Where was Poldark filmed in Cornwall?

The BBC's Poldark used locations right across Cornwall. Charlestown, the historic harbour near St Austell, stood in for the towns of Truro and Falmouth; the ruined mines at Botallack on the Tin Coast became Poldark's own mines; and the famous clifftop and beach scenes were shot at places like Holywell Bay, Kynance Cove, Porthgwarra, Church Cove at Gunwalloe and St Agnes Head. Many are National Trust sites and free to visit.

Where is Doc Martin filmed?

Doc Martin is filmed in Port Isaac, the small fishing village on the north Cornwall coast, which appears in the show as the fictional 'Portwenn'. The series ran from 2004 to 2022, and the steep, narrow-laned village has become a place of pilgrimage for fans, who come to see the doctor's house, the school and the harbour.

What Cornish village is in Fisherman's Friends?

Fisherman's Friends, the 2019 film and its sequel, is set and filmed in Port Isaac, the same village as Doc Martin. It tells the true story of the Port Isaac sea shanty group, the Fisherman's Friends, who were signed to a major record label. The real group still performs on the Platt by the harbour in the village.

Was James Bond filmed in Cornwall?

Yes. In the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, Holywell Bay on the north Cornwall coast was used as a stand-in beach for a scene set in Korea. Cornwall's dramatic and often empty beaches have made it a useful location for filmmakers wanting sweeping, unspoilt coastline.

Where was the film Bait filmed?

Bait, Mark Jenkin's acclaimed 2019 film, was shot on location in Cornwall on hand-processed 16mm film, giving it a striking, grainy, timeless look. It tells a very contemporary Cornish story about the tension between local fishing communities and second-home tourism, and it became one of the most celebrated British films of its year.

Cornwall on Screen: The Films and TV Shows Filmed in Cornwall

By Rich Abrahams · Runs Trewena Cottages near Falmouth

Published 9 July 2026 · Updated 9 July 2026

The wide sandy sweep of Holywell Bay on the north Cornwall coast, backed by dunes with the twin Gull Rocks standing offshore, a beach used as a filming location for the Poldark television series.

Cornwall has been a film set for the best part of a century. Its cliffs, coves, harbours and moors turn up on screen again and again, from sweeping period drama to art-house cinema and long-running comedy. Best of all, most of the locations are real places you can walk into, which makes a Cornwall trip a bit of a location tour if you know where to look. Here is the county on screen.

Poldark

No production sent more people to Cornwall than the BBC's Poldark (2015 to 2019). The mining saga, adapted from Winston Graham's novels, was filmed all over the county. Charlestown, the perfectly preserved Georgian harbour near St Austell, doubled for Truro and Falmouth; the ruined engine houses at Botallack on the Tin Coast became Poldark's own mines; and the unforgettable clifftop and beach scenes were shot at Holywell Bay, Kynance Cove, Porthgwarra, Church Cove at Gunwalloe and St Agnes Head. Many are free, open coast you can visit any day.

Doc Martin and Fisherman's Friends

If Poldark gave Cornwall its drama, Port Isaac gave it its charm. This tiny north-coast fishing village played "Portwenn" in Doc Martin for eighteen years (2004 to 2022), its steep lanes and little harbour known to millions. The same village stars in Fisherman's Friends (2019) and its sequel, which tell the true story of Port Isaac's own sea shanty group, signed to a major label. The real Fisherman's Friends still sing on the Platt by the harbour, and the village is now a happy pilgrimage for fans of both.

The Cornish new wave

Cornwall does not only lend its scenery to others; it makes its own films too. The Cornish director Mark Jenkin put the county's own cinema on the map with Bait (2019), shot on hand-processed 16mm for a grainy, timeless look, and telling a sharply modern Cornish story about fishing communities and second-home tourism. His follow-up, the eerie folk-horror Enys Men (2022), was filmed out in the wild far west around Penwith. Both are unmistakably, rootedly Cornish.

Cornwall goes to Hollywood

Cornwall has stood in for far-flung places and hosted some big names over the years:

James Bond came in Die Another Day (2002), using Holywell Bay as a stand-in beach.
Ladies in Lavender (2004), with Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, was filmed around Cadgwith and Prussia Cove on the Lizard.
About Time (2013), Richard Curtis's time-travel romance, used a house and beach near St Austell.
Summer in February (2013) told the story of the Lamorna artists' colony near Penzance.
Even the tough 1971 thriller Straw Dogs was filmed in the far-western village of St Buryan.

On the small screen

Beyond the blockbusters, Cornwall has long been a favourite for television. The 1990s detective series Wycliffe was filmed across the county, the gentle crime drama Beyond Paradise (2023 onwards) is filmed around Looe, and countless food and travel programmes, most famously Rick Stein's from Padstow, have made the Cornish coast familiar to viewers everywhere.

Visit the locations

The lovely thing is how much of it is still exactly as it looked on screen. You can walk onto Poldark's beach at Holywell, wander Doc Martin's harbour at Port Isaac, or stand among the Botallack engine houses on the Tin Coast. From a central base like ours, most of these are within a day trip, which is what makes staying somewhere well placed such an advantage. And for the books behind some of the screen, see our companion piece on Cornwall in literature.

Plan your visit

Cornwall in literature: the writers and books behind the screen, from du Maurier to Poldark
Surprising facts about Cornwall: more of the county's stories
Cornwall's mining heritage: visit Botallack and the Poldark mines for real
Tintagel to Boscastle coast walk: the wild north-coast cliffs seen in so many productions
The best base to explore Cornwall: why a central spot near Falmouth reaches it all

Come and tour Cornwall's screen locations for yourselves. Our three cottages sit on the edge of Falmouth, within a day of Charlestown, the Tin Coast and the north-coast beaches, or drop us a message about a stay.

Stay in touch

Occasional Cornwall updates from Rich at Trewena. Around four times a year, never more.

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Three one-bedroom cottages on a smallholding on the edge of Falmouth. A genuine Cornish base for couples and singles.

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