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Gallow’s Pole – Escaping the Hangman’s Noose

23rd May 2019

Categories: Visitor News

Image by Dave Gallagher

Devon retains an air of mystery amongst her secret coves and a wild indented coastline that has been privy to many a sea-faring tale. The ever present sea washes against dramatic cliffs that fortify her lush interior, the last bastion of defence against pirates, smugglers, and nefarious characters from a perhaps more sinister past…To wander the coast high up on the very edge of Exmoor National Park is to slip into a land where myth holds sway and the imagination takes flight. But stray not too near the edge or one may plunge from the fortress walls and into a tale of your own demise, written upon the roiling seas far below!

Today, as it happens, a story is indeed being written, as a new protagonist enters the annals of myth on this very stretch of coastline…

The scene is set: a prominent edifice watches over the vast landscape. The Great Hangman himself. He looms high on the coast, watching over nearby Ilfracombe and casting a stern eye over the Bristol channel, a sentry gazing suspiciously across at that other land of myth and legend, southern Wales. Today the executioner hosts an ominous spectacle. For a modern day highwayman is to be adjudged in respect of his right to freedom…

Image by Dave Gallagher

The highwayman is the maverick of history, an outlaw amongst his kind. He chooses to flout the mores of normal society, living in the shadows, roaming the roads choosing his own destiny, like Robin Hood, perchance extolling the virtues of freedom from constraints of civilisation. In pursuit of a ‘nobler’ way of life that may ruffle some feathers but inspire others to break free and live life to the fullest in harmony with nature.

But now let us settle back and wait with bated breath as the noose is lowered, the defendant slips his neck in and the executioner prepares to pass his solemn judgement.

A wisp of breeze blows through, rustling the heather and fronds of grass that cling to this cliff edge. The sky is a pale blue, blending into the sea far below, a haze blanketing the horizon. The sun peers down, as if in trepidation of the pronouncement made, the trapdoor swinging open, the body plummeting through…and halting with a violent judder.

But today fortune smiles upon the Highwayman. Before judgement is passed, he has elected to bolt forth, arms extended, launching into space. His head is free of the noose, he has no intention of waiting for his fate to be determined by the rule of the land. The Gallow’s Pole is a platform from which to attain great height and a leap to freedom, not an instrument of sentence.

Image by Dave Gallagher

He seems to freeze mid-air, then swan dive elegantly, before another cord strains and snaps with tension, and the motion is abruptly arrested. But this is not to be his end, unceremoniously yanked from existence. For the cord has pulled forth wings that give him glorious flight out over the azure sea, gliding gracefully over this resplendent land. He becomes a speck far below, arcing, twisting, soaring. The Highwayman has escaped the noose! The Great Hangman sighs as his quarry has escaped. But secretly he smiles, weary with the weight of past judgement. He revels momentarily in the beauty of liberty disappearing into the horizon.

Devon has witnessed an achievement that adds to the modern day narrative of her mystery. She has through her grand and dramatic demeanour facilitated a ground-breaking feat: an opportunity seized by a maverick with a penchant for the spectacular. These are the highest sea cliffs in England, along the magnificent south west coast path. And a first has just occurred. For this has been a pioneering example of BASE jumping by a proponent at the cutting edge of the sport! It is a pursuit that attracts a certain breed of individual, secretive, a little ‘out there’ (to say the least!). With a romantic sensibility for bucking convention in favour of immersing in the grandest of landscapes in the most committing of ways. And he is drawn to the majestic places that Devon holds in abundance. There is no coincidence that he finds himself wandering the Exmoor by-ways, gazing intently out to sea, revelling in potential this land offers, and seeking to aspire to the realm of legend. For this place will always attract such a free spirit.

Next time you wander along this epic coast, and ponder the heritage of pirates, smuggling, adventure, you might just be lucky to witness new myths in the making! But careful you don’t lose your concentration and slip over the side or you may be not so lucky to escape the Hangman’s noose..!

Dave Gallagher is known as the CognitvExplorer and can be often found hanging from cliff edges photographing subjects including BASE jumpers. He is a passionate photographer and ambassador for the adventure potential of the British Isles, and writes on the psychology of adventure and extreme sports. CognitvExplorer.co.uk

See Dave's Instagram account here

Josh The Highwayman was supplied by MountainManBASE.com which is an action media platform involved in lots of exciting adventure projects across Britain (involving getting places by foot, boat, climbing and jumping off).

See the Mountain Man Base Facebook and Instagram pages here.

Stuart Thomas shot and edited footage of the Hangman’s escape, see Stuart's Instagram page here.