Today we visited this centre in Charlestown. It was very interesting & includes a display of articles from the Titanic. I was hoping there’d be some mention of my 2nd cousin (I think that’s right – maybe 3rd), Frank Couch,  who was a crewman on the Titanic, was drowned & is buried in Halifax, Canada.  He was Margaret’s great uncle. There is some info on online but I thought there might be more in this display since he was a local boy. But disappointing

Here’s some info on the Titanic:

Here you put the postcode into the sat Nav & it takes you right to your destination which is really handy but our lady does seem to take us on some very narrow roadways. I videod some to show you what it’s like today. I hope it will load. The scenery everywhere here is so beautiful. Everything is so very green & lush.

Sorry, can’t load the video at the moment so here’s another view of Port Isaac. You can see Doc Martin’s house across the water. All the grassy area above the house is part of Roscarrock Farm where Elizabeth & Isaac were working according to the 1861 census. He was a carter & she, a cook. They married in 1862 & migrated to Melbourne where they worked on a dairy farm.

Their daughter, Rebecca married a Joseph Burgess who ended up owing 5 dairy farms where St Kilda is now in Melbourne. He was the first farmer there to introduce refrigeration to the dairy in 1917.

This is Margaret Couch from Port Isaac. I found her in the phone book, called her & she met us for lunch. Margaret was born in a house in Fore St, Port Isaac & still lives there today. It was really great to talk to her about our ancestors & our lives. Her great grandfather, Francis Couch, was the brother of my GG grandmother who migrated to Australia in 1862 with her husband Isaac Hawker.
Margaret took us to St Endellion Churchyard where many of the family buried & I now have photos of some of the graves. The graveyard was overgrown with long wet grass & it was an overcast windy day so I didn’t stay as long as I would have liked.

We had lunch at the lovely Trevathan Farm Shop & Restaurant & David enjoyed another Cornish Pasty – he’s had quite a few!  I’ve been enjoying the fish cakes!

Before we met Margaret we visited St Kew church & graveyard. This is another parish where the family worshipped & were buried.

The news from the US is terrible today with the attack on LBGTI people enjoying themselves in Orlando. I feel for the families of the people who were killed. Hate, discrimination & bullying should have no place in our world!  How can we eliminate it?

This morning we went on a walking tour of Port Isaac to hear the details of the filming for Doc Martin & to learn about the history of Port Isaac. Our guide, Dave Morgan, has been an extra in all series of the show except the second one. He was also in Poldark, the other show filmed in this area. However, he only moved here in 1986 so his history didn’t go back as far as I would have liked. Apparently there will be at least two more series of the Doc. They have booked to film beginning next March for 4 months & again in March 2019.

David didn’t much enjoy the walking up & down the hills on the tour but it was very interesting. After the tour we had a lobster salad at ‘Fresh from the Sea’ & I washed it down with a Cornish cider. Until we arrived here I have done all the driving but here with these narrow roads, I reckon David has a lot more experience with narrow one lane roads & backing up so he’s got the job! (He apparently had quite a reputation for not being the one to back up underground.)

We then wandered into a little bookshop next to the restaurant & it was a great find. The owner was a Port Isaac man & could chat about life in the village 60 years ago. We bought a book, “The Fishermen of Port Isaac” which contains photos of some of the Couch fishermen & details of the ships they owned & captained. That’s fun!

There’s still a Couch living here, Margaret who is definitely related. From what I can work out, her great grandfather was my GG grandmother’s brother. I’ve tried to call her to see if she’d like to meet but she hasn’t picked up yet. Fingers crossed she’s not away on holidays!

Here’s a pic of Doc Martin’s house & a view of the spectacular scenery:

After Bradford-on-Avon, we planned to visit Wedmore where David’s ancestors (Edwin Raines Dowling & his wife Jane née Warfield) lived prior to moving to Australia. It reads like another lovely village & we wanted to explore but first we needed to organise our bed for the night. Surprisingly, no B&Bs on the side of the road on the way in. Then the hotels were all full!  Someone sent us to a farm 5 mins away but we drove for 20 & no sight of it. Found another pub; full too!  A delightful young lady who’d studied in Australia spent time on the phone for us……  Nothing so we decided to head to Taunton, our next stop where the Somerset Heritage Centre is. Then we spotted a B&B so we pulled in. No sorry, this place is no longer operating – we should take down the sign. But “The Fox & Goose” will have a room. He started to give directions – but then said follow me & he led us there – where we got a room. It was Burnham-on-Sea.  Very comfortable but by the time we arrived, tempers were a wee bit strained!

So this morning we visited the Taunton Heritage Centre for a couple of hours & did find info on this Jane & her husband Edwin!

Then on to the very beautiful Port Isaac where my GG Grandparents (Isaac Hawker & Elizabeth Couch) were born in 1840.  They were married in 1862 & then migrated to Melbourne. It is also Port Wen of Doc Martin fame.   Census documents show the Couch family at some stage living in Geranium Cottage at 31 Middle St. We found the house today – here it is:

The country is so hilly, the coast so rugged, roads so narrow that driving three miles from our little home “Wheel Cottage” on a working sheep farm into town is very scary.
But it is so pretty. Life must have been very hard back in the ‘olden days’!

We had dinner at the Gaverne Hotel. Gaverne is the next little bay from Port Isaac. There is no car park. The road is one lane wide & cars are parked every which way in any tiny space. It’s a nightmare!

Our first rain of the trip fell today. We’ve had beautiful warm sunny weather until now so can’t complain.

On Thursday night we found a lovely b&b in Chippenham so we could visit the Wiltshire & Swindon Archives. My cousins have done so well in researching the Alley family but have been unable to find the surname of Jane who married Henry Alley around 1698, possibly in Wiltshire. I was hoping I could solve the mystery but it wasn’t to be. Sorry Kay & Wendy but I did try.

Before the Alleys moved to Swindon to work on the Great Western Railway, they lived around Trowbridge in several small villages. We couldn’t visit them all but decided to go to Bradford-on-Avon. It was the most beautiful historic village I’ve ever seen. Absolutely georgeous.

The Alleys worked with wool at that time & we found “Weaver’s Lane” – we had a lovely wander.

It was amazing to think that the Alleys lived there so long ago & walked those streets.

Of course we had to finish with scones, jam & clotted cream & a lovely pot of tea in the tea room! The building was built in 1502!!!!

(I’m trying to post too many pictures in this blog so I’ll add the others in a 2nd instalment)

It’s only 4 weeks until we head off on our next amazing overseas journey & we’re becoming excited.

First stop will be England to walk where our ancestors walked. Then we will be off to Norway to cruise from Bergen up to the Arctic circle & back again on Hurtigruren’s Trollfjiord. This promises to be an amazing experience. I really can’t wait!

Then we’ll travel from Bergen to Oslo via Flam on train, bus & ferry. My daughter Kylie has promised that we will love this adventure.

We then fly to Stockholm to board the Oceania’s Marina for a cruise around the Baltic & then we’ll explore Copenhagen for a few days before coming home.

Can you see why we’re excited?  It promises to be a fabulous adventure.

I’ll keep you posted!