hand and led me to a fudge shop. Behind the till stood Mr Meakins, the owner who had played a part in Doc Martin, the British medical comedy TV series that was shot in Port Isaac. In the show, the village is called Port Wenn.

Martin. There you have the first name in the title of the post come into play. The show is delightful, I promise. You shall not and will not egg me. I would rather you make me an omelette.

At the fudge shop charmingly called Buttermilk – which made me instantly want to tuck into anything I laid eyes on inside its old interiors – I was urged by Meakins to lay my hand on a few fudges but my eyes sparkled at the thought of the half-eaten beauty you see below.

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Ship Shape indeed
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Anchor on the slipway

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The rusty old anchor which could easily challenge a gang of 40 beefy men to lift it is your introduction to Port Isaac. For this is a fishing village, aye, that traces its fishing roots back to the 13th century. Till the 19th century, men would have also been dragging carts of stone, ores, salt and limestone from the many ships that would have arrived at the small and busy harbour of Port Isaac — it was one of the few sheltered ones along the inhospitable Cornish coastline.

But here I get ahead of myself. Let me pause and retrace my steps to when we entered the village.

From the car park you walk down to the beach below and think this is it, but wait. Get out of that carpark onto the main road, then walk past The Angry Anchovy ensuring that you are not ensnared by pizzas and make your way down a steep and narrow road. Past weathered houses, ivy-caked stone walls and a parish church. At the bottom of the street an old school house pops up with a brooding slate exterior. You know you have hit pay dirt.

You are in Port Isaac, dear darling.

The home of British crabs and lobsters.

The main street winding into the town is flanked by 18th and 19th century cottages, some whitewashed with bright blue window panes and doors and others clad in dark slate fronts. A stone owl looked down imperiously at us from its perch upon dry stone walls as we we walked in the footsteps of the grumpy Martin Ellingham, who arrives in the village to be greeted by the likes of characters such as Bert Large and two grimy fishermen – they who almost drive him off the narrow country lanes after declaring him ‘Bodmin’. You would pounce upon that word if you are a Daphne du Maurier fan. The moors of Bodmin is where Jamaica Inn was (and still is) famously situated. If you were deemed Bodmin by a local it basically meant you were barmy (also that you could be a repository of murder and madness).

Opes, Cornish for narrow alleys between houses, issued warnings on signposts about big vehicles trying to barge their way in. Seriously, if you even thought of wedging yourself in a big car between those houses, I would say you deserve to sit inside while the rest of the world (like me) passes you by with ice cream cones held aloft as beacons of goodness.

Now if you gave me a house in Port Isaac, I would shut my eyes and take it off your hands. It is bustling and chirpy but there is an astonishing level of quiet that comes over the village as soon as you leave behind the harbour and start climbing up the opes where brooks gurgle by stone houses. There is a lifeboat shed in the village and a fisherman merchant’s smelly quarters where seafood is sold during the day but the real deal is as you climb up the hill. The village is spread out below you just beyond two breakwaters, pale turquoise waters and the coastline.

On our way up, we passed Martin’s cottage on the left, a little below which stood Bert Large’s whitewashed restaurant. Too many Doc Martin things in this post, you say? I would agree but that is because I am goading you into watching at least the first episode.

To come to the second part of this post’s title. We heard these baritone barks as we trudged up the hill. Not your average few barks. This was a remarkable volley that refused to stop. We peeked down through the gap between one of the houses and espied a podgy basset hound bent on playing Elvis for the day. Now people from Elvis country, hear me out. You had to meet Mr. Personality. After we had spent some time sitting on the hill and Adi had fooled around on the edges singing away so badly that I had to turn and run, we met this basset hound down at the harbour. He had a mate who was as quiet as he was mouthy. A few labradors ran around, but your guess is good enough to figure out who stole the show.

To agitate our basset boy, his amused master made a few faces and stooped to say a few things. Our ears ringing with his deepest of deep barks, the sight of his astoundingly droopy face, podgy body and pendulous ears carved into our minds, we left the village of Port Isaac with deep sighs. But wait, I can still hear his baritone woofs, can you?

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Opes of Port Isaac

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More opes
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You see what I mean when I say that you should arm yourself with an ice cream and then work it off by just walking. These opes demand it.
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Climbing up the hill for a view of the village and the coastline
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The one. Who excels at pestering me.
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Between the breakwaters
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Taking a moment to savour the beauty of the moment…
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…before yodelling
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Caught in the act

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Port Isaac Harbour
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Bert Large’s restaurant is the whitewashed stone cottage on the left. Above it, the first stone cottage with the orange pipings was Martin’s cottage in the show, Doc Martin.
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Master in a conversation with Mouthy One
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The image we left Port Isaac with

Before I leave you for the day, here’s Episode 1 of Doc Martin. Humour me?

Published by

Arundhati Basu

The great affair in my life is to travel. I count myself immensely fortunate that my partner shares this passion. We are a team that likes to spend time planning and plotting out places to go. Destination check, flights check, accommodation check, cheesy grins check. Off we go.

75 thoughts on “Barmy Basset Hounds & Martins of Port Isaac”

  6. The ice cream you described at the beginning is so tasty when I imagine I’m eating it! I really like the way you write. I wonder, have you ever thought about writing a book/novel/short story, or some sort of literature? Also your husband sounds playful and fun to travel with 😉

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Hahaha he is a hoot but he can be such a kid. I thought it was only me who could let the inner peskiness out but he overtakes me by far now. Thank you Jen that is a lovely thought of yours. I have been working on a book but I fall lazy and then blogging takes away a lot of time too. I should get back to it more seriously! I say go and treat yourself to a lovely ice cream this weekend 😉 xx

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  9. I adore Doc Martin, so it was lovely to stroll round Port Wenn (Isaac) with you. I’d have had Pizza and Cream Tea and Ice Cream by the way. But I am just a walking disgrace ? xx

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Isn’t it adorable? Elaine cracks me up. I am aiming for pizza tonight after the apartment having been packed and carted away by the movers. The boy just won’t take no for an answer 😉 I love the ‘walking disgrace’ that is Osyth and I might just join her if she doth not protest much xx

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Another beautiful little village! I’ve missed reading your posts! I love that Adi grabbed some icecream without you, how did he think he could get away with that? XD
    I also hope you sang along with him atop those cliffs, even it was for a little bit 😀

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  13. Cow’s can drink up to 90litres!! Did not know that. Also can i just mention it’s 10pm here in Kenya and now you made me crave for ice cream but am too lazy to get out to find some ?. As usual i enjoyed this post.

    Liked by 3 people

      1. I can absolutely see why. The charm is dripping from your photographs. I could sit on one of those hills for hours. Did you get any sketching in? Especially for those boats.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. I have never been there… yet ! 😉 But visiting UK is definitely on my list ! I have only been to London, Cambridge and Oxford and I know there are ‘heaps’ (once an Aussie, still an Aussie 😉 ) of amazing landscapes to see there ! 🙂

        Liked by 2 people

  21. Oh man, there are too many things to say about this post. First of all, the sneaky ice cream eating–hilarious, by the way–that is grounds for a swift kick in the pants 😛 Though you probably played it better with your own trip to the fudge shop for an ice cream cone that looks nothing less than heavenly. Then of course I can’t not say how gorgeous Port Isaac looks. And the dog–I have a soft spot for hounds with droopy eyes and big bellowing bays ❤ And lastly, love the 'enry 'iggins reference. Now I will be humming My Fair Lady all day 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Now all of those observations made me smile! I promise I had the better ice cream, creamier and more delicious, in the bargain. I was kind though and allowed an avaricious Adi a few bites. That dog is one of the cutest woofs I have set my eyes on for a long time. I am a sucker for personality and he had oodles of it. You surely would have made a beeline for him while singing…which would you be humming, my fair lady? 😀

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  22. Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog writer but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any recommendations for novice blog writers? I’d certainly appreciate it.|

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      7. My heart is definitely in New York/ New Jersey! However, my son now lives near us in Dallas with his lovely girl friend – so my heart is here too! I try to get back to NYC a few times a year, but it isn’t all that handy. There is so much I love about that area. Culture, art, history, trees, hills, beach….

        Liked by 1 person

      8. I shall start updating myself slowly about all those aspects, Diane. It will take time but I shall get there 🙂 Dallas would be interesting plus if you have your son and his partner there, it makes quite so special xx

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