Charmouth Beach

Charmouth is the Jurassic Coast at its most accessible — a wide shingle-and-sand beach beneath crumbling grey Lias cliffs that spill the fossils this coast is famous for, with the golden pyramid of Golden Cap, the highest point on England's south coast, rising to the west. The beach foreshore is Crown Estate and take-off from it is legitimate; Golden Cap and its estate to the west are National Trust, so keep launches on the public beach and don't TOAL on Trust land. The cliffs are genuinely unstable and rockfalls are frequent, so keep your distance from the base and never fly close in beneath overhangs. In summer and half-term the beach is thick with fossil hunters and families — an early or off-season visit is wise for both safety and clean footage. Winds come straight onshore from the south. There is a large pay-and-display car park behind the beach by the Heritage Coast Centre. The surface is shingle, sand and rock ledges at low tide. West Bay lies about 10km east. Low tide with soft, low-angle light along the cliffs, out of the school holidays, is the ideal window.