Cottages in Port Isaac

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a cottage in Port Isaac?
• Cottages in Port Isaac: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring Port Isaac: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in Port Isaac?

• Slate fishermen's cottages: Most lets are small period cottages in the lanes above the harbour, typically sleeping two to eight, with kitchens, yards and log burners rather than resort facilities.
• Parking needs planning: The village lanes are extremely narrow and largely resident-only, so nearly everyone uses the main car park at the top of the hill and walks down.
• Harbour, lanes and coast path: Port Gaverne, Port Quin and the South West Coast Path are all within a short walk, and Polzeath and Padstow sit a short drive away.
• Seafood on the doorstep: Day-boat crab, lobster and pasties are the local staples, with several highly rated kitchens within a few minutes of the slipway.
• Quieter shoulder seasons: Spring and autumn bring lower prices, easier parking and a working village that still belongs to the people who live in it.

Port Isaac's cottages are mostly converted fishermen's homes of slate and painted render, tucked into the lanes climbing away from the harbour. Expect two to eight sleeping spaces, steep stairs and thick walls rather than large modern builds. Cottage features here tend towards the practical and the cosy.

• Wood burners and thick stone walls for cool coastal evenings
• Enclosed yards and small gardens
• Allocated parking spaces, which are genuinely worth having here
• Sea or rooftop views over the harbour from upper rooms
• A wood-fired sauna or woodland walk at a handful of cottages just outside the village

Book early for summer: the village is small and stock is limited.

What are the best areas to stay in Port Isaac?

For first-time visitors, the lanes above the harbour strike the best balance between walkable and practical. The table below details regions for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests consistently rate Port Isaac cottages highly for character and location rather than size, and reviews often mention how easy it is to reach the harbour, the coast path and the local kitchens on foot. Several also note the honest advice hosts give about the walk down from the car park with luggage.

Here are our top-rated cottages from the past year:

1. Lower Moon - 9.9+: A cottage for four in Port Isaac with its own yard and parking, praised for the short walk down to the harbour.
2. Driftwood - 9.9+: Sleeps eight in Port Isaac, with a sea view and parking that guests describe as a real advantage in the village.
3. The Shambles - 9.9+: A compact Port Isaac cottage for four, valued for its quiet lane setting and traditional village character.

Port Isaac is a working fishing village on the north Cornwall coast, its slate cottages stacked around a tidal harbour between high cliffs.

🥗Where to eat in Port Isaac?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, Outlaw's Fish Kitchen is the best rated restaurant in Port Isaac. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Emma recommends the The Ice Cream Parlour in Port Isaac: made with local Cornish cream using a family recipe passed down through generations.

1. Walk the harbour and the lanes
2. Follow the coast path to Port Quin
3. Spot the Doc Martin locations
4. Hear a sea shanty on the Platt
5. Rock-pool at Port Gaverne
6. Cross the estuary to Padstow
7. Surf at Polzeath

1. Walk the harbour and the lanes

   Start at the Platt, the slipway where the day boats land, then climb the lanes behind it. Squeezy Belly Alley is the famous squeeze, but the everyday pleasure is the slate and lime-washed frontages, the fish cellars and the sudden gaps that frame the sea. Please remember that almost all of these buildings are homes: keep to the lanes, keep noise down in the evening and do not photograph through windows. Half an hour here explains the village better than any guidebook.

2. Follow the coast path to Port Quin

   The South West Coast Path west from the harbour climbs Roscarrock Hill and runs above Pine Haven towards Port Quin, a tiny abandoned inlet roughly two miles on. It is a proper up-and-down Cornish walk with wildflowers, choughs and long views back over Port Isaac Bay. Sturdy shoes matter more than distance here. East, the shorter stretch to Port Gaverne takes barely fifteen minutes and makes an easy pre-dinner stroll.

3. Spot the Doc Martin locations

   Port Isaac stood in for Portwenn across the series, and the harbour, the school on the hill and the shop fronts along Fore Street will all look familiar. Guided walking tours run in season and are the polite way to see it, since the surgery and several other landmarks are private houses rather than attractions. Even without the television connection, the walk takes you past the fish cellars, the old lifeboat slip and the best views over the tidal harbour.

4. Hear a sea shanty on the Platt

   The village gave its name to the Fisherman's Friends, the shanty group who sang for years on the slipway before films and albums followed. Singing still happens on the Platt in the warmer months, usually on summer Friday evenings and often for charity, with the harbour wall as the auditorium. Check locally for dates rather than assuming, bring something warm, and arrive early because the good spots on the wall fill quickly.

5. Rock-pool at Port Gaverne

   Port Gaverne, the next cove east, is the family beach of choice: sheltered, sandy at low water and edged with rock pools full of blennies, prawns and anemones. It sits inside the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the calm water suits swimming and paddling far better than the working harbour. Local operators run kayaking and coasteering sessions from the cove, so an afternoon here can be as gentle or as bracing as you like.

6. Cross the estuary to Padstow

   Half an hour away by road, Padstow offers a busier quayside, a strong food scene and the start of the Camel Trail, the flat cycling route that runs to Wadebridge and on towards Bodmin Moor. Seasonal ferries cross from Rock, which makes a good round trip: drive or bus one way, walk the estuary side the other. It is the obvious contrast to Port Isaac, and a useful wet-weather option.

7. Surf at Polzeath

   Four miles as the gull flies, Polzeath has the wide, forgiving beach break that Port Isaac's cliff-bound harbour cannot offer. Surf schools run group and private lessons through the season, boards and wetsuits are easy to hire, and lifeguard cover in summer makes it a sound choice for beginners. Daymer Bay next door is quieter, with dunes and the estuary channel, and both are simple half-day trips from a village cottage.