The LA coastline changes dramatically at Palos Verdes, where broad sandy beaches give way to tall bluffs. Hwy-1 turns inland to avoid the hilly Palos Verdes peninsula, which is dotted with affluent, hamlet-sized communities reached by snaking lanes. The penin­sula’s coastal side is traversed by Palos Verdes Drive, a road which threads its way between rocky cliffs and the ocean. On it, keep an eye out for the many footpaths which lead from the roadside to pint-sized beaches – some of them home to surfers who are fiercely protective of what they call ‘their’ waves. Look, too, for the short road which winds up to the Wayfarer’s Chapel, erected in a young redwood grove by architect Lloyd Wright (son of the more famous Frank Lloyd) in 1946 as a monument to 18thC Swedish the­ologian Emmanuel Swedenborg.

Just before Palos Verdes Drive begins its descent into San Pedro, the 37-acre Point Fermin Park is a popular spot for watching migrating grey whales and also gives aerial views of the LA harbour, and – smog permitting – across the unrelent­ing sprawl of LA itself.