Saltburn-by-the-Sea

Yorkshire's last surviving pleasure pier, a water-balanced Victorian cliff tramway, and the great dark wall of Huntcliff closing off the bay to the south-east — Saltburn packs more aerial subjects into half a mile than anywhere else on this coast. The classic frame is the pier shot long and low from over the sand at sunrise, waves combing through its legs; the underrated one is turning the camera the other way and using Huntcliff's 100m face as a backdrop to the surf. The catch is people. Saltburn is a busy little resort with a year-round surf scene, and summer daytimes are unworkable for anything but a sub-250g flown well away from the crowds — even then, go at dawn or out of season and TOAL from the sand towards the Huntcliff end rather than by the pier ramp. Redcar & Cleveland council publishes no drone byelaw for the beach, but common sense and the Drone Code do the legislating here. Huntcliff itself hosts nesting seabirds in spring and summer, and its top edge kicks off serious rotor in a southerly, so give the face room. Teesside Airport's FRZ is nearly 30km inland — no issue. Winter storms throwing spray over the pier are spectacular, if your nerve and your IP rating allow.