One of the highlights of 2011 for me was a mid-summer trip to Cornwall, England, the region where KCET's hit series "Doc Martin" is filmed (read about that trip here).

RELATED: Go here for more Doc Martin web extras, recaps and more!

Martin Clunes, who stars as Doctor Martin Ellingham, and producer Philippa Braithwaite (Clunes' wife) approved a behind-the-scenes visit. Forget the eleven-hour plane ride, followed by a nearly six-hour train ride to get to this beautiful area of England -- it was all worth it. I loved spending time with the amazing cast. And walking through the narrow winding lanes of Port Isaac (or 'Portwenn' as it's known on the TV show) was a treat I'll never forget.

We've created eight stories about the making of "Doc Martin" season 5. The new episodes will start airing in April, 2012, but we'll premiere one behind-the-scenes story every week at kcet.org/docmartin over the next two months. And as a reminder, you can always see "Doc Martin" in southern California exclusively on KCET - Thursday nights at 8:00 P.M.