Port Isaac and Padstow
June 2019
Natalie's birthday is in June and something she had never previously done was to holiday in the UK. In comparison Ian spent many summer holidays in Cornwall and Devon, so he decided to book a trip for her but in an area, he was relatively familiar. Cornwall was going to be the destination, a long deliberation ensued; hotel or holiday let and where specifically to go. Ian decided to use Airbnb for the first ever time and found a quaint cottage in Port Isaac, which accommodated up to six people. As a result, we decided to invite Natalie’s parents as well and booked the cottage for three nights- staying Thursday to Sunday.
As per normal, Ian did his restaurant research prior to heading down. He booked two places approximately a month before the trip. Rick Stein’s Riverside restaurant in Padstow for the Friday lunch and Port Gaverne hotel for the Thursday night. Port Gaverne is approximately a mile from Port Isaac and was booked for the Thursday, as given the drive down we wanted to head to somewhere local.
We live in Hertfordshire, so the journey down took the best part of 5 hours with a 45-minute stop in between. The cottage itself is in on an extremely narrow road- the guidance from cottage manager had let us know we could drive the car down to drop off our bags but would need to organise our own parking. There are two main car parks in Port Isaac, one at the very top of the village, not too far from the cottage and one, more or less, in the middle of the port itself. There is sporadic street parking points and Ian was extremely fortunate to find one on the immediate main road- a few minutes’ walk from the cottage.
The cottage was in an extremely picturesque street with the Port in the backdrop, there was a key box on the side- so we were able to check ourselves in at 16:00 as agreed. The place was lovely, albeit very small, it is across three floors- the bottom a tiny kitchen and similar sized living room with the second floor containing two bedrooms and a small bathroom with the top floor being the master bedroom, main shower and second kitchenette area leading out to a terraced garden.
We took the opportunity to walk around Port Isaac, simply heading out of the cottage and down the hill takes you into the centre of the port. For some it would be instantly recognisable, as this is where the British drama Doc Martin is filmed as well as some other famous films, most recently ‘Fisherman’s Friends’. One thing we should point out, is that you need to be relatively fit, the hills are steep and quite challenging- Natalie’s Dad was waiting for a hip operations so it was quite apparent for our group how difficult it was.
As stated earlier, we had booked to go to Port Gaverne Hotel (portgavernehotel.co.uk). Although it is only around a mile away, we wanted to get a taxi. This was a nightmare; the local taxi company did not answer and despite asking some locals- we were not able to establish an alternative. So, we had to walk, getting there wasn’t so bad, after the initial hill where the cottage is, the remainder was downhill. The walk took us past Nathan Outlaw’s two Michelin Star restaurant as well as the Stargazy Inn both alternative restaurants which had been considered during our stay. The Hotel is in a stunning little bay, there is outdoor restaurant called Pilchards which maximises the view, but we had booked the main restaurant. The menu has a good variety of options, when it came to the starters, the crab on toast was very memorable, but the star was the cod scotch egg- perfect runny yoke surrounded by delicious fish. The mains were very good too with Chicken and Hake lauded by our table group. All in all, we had a very good meal and we would all highly recommend it- the bill came in at around £150 for the four of us which included a bottle of red wine a few beers, two bottles of water and 3 courses each. Unfortunately, we were unable to get a cab back and had a long walk back up the hill into Port Isaac.
The following day, Ian spent the morning trying to find a taxi to take us into Padstow- approximately 35 minutes from Port Isaac. Originally, the plan was to get a cab to Rock and then take the ferry over to Padstow but given the lack of taxi options and how short the trip to Rock was, we had to make it a journey worth the while of the Driver and pay the extra taking us directly to and from Padstow. The driver picked us up on the main road, the same place Ian had parked the car. Padstow is very close as the crow flies, but the road networks takes you around land through the town of Wadebridge. Years before Ian had cycled between Wadebridge and Padstow with his family, which is still possible today- should you be looking for an activity but not something we chose to do. We were dropped off around 30 minutes before our restaurant booking. We then had a walk around Padstow, visiting the various shops including the Padstow brewing company and fudge outlets. The place was packed and surprisingly, nearly every tourist/visitor seemed to have a dog, we felt out of place by not having one with us!
Rick Stein’s Seafood restaurant (rickstein.com/eat-with-us/the-seafood-restaurant) is situated very close to the centre of Padstow. The restaurant was nicely decorated and had air conditioning- much needed as it was a very warm day. The menu is obviously dominated by fish but with fixed price set menu also available. For starters Ian went with the huge Hot Seafood starter- lots of elements- almost like a pescatarian mixed grill. It comes with four or five different apparatus for the various shellfish- a memorable dish! The mains were fantastic, two of the party had the Indonesian Curry which was surprisingly spicy but extremely tasty, Ian had the winning course with a Turbot and Crab special which was absolutely divine- perfectly cooked fish with a stunning white wine sauce probably one of the best fish dishes he has ever eaten. We had some lovely sweets and the restaurant presented Natalie with a decorated desert to celebrate her birthday. The meal was around £240 which included a couple of beers, bottle of red, glass of Pedro Ximenes, three courses each and a couple of bottles of water. Considering the quality of the meal, very reasonable compared with some of the London restaurants we have experienced.
Our Driver picked us up and took us back to Port Isaac but not before a short walk around Padstow, in an attempt to burn some calories off. The weather during our trip was brilliant, although on the Saturday we did experience some sea fog which made visibility quite poor first thing in the morning. In between the restaurant trips we spent some time in the port, sampling some pasties and grabbing a pint in the Golden Lion, infamous from the numerous tv series filmed in there. On the Saturday morning we took the car out and headed over to Rock, from here we got the ferry over to Padstow and busied ourselves in the shops once more. Rock was very nice, albeit there weren’t many shops just some eateries and a pub. When we got back to Port Isaac, we lost our parking spot but managed to find one not too far away, again on the street, so we didn’t have to spend anything on parking.
For our last night, we walked down the Port and went to a local restaurant called the Mote (the-mote.co.uk). It is quite a small restaurant situated in the heart of the port, there are two floors and we were sat downstairs but I would guess this is maximum of 20 tables. We had an enjoyable night with fish and chips as well as a lobster special being the highlights. Natalie’s parents picked the bill up, so we cannot comment on how much it cost but main courses were around £15 to £25 and we had a nice Australian Shiraz for around £30 as well.
Prior to checkout, we tidied up the place and put the rubbish out. There is a Co-op approximately five minutes’ walk which we had utilised for general supplies, but we had only cooked once in the cottage during our visit- testament to all the good food available nearby. As the cottage had the lock box, we didn’t have to meet anyone, simply lock up before we left. We really enjoyed the trip but would again state you need to be relatively fit- it is quite hilly and there are definitely jobs available for taxi drivers- as they do not seem to exist. The Airbnb cost £750 for the three nights, a considerate amount of money but this is England. Port Gaverne and Rick Stein were fantastic meals and definitely worth the trip alone- we didn’t book Nathan Outlaws’ restaurant as the menu was quite limited and one of the party was not overly keen on fish. The scenery is magnificent, as you will see from some of the photos we took. It is a long drive but it is worth it, a beautiful part of England with fantastic food, we will return!
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