Log in to Freesound

Problems logging in?
Don't have an account? Join now

Problems logging in?

Enter your email or username below and we'll send you a link to help you login into your account.

Back to log in

Almost there!

We've sent a verification link by email

Didn't receive the email? Check your Spam folder, it may have been caught by a filter. If you still don't see it, you can resend the verification email.

Default title

  • Sounds
  • Tags
  • Forum
  • Map
    • Sounds
    • Packs
    • Forum
    • Map
    • Tags
    • Random sound
    • Charts
    • Donate
    • Help

Dramatic-sounding breaking waves by Towanroath mining ruin

Overall rating (4 ratings)
Philip_Goddard

May 30th, 2023

Follow
Sound effects > Natural elements and explosions
St. Agnes, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom
Cornish coast - Portreath to Perranporth

Between Chapel Porth and the iconic Towanroath engine house ruin (St Agnes, Cornwall, UK), a little nearer the ruin than the 14 April 2015 recording here, I enjoy an extended lunch break while enjoying the sea's performance. This is high up, the coast path contouring the very steep slope and leading on towards St Agnes Head. Again the sea is up against the cliff base, but the tide is going out.

For about the first 20 minutes, only a limited number of waves break, doing so near the cliff base so that instead of a hissy run-out sound you get a wonderful deep rumble as each wave goes out of direct earshot (because of the slope continuing down and then falling away as more or less vertical cliff), and has fairly violent altercations with the cliff. Beyond the first 20 minutes, the breaking of waves becomes more frequent, progressively commencing a little further and further out, thus with increasing tendency to the hissy standard run-out sound of standard surf on a beach.

Advisory

High-grade headphones are particularly recommended in order to hear all the detail. Also, because the stereo imaging has been enhanced, that may cause a certain phasiness or phase cancellation points when you listen through speakers, whereas that effect doesn't occur when listening through headphones.

This recording taking place
This recording taking place.

Techie stuff:
The recorder was a Sony PCM-M10, with just one furry windshield — a Røde DeadKitten (original, more effective, version), and it was placed on a mini-size Zipshot tripod.

Post-recording processing was to apply EQ in Audacity to correct for the muffling effect of the windshield, and more recent processing with the A1 Stereo Control VST plugin (200% widening).

Please remember to give this recording a rating — Thank you!

This recording can be used free of charge, provided that it's not part of a materially profit-making project, and it is properly and clearly attributed. The attribution must give my name (Philip Goddard) and link to https://freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/689027/

Sound illegal or offensive? Flag it!
Atlantic
booming
booms
breakers
Britain
Chapel-Porth
cliff
coast
coast-path
Cornwall
dramatic
England
Europe
Great-Britain
national-trail
north-coast
roaring
rumbles
rumbling
sea
South-West-Coast-Path
South-West-England
St-Agnes
swell
thundering
UK
waves
waves-breaking

Type

Flac (.flac)

Duration

59:17.469

File size

250.1 MB

Sample rate

44100.0 Hz

Bit depth

16 bit

Channels

Stereo

Comments
Please log in to comment
newlocknew

2 years, 3 months ago

Mesmerizing record!

  1. 60 downloads
  2. 1 comment
Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
You are free to share (to copy, distribute and transmit) and to remix (to adapt and modify) as long as you credit the author of the sound and do not use the sound for commercial purposes. Get attribution text...
Login to download
Share url:
920 x 245
Embed example, large size
481 x 86
Embed example, medium size
375 x 30
Embed example, small size
About Freesound Terms of use Privacy Cookies Developers Help Donations Blog Freesound Labs Get your t-shirt!
© 2025 Universitat Pompeu Fabra