Where Is Doc Martin Filmed?A Guide to Port Isaac, the Real Portwenn

Doc Martin was filmed in Port Isaac, a fishing village on Cornwall’s north coast that played Portwenn for all ten series. Between Tintagel and Padstow, its whitewashed cottages tumble down a steep valley to a tiny harbour, where fishing boats still land crab and lobster on the slipway. This guide covers every Doc Martin filming location in and around Port Isaac, the coast path walk to Port Quin and Doyden Castle, and everything you need to plan a visit.

Port Isaac at a glance. Park at the top of the village and walk down to the harbour, about 10 minutes, as there is very little room for cars in the village itself. Allow half a day to explore the lanes and the Doc Martin locations, or a full day with the coast walk to Port Quin. Come early, or in the evening, to see the harbour at its quietest.

The Doc Martin filming locations in Port Isaac

From 2004 to 2022, Port Isaac starred as Portwenn in the ITV comedy drama Doc Martin. Martin Clunes played Dr Martin Ellingham, a brilliant but blunt London surgeon who becomes the village GP after developing a fear of blood. Across ten series and 79 episodes, the village became one of the most recognisable places on British television, and it is still the main reason many visitors come.

Walking around Port Isaac, you will recognise almost every corner. These are the main Doc Martin filming locations:

Fern Cottage, the Doc’s surgery, is the one everyone wants to see. It stands about 100 metres up the hill from the harbour, on the coast path towards Port Quin, with the best view in the village. Remember that these are homes, lived in or let to holidaymakers, not attractions: take your photographs from the lane and respect the people staying there. A guided Doc Martin walking tour starts beside the harbour in season if you would like to hear the stories behind the scenes.

Doc Martin had a life in Port Isaac before ITV. Martin Clunes first played a doctor called Martin in the 2000 film Saving Grace, filmed in and around the village, and two Sky television films followed, in which the village kept its real name.

Doc Martin filming locations outside Port Isaac

Doc Martin was filmed mainly in Port Isaac, but not entirely. The surgery interiors were filmed at Roscarrock Manor Farm, just outside the village, and other scenes were shot further afield.

St Nonna’s Church, Altarnun. The church on the edge of Bodmin Moor was used for the Doc and Louisa’s weddings: the first attempt, when he is jilted, and the second, which goes ahead.

Bodmin Moor. Farming and moorland scenes were filmed around Camelford, St Breward and Altarnun.

Doyden Castle, Port Quin. This clifftop folly, built in 1830 above the cove at Port Quin, played Pentire Castle and is where Mrs Tishell’s romantic plan went wrong in series five. You can reach it on the walk described below.

Why Doc Martin ended, and the American remake

The show ended in 2022. Martin Clunes explained that “all good things have to come to an end”, and that the team felt they had “sort of done everything”. The final episode, Last Christmas in Portwenn, aired on Christmas Day 2022.

In January 2026, Fox launched an American version, Best Medicine, starring Josh Charles, which moves Portwenn to a fishing village in Maine. Martin Clunes makes a guest appearance as the new doctor’s father. The original Portwenn, though, is still here in Cornwall.

The coast walk from Port Isaac to Port Quin and Doyden Castle

The finest view of Port Isaac is from the coast path heading west, past Fern Cottage and along one of the steepest and most beautiful stretches of the north coast. Locals call it the rollercoaster, and your legs will agree.

• Start and finish: Port Isaac harbour
• Distance: about 5 miles (7.7 km), circular, out on the coast path and back on inland field paths
• Time: allow 3 hours
• Terrain: moderate to strenuous. A switchback cliff path with many steep flights of steps and some unfenced cliff edges, then field paths with stone stiles on the return

From the harbour, climb Roscarrock Hill past Fern Cottage and follow the coast path around Lobber Point. The path drops into Pine Haven, a small wooded valley full of bluebells in spring, then rises and falls over Varley Head and past Scarnor Point, where two Bronze Age burial mounds sit on the clifftop. From Kellan Head, the view opens out over Port Quin.

Port Quin is a tiny, sheltered cove with a handful of cottages and old pilchard sheds, now looked after by the National Trust. Local legend says the village’s whole fishing fleet was lost in a storm in the early 1800s. A short climb beyond the cove brings you to Doyden Castle, the folly that played Pentire Castle in Doc Martin. It is now a National Trust holiday let, so enjoy it from the path. Return to Port Isaac on the inland footpath across the fields, with views back to the sea.

For a longer day, continue past Port Quin to Lundy Bay, then walk up to Port Quin Cross for the bus back to Port Isaac. Or walk east to Tintagel, 9.1 miles of challenging to severe coast path, among the toughest on the whole South West Coast Path.

On our From Coast to Castle tour, guests explore Port Isaac’s harbour lanes and Doc Martin locations on a guided village tour after visiting Tintagel Castle. On The Hidden North, the day ends with a harbour walk in Port Isaac and dinner at Outlaw’s.

Fisherman’s Friends and life on the harbour

Port Isaac’s other claim to fame is Fisherman’s Friends, a group of local fishermen and lifeboatmen who started singing sea shanties together by the harbour in the 1990s. A BBC radio presenter heard their CD on holiday in 2009, and they went on to sign a record deal, play Glastonbury and inspire two films, Fisherman’s Friends (2019) and its 2022 sequel.

For food, the village punches far above its size. Nathan Outlaw’s Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen serves seafood landed a few steps away, and there are crab sandwiches, pasties and cream teas in the lanes around the harbour. Our guide to Cornwall’s food and drink covers the best of the county.

A short history of Port Isaac

Long before it was Portwenn, Port Isaac was a working port. Its Cornish name, Porthysek, means “port abounding in corn”, from the grain once shipped out from the farmland inland, and its pier dates back to the reign of Henry VIII. Pilchards were landed here from before the 16th century, and by 1850 the village had 49 registered fishing boats and four fish cellars. When the railway arrived nearby in 1895, fish were carted to the station for sale across the country, and as the pilchard shoals dwindled, tourism took over after the First World War.

The heart of the village is still the harbour and the Platt, the broad slipway where fishermen land their catch. Around it, the lanes are so narrow that one, Temple Bar, was once named by the Guinness Book of Records as the narrowest thoroughfare in the world. Locals call it Squeeze Belly Alley, and you will understand why.

Planning your visit

Getting there from London. Take the train from London Paddington to Bodmin Parkway, about four hours, then a taxi or drive of around half an hour to Port Isaac. The Go Cornwall 96 bus links Port Isaac with Wadebridge, Rock and Polzeath. By car, the drive from London takes five to six hours. See our guide to getting from London to Cornwall.

Parking. Vehicle access to the village is very limited. Use the main car park on New Road at the top of the village and walk down to the harbour.

How long to spend. Half a day for the village and the Doc Martin locations. A full day with the walk to Port Quin. Two days to add Tintagel and Padstow, both within easy reach.

Best time to visit. May, June and September, when the lanes are quieter. In July and August, arrive before 10am or come in the evening. Spring brings bluebells to Pine Haven.

Where to stay. Port Isaac has a few small hotels and guest houses, and nearby Port Gaverne, a quiet cove just to the east, is a peaceful alternative. See our guide to where to stay in Cornwall.

Port Isaac is one of our favourite north coast villages. See more in our pick of the prettiest villages in Cornwall.