Thursday, March 17, 2011

Doc Martin

I've arrived in Port Isaac in beautiful North Cornwall. It's a little fishing village that's well known by fans of the TV show Doc Martin as Port Wenn. Last night, sitting in an old smuggler pub with oak beams and a roaring fire with a pint of local cider and a plate of fresh haddock, it felt like i was in heaven :-)
There's lot of fans of the TV show wandering around taking photos and with filming for the new series about to commence in 2 weeks time its going to get very busy.
Today it was the quest for the holy grail and following in the footsteps of King Arthur we visited Tintagel Castle - legend has it that this is Arthur's birthplace.
The castle is perched right on the edge of the cliff and archeological evidence has shown that a celtic encampment was here in 500AD - about the time that Arthur ruled and fought against the Saxons.
I'm nipping around in a little Peugot 308 diesel but would love to be on these roads on Trumpy - they are absolutely fantastic bike roads. I've seen quite a few Street Triples flying past having fun on the twisty, winding roads. Instead of kangaroos to watch out for its deer - they wander wild and there's warning signs that they're on the roads. There's also badgers - they're about the size of a wombat.
There's ice cream with clotted cream on top, cornish pasties the size of dinner plates and everywhere has fish & chips with mushy peas on the menu - a very healthy diet!
This is definitely cider drinking country - one pub I went into asked me if I wanted a normal cider or the one that would ensure I couldn't stand up after I drank a pint!
It's a beautiful part of the world & the only regret is not having a bike to ride on these awesome roads - even the guy that owns the B&B I'm staying in is an old sportbike rider & tells me the roads are sensational on a bike.
Next stop is St Austell in the south and maybe a visit to the Eden Project or the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Not long & we'll be back in Australia - first thing I'll do is plan my next trip back to this beautiful island.

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