Cudmore Grove Country Park

Cudmore Grove occupies the eastern tip of Mersea Island, where low crumbling clay cliffs meet a shell-and-sand beach at the mouth of the Colne and Blackwater estuaries. It is a lovely, open country park with grassland, a small beach and huge estuary views toward Brightlingsea and Bradwell, and it makes a rewarding coastal flight - but the wildlife calendar governs everything here. The whole estuary is an SSSI, and from October to March it holds internationally important numbers of dark-bellied Brent geese and wintering waders that roost and feed across the mudflats; drones can flush them disastrously, so the reserve grassland and flats are effectively off-limits in that season. The fair-weather approach is to fly in summer, from the open beach at lower tide, keeping the aircraft over the water and well away from any birds, dogs and picnicking families. Airspace is clear, with no flight restriction zone nearby. West Mersea beach, an existing spot, lies about seven kilometres to the west, so you are well separated. The country park charges for parking and can be busy on hot weekends, so aim early. Watch the fast tides and the soft cliff edges, mind the sea breeze, and treat the estuary birds as the first priority every time you fly.