Eshaness

Eshaness, on the volcanic Northmavine peninsula of northwest Shetland Mainland, is one of the most spectacular stretches of cliff coast in Britain - and made for aerial photography. A squat white lighthouse perches on the clifftop, and from the car park beside it you launch straight onto a rampart of black and red volcanic rock riddled with sea stacks, blowholes, natural arches and geos where the Atlantic explodes in white against sheer walls. The material is endless: top-downs of the stratified lava cliffs, the Grind of the Navir storm-beach, sea stacks like Dore Holm just along the coast, and long tracking shots down the cliff line with surf smoking off the rock. This is raw Atlantic exposure, though - the wind here is relentless and often strong, cliff updraughts are fierce, and salt spray carries a long way, so pick genuinely calm conditions and keep the aircraft out over open water rather than tight to the rock. The other real hazard is birds: great skuas ('bonxies') breed on the moorland behind the cliffs and will aggressively dive-bomb, so in summer keep low over the moor to a minimum and watch for angry escorts. No airport is anywhere near. Long summer daylight means golden light late into the evening.