Let’s get it straight, I’m Dr. Ellington. Do not pretend we are on a chummy, first name basis. I’m not Doc Martin.

I sure did not expect to become a general practitioner in this harbor village. However, when I had to leave my London surgery practice, I remembered some of my youthful visits here with Aunt Joan. You ask: “Why did I leave London?” I developed a phobia for blood. Not just inconvenient for a surgeon, but downright career ending.

I’ve moved to Portwenn. Some folk might call it by its other name, Port Isaac. If you are sentimental, then you might call it “quaint and picturesque.” In a “U” shape, the old village hugs the harbor. Probably 75-100 old 18-19th century houses, stores, pubs, an old school, and a former Methodist chapel tumble down the surrounding cliffs to the water.

In its earlier centuries, the village survived on shipping timber, slate, and corn. A piece of trivia. Port Isaac is not named after the Biblical Isaac or some old town founder named Isaac; instead it is named after the Cornish words “ Porth Izzick” which means “ corn port.”

If you want information about this village, go pay a tour guide. However, I’ll tell you a some information. If you are at the harbor, the big building up on the left is the Old School. A school from 1875 until 1977, generations of kids went there. Louisa is the Headmistress there. I can’t recount all my emergency visits running up the hill to diagnose and help some sickly young kid. Today, it is a small hotel, twelve rooms named after subject matters such as Latin, History, Mathematics, Chemistry, and even Religious Studies. Cute.

The first building next to the water is the Crab and Lobster pub. Walking away from the harbor, you’ll find Ms. Tischell’s pharmacy shop. To the right of the harbor, you’ll find the lifeguard station and the fishery. You might see Tom Brown stringing 10 traps or 20 traps together. He can drop the lobster and crab traps 5 miles up and down the coast. After two days, he’ll consider himself really lucky if each cage has a lobster and some crabs. More likely, he’ll consider himself a fool to keep fishing since he’ll be lucky to get something in every other cage. On the cliff to the right is a familiar building, Burt’s restaurant. It is on the cliff side opposite the school. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, a long and narrow building. From the inside it doesn’t look like much either.

There are other places that you might recognize, but those places are outside the village. My job interview took place at the Camelot Hotel in Tintagel, probably 10 miles north. Ms. Tischell ran off with the baby to the folly Doyden Castle, probably 5 miles south.

Where is my home and surgery practice? Above the harbor and uphill on the right is the small stone house. I try to carry on my practice there. The villagers sometimes use old remedies or don’t follow my prescriptions. I don’t know how many times I’ve said “You idiot, follow my advice.”

Enjoy the village. If you want to visit Dr. Ellington, make an appointment. If you want to watch the stories, catch “Doc Martin “on Netflix.