I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming:

There’s the lifeboat station, oh, and over there is where Doc Martin buys his fish. Look, there’s Mrs Tishell’s pharmacy and here’s the restaurant where Martin has lunch with his friend. Oh, and over there I see Doc Martin’s surgery!

About two years ago, I discovered Doc Martin on Netflix (and now available on Acorn TV) After only one episode, I fell utterly and hopelessly in love with the entire cast, but especially the grumpy, rude but brilliant London surgeon, Martin Ellingham, who was banished to the fictional town of Portwenn to be the village GP because of a blood phobia.

Other characters included Louisa, the beautiful schoolteacher with whom Martin fell in love; Bert Large, the hapless plumber who failed at one occupation after another but who was forever optimistic; his smart son, Al Large, who had to continually bail his father out; Martin’s aunts, Joan and Ruth, who loved Martin unconditionally; Mrs Tishell, the pharmacist who is secretly in love with Martin and doubles as the organist for weddings and funerals; PC Mark Mylow and PC Penhale, the incompetent yet comical policemen; and the succession of receptionists, Elaine, Pauline and Morwenna.

All of this takes place in the fictional village of Portwenn, the real life town of Port Isaac, on the scenic Cornwall coast. I dreamed of coming here in person—and here I am!

Altogether I have watched 63 episodes from eight seasons—all the way through at least four times—and now I plan to watch the whole series again for a fifth time now that I have seen Port Isaac (Portwenn) in the flesh.

It’s hard to believe that only four short days ago, I was on the other side of the world—7,215 miles away in tropical Hawai’i, and here I was, in Portwenn, the real life Port Isaac. What’s so astonishing is that all the real life buildings in Port Isaac, are so close together—and it’s no movie set… Doc Martin’s surgery, Bert Large’s restaurant, Mrs Tishell’s pharmacy, the restaurant where Martin meets with the medical board figure, the lifeboat station, and the fishmonger are all within a short walking distance.

We actually came to Port Isaac over a two day period. The first time was for only a quick half hour as part of our 8-hour Cornwall tour. We walked around and took a few photos.

The next day we arrived about 9:15 am in advance of a 90-minute walking tour led by one of the Doc Martin extras, Dave Mason, who has appeared in a number of episodes—including the very first episode where he is part of the group of townspeople interviewing Doc Martin for the GP position. He was a treasure trove of Doc Martin lore, and could quote the season number where certain events took place.

We met our group of eight in front of a store called “May Contain Nuts,” the place where you can buy official Doc Martin souvenirs, Cornish pasties from the Chough Bakery, and other goodies.

Dave is one of only 25 people who actually live in the village. The rest of the homes here are all vacation rentals. The stone building which is Doc Martin’s surgery is called Fern Cottage and is available for short stay rental—the downside of renting Fern Cottage is that people continually look through the windows. The schoolhouse is a hotel and restaurant, which is turned into Louisa Glasson’s school during filming; the interior classroom scenes are shot in a school in nearby Delabole. Mrs Tishell’s pharmacy is in real life a sweet shop. Even the large home which served as Bert Large’s restaurant has been turned into a six bedroom vacation rental.

I’ve had the time of my life here! I would LOVE to come back again!