In one pretty seaside village, rumours suggest there are just 30 locals left after the tourists have gone home. Popular with second home owners, day trippers and tv fanatics, this seaside escape has attracted visitors for decades. 

What used to be a small fishing village now draws crowds from far and wide to enjoy the seaside air, steep, winding streets, white-washed cottages, and a working harbour where fishermen still land catches of crab and lobster. However, as many Cornish seaside destinations do, it swells during summer with an influx of visitors, leaving locals and businesses to either enjoy or endure a quiet winter. 

Due to its dynamic population, reports vary from 700 to 1,500 people; however, according to local rumours, the permanent population of the lower part of the village in Port Isaac could be as few as 30 people, reports The Telegraph.

So why is there thought to be such a small population? One answer is that many residents chose to move to the upper part of Port Isaac, away from the 18th-century cottages in the historic centre, to enjoy more space and have a lower flooding risk.

Just three years ago, part of the sea defences in Port Isaac's iconic harbour were crumbling and harbour commissioners warned there were no longer enough working boats to fund the repairs, reported Cornwall Live.

If this were to happen, the bottom of the village would be regularly flooded and become "unsustainable and uninsurable" for its residents.

The village was also made famous by the ITV series Doc Martin, starring Martin Clunes, which some say has pushed locals out. Crowds come from around the world to tour memorable spots where it was filmed.

Mum-of-two Anne Wilce, 44, told The Sun the village was now unrecognisable, adding: “It is horrific, there is no affordable housing available for anybody now."

She said Doc Martin brought money into the area and created jobs, but it is "a victim of its popularity and it doesn’t feel like our village any more".

The St Endellion parish has one of the highest rates of second-home ownership in Cornwall, according to a Cornwall Council report, which also makes its permanent population tricky to calculate.

According to RightMove, house prices in Port Isaac reached an overall average of £394,386 over the last year.