Storm Ciaran Lashes Cornwall - November 2023 - 4K Video

Storm Ciaran is the third named storm to hit the UK in 2023. Arriving at the beginning of November the storm tracked south of the UK. The first signs of Storm Ciaran’s arrival in Cornwall were on Wednesday afternoon when the swell on the south coast began picking up. High tide on the Wednesday was at around 18:45 in Penzance. By this time the wind was beginning to pick up so I headed down to the Promenade to check out the waves. Obviously it was a little on the dark side but the waves were already battering the sea wall and throwing spray over the road. I think the storm peaked overnight (it sounded like it at 4am!), but the tides (and obviously light) were more conducive to getting up first thing and heading to the coast. I was tempted to head to Porthleven given the southerly location of the storm, however, these days it is pretty crowded with photographers over there. Plus the wind was from the north west meaning whilst the waves might be more perfectly formed, they may also have been a little blown out. Instead I thought I’d try Sennen Cove first, were I too this epic photo some years ago (). The cove was a little disappointing and Ciaran wasn’t really hitting the headland with enough force. So I jumped in the car and headed for another of my favourite spots, Cape Cornwall. The Cape is basically an alternative to Land’s End, and somewhat more spectacular IMHO. There were some solid waves coming in, but it still wasn’t as epic as I was hoping. The next spot should be instantly recognisable to Poldark fans as Wheal Leisure. Located at the foot of cliffs in Botallack this place is always spectacular. I decided that it has already been photographed enough to not risk life and limb getting a closer look and shot with my trust 100-400mm lens. I did spot a guy out on the cliffs - hopefully not as precarious as it looked! After my nod to Poldark I chased Storm Ciaran around to a nearby stretch of coast along from the lighthouse in Pendeen. I love the cliffs here with the old mines on top as they give a sense of scale, and it really gives you an impression of where you wouldn’t want to be... Finally, as a further nod to Poldark, and lured by the thought of offshore winds creating huge, perfect waves I headed to Porthcurno. The tide was a little high, but there were still some awesome, barrelling waves to be seen off Pedn Vounder in the distance, and you could feel the waves crashing through the ground. By this time I’d pretty much used up all my energy storm chasing around West Cornwall. So headed home for some overdue breakfast.