Heacham South Beach

Heacham is the rare Norfolk beach that faces due west across The Wash, making it one of the best spots in the county for filming the sun setting over water. It sits about 5km south of the excluded Hunstanton cliffs, on a shingle-and-sand shore backed by a low sea wall and grassy dunes. South Beach has a large car park right behind the front, so you can unload gear and be airborne within minutes. At low tide the sea retreats a long way to reveal firm ribbed sand and mussel beds, giving abundant open space to keep the drone over empty foreshore. There is no airport flight restriction zone here; RAF Marham lies around 30km to the southeast, and Norwich is far to the east. The one thing to respect is The Wash itself, which is a vast RSPB and NNR intertidal system important for wading birds and seals, so keep the aircraft low and over the beach rather than pushing out over the mudflats where flocks feed, and avoid the danger areas that lie further offshore. The beach is popular with families and lavender-trail visitors in summer, so an off-season or evening flight is calmer. Combine the sunset with the pastel beach huts for a distinctive Norfolk composition.