Gortmore Viewpoint

Gortmore, on Bishop's Road high beneath the cliffs of Binevenagh, is one of the great set-piece viewpoints of the north coast, and it is far friendlier to pilots than the National Trust honeypots further east. This is a Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council viewpoint with its own free car park and the striking bronze statue of Manannan Mac Lir, the Celtic sea god, perched on the cliff edge. Launch from the car park or the grassed viewpoint and the reward is enormous: the flat sweep of Magilligan and Benone below, the mouth of Lough Foyle, the whole arc of the Donegal hills across the water and the basalt ramparts of Binevenagh rising behind you. Because it sits on a cliff shoulder, you can get dramatic reveal shots dropping the aircraft out over the drop, but that same terrain makes for turbulent, gusty air, this is an exposed, elevated spot and the wind rarely rests, so treat it with respect and keep plenty of battery in reserve for the climb back up. The nearest FRZ is City of Derry Airport (Eglinton) around 17km to the south-west, well clear. The mountain plateau above is Forest Service/ASSI ground, so keep operations to the public viewpoint. A stunning, legal Binevenagh option.