This week's Friday Night Video takes us to the Culm Coast. We're midway through a series focusing on the Devon and Cornish sea cliffs and this video looks at the first ascent of Wreckers' Slab (VS 4b) at Cornakey Cliff.
James Mann introduces his short film Salute to the Admiral: 'I wandered down through the murk and filmed a couple of time-lapses and once or twice managed to see Cornakey Cliff. After hanging around for hours and hours, the mist started to lift and we made the decision to have a go at filming Wreckers' Slab. By the time we finished, it had become one of those magical days when you can never imagine it to rain ever again. The whole thing was filmed in a day with one main camera, Dave Linnett's super drone work and some very useful long shots from Emma Linnett, who in addition managed to produce a painting and read a good chunk of her book. I would also like to say a huge thank you to Dave Viggers for his help and great patience and Iain Peters for his unique capacity to do any piece to camera in a single take whilst being rude to all around him in between. This is a film of friendship and adventure. Talking to 'Zeke' Deacon and knowing what I do of Admiral Keith Lawder and Tom Patey, I strongly suspect that their day out on the first ascent cemented these values between the trio.'
Comments
I always struggle with the name Cornakey. Is it pronounced CORN uh kee, or Corn AKE y? Or perhaps something else entirely?
Lovely! That warms you up from a chilly night in early March in locked-down Sheffield.
Well done to all involved!
Thanks very much. Am pleased you enjoyed. It is in some ways the spark that set the flame for all climbing on the Culm. A really enjoyable day out where climbing wasn’t spoiled by filming or vice versa.
James
I really enjoyed that, it was a fine evocation of an outstanding route in a fantastic landscape, and a lovely story about a fascinating sounding man. It brought back some personal memories for me too of doing Wreckers many years ago, and the friend I did it with.
Yeah classic Cornwall. God knows, I always thought it was Corn-ICKY