Our UK seaside village is inundated with tourists after TV show made us globally famous – it's forcing us out our home

Scottish Sun

23-06-2025

Tens of thousands of fans flock to the peaceful fishing town each year
SEA TO BELIEVE Our UK seaside village is inundated with tourists after TV show made us globally famous – it's forcing us out our home
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A POPULAR TV show is forcing residents to leave their picturesque coastal village - because it has become a mecca for tourists.
Residents in the Cornish village of Port Isaac have fumed that droves of Doc Martin fans arriving each year have made their town unlivable.
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Tens of thousands of Doc Martin fans flock to the village each year
Credit: Neil Hope
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During summer months, the town is so crowded that locals steer clear
Credit: Neil Hope
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Over the past two decades, house prices in the area have quadrupled
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Tens of thousands of 'Clunatics' - the nickname for fans of the show and star Martin Clunes - flock to the peaceful fishing village annually.
During the summer months, the town's narrow winding lanes are so crowded that locals steer clear of the historic harbour.
Fans from the UK, USA, Australia and mainland Europe has turned the once quiet village into an international tourism hub.
To some in Port Isaac, this has brought new opportunities including walking tours, cafes and merchandise shops.
Rubber-necking tourists reportedly flock to view iconic landmarks such as the home of Martin Clunes' character Dr Martin Ellingham, and Aunty Ruth's cottage above Squeezy Belly Alley.
But locals have suggested that their home has become a "victim of its popularity".
Over the past two decades, house prices in the area - renamed Port Wenn on the show - have quadrupled.
Mum-of-two Anne Wilce, 44, a lifelong Port Isaac resident, told how it had become "unrecognisable".
She fumed: 'It is horrific, there is no affordable housing available for anybody now.
'My sons are 19 and 22 and they won't ever be able to afford to buy a house at this rate.
'Without more affordable housing in the village the younger generation will move away because there is nothing here for them.
'My house is 30 years old and it's part of the last affordable housing that has been built here.
Martin Clunes announces sad death of Doc Martin co-star live on air - two years after hit ITV show ended
'I don't go down to the village centre, I have no reason to because it's all second homes.
"Even when something does come up for sale it's ridiculously priced - nobody around here can afford it.
'Doc Martin brought a whole load of money into the village which has created jobs for people and helped this community.
"But it is also a victim of its popularity and it doesn't feel like our village any more.'
Tourism has long since overtaken fishing as Port Isaac's main industry.
Local businesses have thrived as a result of the town's worldwide fame.
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Local resident Anne Wilce worries about her children finding homes in the area
Credit: Neil Hope
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Locals have suggested that their home has become a 'victim of its popularity'
Credit: Neil Hope
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To some in Port Isaac, Doc Martin has brought new business opportunities including walking tours, cafes and merchandise shops
John Cleave, who was brought up in the village and runs the Boathouse fashion and gift shop, agrees that the show has changed village life.
"The locals talk about BDM – that's Before Doc Martin.
"It was always favoured by comparatively few people who simply saw it as a beautiful, typical Cornish fishing village.
"As a business you could close your doors from October to Easter and it wouldn't make a lot of difference.
"Thanks to Doc Martin we now have all-year-round trade."
The British comedy-drama first aired in 2004.
On the outer edge of the village - next to Port Isaac's real GP surgery - sits a small housing estate containing some of the village's only affordable homes.
They were constructed around 30 years ago and according to residents they were the last affordable homes built in the village.
There are now just two active fishing boats remaining in the village - compared with 174 holiday lets on Airbnb alone.
In the past year, semi-detached properties in Port Isaac sold for an average of £810,000, with terraced properties fetching £616,250, according to Rightmove.
Shop worker Elisha Scott, 19, and her family have lived in the area for 10 years.
She said: 'Nobody my age can afford to rent let alone buy a house here, all my friends still live with their parents.
'I'm not really thinking about house prices though because I don't think I'll stay here for a long time, there just aren't the job opportunities.
'Doc Martin definitely made a difference to Port Isaac, there are always fans of the show looking around the village.
"What has come with that is a lot of people buying second homes here which has made it too expensive for locals.'
Earlier this month a new plan was unveiled to build more affordable homes for local people.
Tre Haven Community Land Trust (CLT) has started negotiations with Cornwall Council to purchase land for 25 affordable housing developments.
The proposal has support from the area's Lib Dem MP Ben Maguire and local celebrity chef Nathan Outlaw.
But critics point out the site sits on a main road several miles from the village - with almost no public transport links to shops or schools.
Unemployed Ciaran Patching, 20, said: 'It took me two years of searching and I feel incredibly lucky to be here, before that I was living with my mum in the town.
'I would love to be able to buy my own house here but it doesn't feel like that will ever be an option at the moment.
'Port Isaac is definitely very popular in summer but in winter it can be dead.
"The popularity of Doc Martin has helped a lot of businesses around here but it has made it hard for year round residents.'
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Resident Ciaran Patching lives in affordable housing in the area
Credit: Neil Hope
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John Cleave hailed the show's positive impact on local businesses
Credit: Neil Hope