Tintagel and Port Isaac ( Porthysek in Cornish) (Doc Martin's Port Wenn)

June 1, 2014

Off to Tintagel of King Arthur fame, but whether he was conceived here is lost in the mists of time. Still, makes a good story and it's certainly a romantic spot.

Tintagel Castle (Cornish: Dintagel, meaning "fort of the constriction") is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, adjacent to the village of Tintagel in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British period, as an array of artefacts dating to this period have been found on the peninsula, but as yet no Roman era structure has been proven to have existed there. It subsequently saw settlement during the Early Medieval period, when it was probably one of the seasonal residences of the regional king of Dumnonia. In the 13th century, during the Later Medieval period, after Cornwall had been subsumed into the kingdom of England, a castle was built on the site by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, which later fell into disrepair and ruin.

Archaeological investigation into the site began in the 19th century as it became a tourist attraction, with visitors coming to see the ruins of Richard's castle. In the 1930s, excavations revealed significant traces of a much earlier high status settlement, which had trading links with the Mediterranean during the Late Roman period.^[1]

The castle has a long association with Arthurian legends. This began in the 12th century when Geoffrey of Monmouth, in his mythical account of British history, theHistoria Regum Britanniae, described Tintagel as the place of Arthur's conception. Geoffrey told the story that Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon, was disguised by Merlin's sorcery to look like Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, the husband of Ygerna, Arthur's mother.^[2]

Life was even more complicated then apparently...!

Just a few miles further west on the north coast of Cornwall is Port Isaac, the location for the TV series Doc Martin, extremely popular everywhere it has been shown.  It's a very small seaside village, typical of Cornwall, with extremely narrow streets, a small harbor plus the usual pub.

This is the house used as Doc Martin's surgery and home.  It stands overlooking the village, nondescript really, but loads of tourists arrive as if to a shrine.  As we did....!  For the inevitable photograph.

The narrow road running past the house down to the village and the view from the house.

The school building where Louisa Glasson, the love interest in the series, was headmistress.