West Runton Beach

A genuine North Norfolk gem that most pilots overlook in favour of busier Cromer and Sheringham. The Seaview car park sits right behind a wide sandy gap in the cliffs, so you walk down the ramp and launch straight off open foreshore, which is Crown Estate land where recreational take-off is tolerated. Time it for low tide and the famous chalk-and-flint reef (the Cromer Forest Bed, where the West Runton Elephant fossil was found) is exposed, giving you textured foreground and mirror-flat pools. The layered cliffs sweep west toward Beeston Bump, and sunsets down the coast are superb. One firm rule: everything on top of the cliff, including West Runton and Beeston Regis Heath, Beacon Hill and Roman Camp, is National Trust, which bans all drone take-off and landing. Launch only from the sand, never the clifftop or heath. Crowds are moderate compared with the resorts, and the pay-on-entry field is easy. Keep clear of dog-walkers and swimmers along the tideline, and mind the wind funnelling round the cliff face on a light sub-250g airframe.