T h e   B i r d c a g e

Port Isaac is two and a half miles east around the headland from Port Quin and the Doyden Point Tower.

This little fishing town was also an important coastal port up to the 19th century with an active harbour exchanging coal, pottery, stone and timber. It is very picturesque, with steep hillsides surrounded by high rocky cliffs. The town's lanes are very narrow, making it very difficult to negotiate through in a car. Many of the cornish cottages here are 18th and 19th century, built from traditional granite with slated fronts.

At Rose Hill, a very narrow lane, off Fore Street from the harbour's slipway, a very extraordinary residence called the Birdcage can be found. Built 3 stories high from granite and slate, it is a pentagonal tower with quirky crooked' walls and an angled chimney giving it a humorous appearance. It was originally built as a fisherman's cottage sometime in the 18th century, and then used as a cobbler's shop.

Now owned and preserved by the National Trust, it is let out as a holiday home.

The birdcage makes a favourite perch for the local sea gulls..

 

Visiting

Port Isaac gets very busy with visitors during the summer months. The town has been used as a set by many television and film crews over the years, the most recent being the ITV drama "Doc Martin".

Although there is limited parking at the harbour slipway, a day visitor is advised to park in the car park at the top of the hill and walk down into the town.

 

 

Co-ords 199700 080800 / SW 997808  

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