When Is A Street Not A Street?

When It's A Drang!

A large proportion of the buildings in the lower end of Port Isaac were built in periods when the shipping and fishing trades were at their most prosperous. They mostly date from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when vehicular access was not a consideration.

This has resulted in the general character of the streets, in the historic core of the town, being narrow and winding. Here there are numerous interconnected narrow alleyways which are known locally as drangs.

^{Be sure to click on the image to view it full screen!}

The drangs are pedestrian access only, and the streets wide enough for vehicles can barely accommodate foot traffic at the same time, so there are very few pavements.

Exploring the tiny streets is a really fun way of passing a couple of hours but their narrowness makes it very difficult to take good photographs.

Often, the view is either obscured by the next bend or you can't get far enough away from the buildings to get them in shot.

Access to the old town of Port Isaac is so difficult that, nowadays around 60% of the buildings in the lower town are holiday rentals and many of the commercial premises are shops and cafes, catering for tourists.

Most of Port Isaac's residents now live on the higher ground where there is twentieth century housing, the school, doctor's surgery, garage, supermarket and playing field. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My Other Port Isaac Posts:

Sea Gull Ponders
Port Isaac View
Weird Architecture
Port Isaac Main Road

Thank you to @juliank and @photocontests for this daily photography contest.

Port Isaac Drangs

When Is A Street Not A Street?