Kimmeridge Bay

Kimmeridge is a geologist's and photographer's favourite: dark shale ledges stepping out into the sea in long curving reefs, a nodding Victorian oil well on the cliff, and Clavell Tower perched above. From the air the ledges at low tide are mesmerising. The bay sits on the private Smedmore Estate - you'll pay a toll to drive the road and park at the cliff-top, and there's no National Trust land here to complicate TOAL. Two big cautions, though. First, the Lulworth Ranges begin immediately to the west: the coast path toward Tyneham enters live MOD danger area, so check firing times, never overfly the range when red flags are flying, and keep your flight east over the bay. Second, Kimmeridge is a marine conservation area and its cliffs hold nesting seabirds in spring - give them room. There's no controlled airspace. Winds hit this exposed south-facing coast hard, and the cliffs generate rotor, so pick a settled day. Low tide is essential to expose the full geometry of the ledges; a low sun skimming across them at either end of the day turns the wet rock and pools into something genuinely extraordinary.