Cornwall is considered one of the most remote and yet beautiful counties in England.
And the county’s North Coast with its dramatic cliffscapes, craggy coves, boundless white-tipped breakers and kilometres and kilometres of golden sands is a jewel in the crown, a hikers paradise – beloved by it’s local residents including local fisherman Jeremy Brown, who is more than happy to extoll it’s beauty, heritage and culture.
Part of a five-generation fishing family Jeremy lives in Port Isaac – a quintessential Cornish Fishing village – known for its narrow, winding streets lined with charming, whitewashed cottages that overlook a picturesque harbour – locally referred to as the Platt.
It has gained fame as the fictional village of Port Wenn in the BBC series Doc Martin with many a visitor searching the historic village for the “Grumpy Doc’s” landmarks according to the seasoned fisherman and part-time singer.
However, Jeremy and his fellow members of Fisherman’s Friends – a group of local men who have been taking sea shanty’s to the world through their two successful movies, musicals and their forthcoming first Australian tour – are slowly changing that. Bringing the tourism focus back on the beautiful landscape and vibrant living culture.
Fishing heritage dates back to the early fourteenth century in Port Isaac. It’s a village that has always been deeply connected to the sea, with fishing continuing to play a significant role in the lives of its residents. The village’s name comes from the Cornish Porthysek, meaning ’corn port’, a nod to its historic role in the grain trade.
“People actually do turn up now and look for someone from the Fisherman’s Friends and not just the grumpy old Doc,” Jeremy laughed.
“It’s been a goal of mine in a way – to have some people come to Port Isaac to see the home of Fisherman’s Friends. People have always come to Port Isaac it’s such a pretty place – but then we got a certain amount of the Tourism which was just people looking for the Doc’s House and what have you.
“Even though we’ve got members in from other Ports now – Padstow and Boscastle – it is the home of the Fisherman’s Friends and people do make a beeline for it but of course the village sells itself – it’s so pretty.”
And on Wednesday nights Jeremy, an original member of the group, formed to raise a bit of money for charity back in the 90s, can often be found in the pub singing sea shanties with the rest of the community. The band on stage on those nights is The Yarnigoats who do a lot of the Fisherman’s Friends repertoire as well as their own music. Local gigs are few and far between for the Friends these days.
“Very occasionally about three times this year – on our group WhatsApp chat – we just say is anyone free on Friday and we just do an impromptu gig,” he said.
“But we can’t advertise it these days because it causes chaos down there. If we advertise it we get 2000 people turn up – paramedics, police and marshals have to come because there’s no parking in the village – it’s all out of the village.
“The old sea shanties are obviously from the days of sail so we’re going back hundreds of years.
“But for some reason they’ve got some sort of resonance with people. When we first started singing we had no ambition other than to raise a few pounds for charity. We started singing in the open air at Port Isaac – it’s a bit of an amphitheatre and it sort of lends itself to it.”
The beauty and setting of the village evokes the past and the fishing culture.
“Everything rolls downhill to the harbour,” Jeremy says.
“It’s a very small harbour and it’s straight into the open ocean from there. You’ve got the North Atlantic right out there and the gales literally come right on through and they sweep up the streets and we have to move all the boats.”
He said visitors invariably always find themselves at the bottom of the village at The Platt – a concreted area where the fishermen (like Jeremy’s son who is one of just a few professional fishermen left in the town) keep their dingy. The Platt is also where Fisherman’s Friends got their start and still pop up from time to time.
“You can get a beer and just sit on the Platt or you can go up to our local pub where some of the filming in our films took place and enjoy the atmosphere and have a sing.”
Jeremy believes the best thing that has come out of the adventure of Fisherman’s Friends is the revival of pub singing – of singing just for the joy of it at your local and of keeping that part of Cornish Culture alive. Of course, the band’s trip to Australia is another bonus – and it helps that it’s in the English winter when work is not so busy.
“Singing has not really taken us around the world because we’ve all still got our regular jobs,” he said.
The group’s first Australian tour starts in Adelaide on 7 January and closes out in Perth on 25 January and takes in all States and the ACT. Tickets on sale head to the fishermans-friends website for more information.
