After successfully navigating (a.k.a. avoiding) the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, Tellyspotting began day one in Windsor on the 2024 KERA/Transcendent Travel Iconic British Classics Tour of England. With a tour of Windsor Castle in our rearview mirror, we boarded the bus with the greatness of Jim at the helm and headed to Highclere Castle, the stately home of Lord and Lady Grantham in Downton Abbey.

Fortunately, Mr. Carson left the keys above the door so we were able to get in for a behind-the-scenes tour of the home of The 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon. Following a brief bite to eat on the lawn of Highclere, we made our way to the Roman city of Bath for a walk around the home of Jane Austen. Considered one of the best-preserved Roman remains in the world, where 1,170,000 litres of steaming spring water, reaching 46°C, still fills the bathing site every single day, the Roman baths were built in approximately 70AD as a grand bathing and socialising complex.

With a bit of rain in the AM and temperatures in high 50s/low 60s, it’s hard to find anything to complain about given just days ago we were in triple digit temperatures at home before leaving. From Bath, we headed to Boringdon Hall in Plymouth with a brief stop for a cream tea at Cricket St. Thomas, the home featured in the Penelope Keith/Peter Bowles comedy, To the Manor Born.

With Boringdon Hall our home for the next two days, tomorrow we head to picturesque Port Isaac, better known as Portwenn, the sleepy Cornish village home of Doc Martin. While the coastline is more idyllic than can ever be imagined, the thought of seeing where Louise Glasson taught at the Portwenn Primary School, Miss Tishell’s pharmacy, Bert Large’s ill-fated restaurant not to mention the Doc’s surgery is top of mind to most everyone on the trip.

With 10 series and 79 episodes, Doc Martin was a staple of the town of Port Isaac during their two decades of filming over the years and continues to be a year-round tourist attraction. Tomorrow will not disappoint! Cheers!

P.S. Did you recognize the staircase?