Hope Cove

Hope Cove is a pair of pretty sandy coves - Inner and Outer Hope - sheltering beneath the green whaleback of Bolt Tail on the South Devon coast. It's a gentler, more intimate subject than the big surf beaches: thatched cottages, a lifeboat slip, a small harbour wall and clear turquoise water over pale sand. Launch from the beach below the tideline or the public foreshore rather than the surrounding cliffs - Bolt Tail and the coast toward Bolberry are National Trust, where TOAL isn't allowed. Park in the village car park above Outer Hope and walk down. This is a quiet, well-heeled village that gets busy with families in high summer, so an early or shoulder-season flight keeps things comfortable and private. There's no controlled airspace nearby; the main hazards are people, moored boats and the odd gull. The coves face west, so sunset is the prize - the light rakes across Bolt Tail and the water glows - while a calm high tide gives the fullest, bluest bay. Watch the sea breeze, which can build sharply through the afternoon and push turbulent air off the headland down into the cove just when the light gets good.