Cornwall Life - September 2022

108 Pages·2022·79.9 MB·English

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Editor's letter

ith its white

painted stone

walls, little

arched windows
and wonky roof, the Harbour
Light building in Boscastle is one
of those Cornish treasures that
will always make you smile. On
a warm sunny day, what could
be better than sitting outside
with a drink, watching the
visitors amble past and listening
to the River Valency as it flows
along towards the harbour and
the sea.

What’s even more pleasing is
that the building was one which
was washed away in the Boscastle
floods, but it was carefully rebuilt
and is a beautiful restoration.

‘It’s afamiliar refrain,
but please support The
Good Stuff and others
like them, pop in for
a coffee, or simply
spread the word’

On top of that, it’s now The
Good Stuff café and bar run
by a young couple, Alice and
Will, who are passionate about
serving thoughtfully sourced,
great quality food. It’s always
busy (even though Boscastle is
not short of great places to eat
and drink), and locals love it
too. In return, Alice and Will are
just as committed to their local
community, setting up from the
very beginning as a Living Wage
employer. ‘We are young business
owners trying to do it right,’ says
Alice.

The Good Stuff at Harbour Light in Boscastle

We all know that Cornwall
needs young people, good
employers, people who try their
utmost to support communities
and the local economy, so it’s
really heartening to see initiatives
like this. A small café it may be,
but a host of similar ventures
across the county - which there
are — can have a powerful impact.

It’s a familiar refrain, but
please support The Good Stuff
and others like them, pop in fora
coffee, or simply spread the word.

This is my last issue as editor
of Cornwall Life. I have enjoyed it
so much, my only bugbear being
there are simply so many great
stories to discover and uncover,
too many to put in the limited
pages of amagazine. This is also

the last issue of Cornwall Life as

YB! ANOGUeH Je JyNJS POOD ay :0}0Ud

a standalone magazine, it’s being
incorporated into sister title,
Cornwall Home and Garden to
become the new-look Cornwall
Home and Garden and Cornwall
Life. Keep an eye out for the first
issue which comes out in October.
For those who subscribe to
Cornwall Life, our subscriptions
team will be in touch with you in
due course.

But for now, very best wishes,
and thank you

Catherine Courtenay
Editor,
Cornwall Life

MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Chrissy Harris

pays a visit to the North
Cornwall harbour

of Port Isaac to see
how Doc Martin has
affected life there
Page 14

Su Carroll

broadcaster, Simon
Parker ahead of his
dates in Cornwall

in September

4 Page 43

meets travel writer and

Merv Davey

tells us about the
uniquely Cornish
ceremonies of Gorsedh
Kernow, which will be in
Hayle this month.

Page 104

Cornwall Life: September 2022 ¢ 3
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Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Saying goodbye

to Doc Martin

For 18 years the North
Cornwall harbour village

of Port Isaac (above) has
been the location of the
hugely popular TV series Doc
Martin. This month sees the
tenth and final series arrive
on out TV screens.

INSIDE

September 2022

Being Bert

Actor Ian McNeice tells us
what it’s being like playing
lovable Bert Large, Portwenn
plumber and disastrous
entrepreneur - and how
giving autographs he helped
raise money for a good
cause.

Let’s visit St Ives

This idyllic harbour town has
been captivating visitors for
generations. Chrissy Harris
looks at why the resort is so
popular with locals, tourists
and artists.

Magic moments

We meet a real life Cornish
witch and take a look at
some of the fascinating
exhibits in the Museum of
Witchcraft and Magic at
Boscastle.

6 ¢ Cornwall Life: September 2022
Photo: Adrian Frost

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Dog-friendly
Newquay

It’s a popular surfing

spot but Newquay is also
quietly emerging as one of
Cornwall’s most dog-friendly
towns on the north coast,

as Natalie Millar-Partridge
and her four-legged friend
discover.

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Fabulous Frugi

We chart the rise and rise of
Frugi, the Cornwall-based
company founded in 2004
which is now the UK’s
leading ethical and organic
children’s clothing brand.

Ways with words

This month sees the premiere of a film celebrating the work of
a creative trio Vivian Pedley, Adrian Frost and Reg Dixon — who
each share a fascination with text.

PLUS

21

42

46

58

68

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88

106

Capturing Cornwall
Discover the county’s
varied hill and cliff forts.

Diary
Our pick of events in
September.

Taste of Scilly
Fabulous food on the
Isles of Scilly.

Real homes
Building a timber
house from a kit.

Better by design
Eco-friendly bean bags
made in Cornwall.

Gardening
Advice from broadcaster
Toby Buckland.

That’s a wrap
Shooting has finished on
Cornish film Nowhere.

Staycation 1
Stunning views from
Polurrian on the Lizard

Staycation 2
A relaxing stay at
St Mellion resort.

My Cornwall
Artist Mickey Smith

ON THE COVER

Our cover image shows Martin
Clunes and Caroline Catz

as Doc Martin and Louisa
Ellingham who have filmed the
final Doc Martin shows at Port
Isaac. Photo: ITV
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8 ¢ Cornwall Life: September 2022
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Farewell

to Cornwall’s most

famous doctor

For 18 years the North Cornwall harbour village of Port
Isaac has been the location of the hugely popular TV series

Doc Martin. This month sees the tenth and final series arrive

on our TV screens, writes Catherine Courtenay.

ilming for the final series of

Doc Martin began in February

this year and ended in July. For

the stars behind the globally
successful series, those final takes truly
marked the end of an era.

Many members of the cast, led by Martin
Clunes (who plays Martin Ellingham,
the grumpy medic with an appalling
bedside manner — and blood phobia),
have been with the series for several years,
some starting with its inception, way back
in 2004.

Ian McNeice and Joe Absolom, who play
Bert Large and his son Al, have forged
strong links to Cornwall in that time, as
have Caroline Catz, who plays the Doc’s
wife Louisa and Jessica Ransom who plays
receptionist Morwenna Newcross.

They all return in the new series, along
with Dame Eileen Atkins, who plays Doc
Martin’s Aunt Ruth, John Marquez as
policeman PC Joe Penhale and Selina
Cadell as pharmacist Mrs Tishell.

‘We’ve been so lucky to get to come
here for so many years and the cast and
crew have made lasting friendships with
a lot of the people who live in Port Isaac,’
says Martin.

‘We’re going to miss the place and all the
people we have made the series with, but
it’s a perfect time to say thank you very
much, put the back cover on the book of
Doc Martin and go and try something new.’

The final series ‘closes the circle’ he says,
although, he adds, ‘I will never get a job as
good as this again.’

Martin and his wife Philippa Braithwaite,
who is the show’s producer, have rented
the same house each time they came to
film, ‘apart from the first series when we
had a swishy house in Rock’.

What will Martin miss most about Port
Isaac? Just being here. It is a lovely place.
Famously, acting is a lot about standing
around and waiting, and the amount of
time I have spent outside that surgery,
just standing waiting and gazing out to
that view over the harbour and out to
sea, I don’t think there is any point in my
own garden where I have stood that long.
Driving myself to work every morning
through the lanes, seeing the sea. Just the
whole vibe.’

It’s the camaraderie between cast
members that Caroline Catz will miss.

‘We’ve all watched our families grow up
and we have got to know each other really
well from spending every other summer
here. It is always a real joy when we get
together for all the set pieces. There is a
real ease about that. It is really lovely and I
will miss that.’

Not having a car in Cornwall, Caroline
made the most of the local walks. ‘If 1
needed a bit of air and a bit of space I’'d
walk up the coast path and it is the best
view. It is an unbeatable cliff top walk. You
can sit and watch the sun set there. All
those things are beautiful perks of the job.
Ihave started to go swimming in the sea
and I’ve been rowing with the Port Isaac
rowing club, who were so welcoming.’

Every Wednesday evening the cast

LEFT:
Martin Clunes
as Doc Martin
with baby Mary
Elizabeth

10 @ Cornwall Life: September 2022