Tintagel and Port Isaac, Sunday, June 7, 2026
The day dawned cloudy as we contemplated yet another tough day on the path. Other sections have hard days, but they’re usually broken up by easier days; this section has eight hard days in a row. And today’s walk is considered by some to be the single most challenging day of all.
So I made another executive decision not to walk: there was no place at all to bail after the first mile, and there were eight major climbs. The others soldiered on, and I took the bus to Port Isaac.
Since I wasn’t along for the ride, I’m going to pass along a number of photos from the walkers.
The first part of the walk ends at Trebarwith Sands; this shot looks down at the Port William pub.
The path out of Trebarwith Sands is no joke.
The next climb, into and out of Backways Cove, came almost immediately!
The walkers finally got some relief atop the Treligga Cliffs.
Halfway home!
The local slate is a prominent feature of the path. It is often used on the steps that mark the steepest sections, and slate walls with a curzey or herringbone pattern are often found on its borders.
This is the descent from the Treligga Cliffs.
A dark slate cove near Delabole.
The ascents don’t get easier as you approach Port Isaac.
Looking back at cliffs and coves mastered.
And of course there was the daily dose of bovine entanglement.
And then Port Gaverne, less than a mile from Port Isaac, hove into view.
While the others toiled up cliffs and down combes, your slovenly author toiled up alleys and down streets in Port Isaac. For those of you not enamored of the long-running British TV show Doc Martin, Port Isaac served as the primary location, under the fictional name of Portwenn. The show generated a lot of tourism for the little fishing village, but it has absorbed the newcomers with grace. Certain locales are iconic, and especially Doc Martin’s medical dispensary, Fern Cottage (the much smaller fieldstone structure beneath the large one with a chimney.
The village retains a lot of its charm, and is still a working harbor. The Royal Naval Lifeboat Institute retains a significant facility here.
Our hotel, the Slipway, is right on the harbor (in fact it’s right next to the RNLI station: very comfortable and very friendly.
We had a terrific dinner at a seafood restaurant, The Mote: great seafood linguini, plaice, mussels, and mackerel.