A wealth of sights to sea! The world's most breathtaking natural coastal wonders, from gravity-defying rocky pinnacles to other-worldly caves
- The cornucopia of coastline attractions features the stunning Blue Grotto sea cave in Italy
- The Needles, off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, is another iconic spot
- Merlin's Cave, on the North Cornwall coast, has intrigued locals and tourists for decades The cornucopia of coastline attractions also features the stunning Blue Grotto sea cave on the island of Capri in southern Italy, which is illuminated by a mesmerising blue glow at certain times of the day.
Our global tour also takes in rock formations that have featured in Game of Thrones and a James Bond film - and one off the coast of Scotland that looks like the tip of a violin bow.
Scroll down and feast your eyes on a wealth of weathered wonders...
Ko Tapu, off the coast of Thailand, is a top-heavy limestone sea stack about 66ft (20m) high. It became a popular attraction after staring in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun and it is now part of the protected Ao Phang Nga National Park
Behold Reynisdrangar, impressive basalt formations by the black sands of Reynisfjara beach and the coastal village of VÃk in southern Iceland. Their popularity soared after they featured in season seven of Game of Thrones as Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Adventures.com notes: 'According to Icelandic folklore, these odd formations were once sea trolls who tried to drag a ship to the shore. They apparently did not realise that the sun was rising and turned into stones instantly when the sun touched them'
Durdle Door is a natural limestone arch on the Jurassic Coast near Lulworth in Dorset. It was created when the sea pierced through the rock around 10,000 years ago. The name Durdle comes from Old English word 'thirl', meaning bore or drill
Cathedral Cove, also known as Te Whanganui-a-Hei, is a marine reserve on New Zealand's North Island. The park, which covers nine square kilometres (3.47 square miles), is home to a stunning natural arch. Along with being a popular photography spot, kayaking and diving are other attractions that lure travellers
Kicker Rock, also known as Leon Dormido, is a photogenic rock formation north of San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos Islands. The outcrop, the remains of a volcanic cone that's split in two, rises almost 500ft (153m) from sea level. Some believe the eroded rocks resemble a shoe, hence the name Kicker Rock, while others see it as a sleeping sea lion, which translates to Leon Dormido in Spanish
A view of the Needles off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. The landmark features a row of three stacks of chalk that rise almost 100ft (30.4m) out of the sea. The lighthouse at the end was built by Trinity House in 1859, with engineers using dynamite to create a platform for it on one of the chalk stacks
Rising out of the Southern Ocean, alongside Australia's famous Great Ocean Road, you'll find the 12 Apostles - limestone pillars that were once connected to the mainland cliffs. The waves and blasting winds gradually carved them into caves, then arches, and eventually eroded them to 150ft- (45m) tall columns. Currently, there are, in fact, only eight Apostles
The Old Man of Hoy soars out of the Atlantic Ocean on the Orkney archipelago off the north coast of Scotland. At 450ft-(137m) tall, the red sandstone monolith is one of the loftiest sea stacks in the British Isles. It is a popular spot with climbers and first scaled in 1966, by mountaineers Chris Bonington, Rusty Baillie and Tom Patey
One of the most popular photography spots in Portugal is the Benagil cave. The unique rock formation, located in the Algarve between Benagil Beach and Marinha Beach, has a big hole in its ceiling which means the sun casts a magical glow at certain times of the day. It is possible to swim to the cave but strong currents mean it's more advisable to take a boat tour or get there by kayak or stand up paddleboard
Tri Brata is a trio of rocks at the entrance to the Avacha Bay on the southeastern coast of Russia's remote Kamchatka Peninsula. According to legend, the rocks are the remains of three brothers who went to defend the town from a tsunami and turned to stone to help resist the force of the waves
The Totem Pole is a dolerite sea stack located in Fortescue Bay in Tasman National Park near Port Arthur. The dramatic stack, which measures 213ft- (65m) in height with a diameter of 13ft (3.9m), is a popular climbing spot. It was first scaled in 1968 by a team including British-born Australian climber John Ewbank and Allan Keller
The Faroe Islands' Risin og Kellingin, or The Giant and the Witch, sea stacks (seen to the right) attract thousands of sightseers every year. The rock formations are best seen from either the village of TjornuvÃk on Streymoy island or halfway between the village of Eidi and the Eidisskard mountain pass on Eysturoy island. In terms of stature, Risin stands 233ft- (71m) high while Kellingin is 226ft (69m) above sea level. The sheer cliff that towers over them to the left is called Eidiskollur, which is 1,155ft (352m) tall
Fingal's Cave is located on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The rock formation looms 227ft (69m) high over the Atlantic Ocean. The regimented hexagonal pillars of basalt that form the walls look manufactured, but are in fact completely natural. The cave's distinctive acoustics inspired German composer Mendelssohn to write his Hebrides Overture
The Blue Grotto is a natural sea cave 196ft- (60m) long and 82ft- (25m) wide on the coast of the island of Capri in southern Italy. The cave mouth is only 6.5ft (2m) wide and 3.2ft (1m) high, so visitors must enter the channel via a small rowing boat. As the boat passes through the entrance, the skipper will ask passengers to lay back. Capri.com notes that the best time to see the cavern's famed blue glow is when the sun is strongest 'between noon and two in the afternoon'
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