Sutton Bank and Gormire Lake

Sutton Bank is the great limestone and sandstone escarpment on the western rim of the North York Moors, its steep face falling away to the Vale of York with the little glacial pool of Gormire Lake cradled in woodland below. James Herriot called it the finest view in England, and from the edge you look across a huge patchwork of farmland with the lake, the trees and the sweeping cliff line providing layered depth for aerial shots. The important caution here is aviation: the Yorkshire Gliding Club operates from the airfield right on top of Sutton Bank, and gliders launch and soar along this very escarpment, often silently and at the same heights a drone would use. That makes it a genuinely hazardous place to fly carelessly, so stay well away from the gliding site, keep low relative to any soaring aircraft, and give way at all times. Launch from land away from the airfield, ideally down towards the Gormire woods, and keep clear of the busy national park visitor centre. There is no airport restriction zone nearby. Fly on calm days with little glider activity, early or midweek, and shoot the lake and escarpment with morning light picking out the cliff.