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Cherbury Camp is a multi-mound hill fort-like earthwork north of the village of Charney Bassett in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire. The site is connected to the village by a footpath although there is no public access to within the fort itself.

The fortification was protected by three ditches and embankments, a stream and a marsh. It had an entrance on its Eastern flank. It is larger than its better known counterpart, Uffington Castle (location also on Drone Scene), on the Ridgeway. The location may seem odd compared with the many hill forts however, it was strategically placed at the narrowest neck of land between the River Thames and the River Ock.

In structure and unusual siting, it resembles nearby Hardwell Castle (location also on Drone Scene). Its current form may date from the latter part of the middle Iron Age, most probably from after 200 BC

Legend has it that the local inhabitants of Uffington Castle travelled the intervening 6 miles to raid Cherbury Camp, where King Canute and his invading army were encamped. However, a young shepherd boy spotted them and blew his horn as a warning to the Danes. They are said to have consequently prevailed in the subsequent battle, which took place at the crossroads halfway between Charney Bassett and Buckland. The area became known as Gainfield as a result.

However true or otherwise this local legend may be, the horn, known as the Pusey Horn, is now housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The site is a scheduled monument

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.66396, -1.460023 • what3words: ///matchbox.jumbled.soccer

Seven Barrows is a Bronze Age bowl barrow cemetery, 4-hectare (10 acres) of which are designated a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, at Upper Lambourn, Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust and it is a Scheduled Monument.

Nationally important for its archaeology as well as its wildlife, this ancient and atmospheric site has a wonderful variety of chalk grassland flowers and butterflies -the area is an unimproved chalk grassland with a rich flora and over 100 species of herbs have been recorded. It is also very rich in insects, especially butterflies, including small blue, brown argus, chalkhill blue, dark green fritillary and the scarce marsh fritillary.

The Seven Barrows site (there are actually 30 of them in the vicinity) may have been one of the first areas to have been cleared by early humans from woodland to create arable pastures

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.54396, -1.527164 • what3words: ///mystified.plantings.pushing

aerial view of the 53 hectare Oaks Park in Carshalton in the London borough of Sutton. Extensive parkland , trees and public open space. Another wide open space to fly in south London

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Co-ordinates: 51.33773, -0.168539 • what3words: ///open.riots.assume

Bridestones Moor, near Todmorden in West Yorkshire, is known for its distinctive, wind-carved rock formations, also called the Bridestones. These rocks, shaped by natural weathering processes, stand at a height of about 1,400 feet above sea level. The area is popular with walkers and those interested in the unique geological features.
Parking is on Eastwood road, and a quarter of a mile walk up to the stones.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.73751, -2.10386 • what3words: ///booklets.dizzy.riches

Blowingstone Hill is part of the escarpment of the Berkshire Downs, at the crest of which is The Ridgeway National Trail.

The Blowing Stone after which it is named is a perforated sarsen in a garden at the foot of Blowingstone Hill. The stone is capable of producing a booming sound if someone with the required skill blows into one of the holes the right way (as seen on YouTube). According to legend it could be heard atop White Horse Hill, where 19th-century antiquarians thought King Alfred the Great's Saxon troops had camped, and that this was how Alfred summoned them for the Battle of Ashdown against the Danes in 871 CE.

Its had a couple of literary mentions - Tom Brown's School Days refers to it as the "Blawing Stwun" and calls the village Kingstone Lisle. It is also one of the "sacred stones" mentioned in "Duncton Wood", the first book in the fantasy fiction series about a group of moles.

The stone itself cant really be seen from the air – the reason this location is proposed as a good place to fly a drone is the overall landscape.
• Taking off from the Ridgeway path at the top of the hill you can see across 6 counties - Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, and Hampshire
• Immediately in front of the TOAL point are ancient quarry workings (alongside the path at the TOAL point are a number of large sarsen stones lying among the long grass. These are known for their hardness and were used in the construction of Neolithic monuments like Stonehenge and Avebury)
• Behind the TOAL is the summit of Rams Hill on which once sat an iron age fort. First mentioned in an Anglo Saxon charter of 963, it was an univallate (single bank) enclosure with a ditch of 3.5ha but now completely ploughed away but apparently visible on aerial photographs (I took the drone up over the site but with the field recently ploughed and bone dry, I couldn’t get a decent enough view of it to meaningfully photograph).

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.57933, -1.53712 • what3words: ///suitable.counts.voltages

Compton Beauchamp is a hamlet 3 miles southeast of Shrivenham in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2001 Census recorded the parish's population as 50, down from the 138 recorded in 1851.

The village is at the foot of the Berkshire Downs. Nearby is the Iron Age hill fort of Hardwell Castle which I’ve posted as a separate location on Drone Scene

The manor was held by the Beauchamp family in the 13th century. The moated Compton Beauchamp House was the home of the King's Councillor, Sir Thomas Fettiplace, from about 1507. Over the next 100 years or so, the old house deteriorated and it was pulled down and replaced with the present house in about 1600.

Early in the 18th century a Palladian facade was attached to the eastern entrance front of this small Tudor manor house. The house was rented later in the 19th century by the jurist James Bacon and in 1940 by the Singer Manufacturing Company heiress Daisy Fellowes.

The Church of England parish church of Saint Swithun is 13th century and is built of chalk – this can be seen in the bottom left hand corner of my photo of the house

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Co-ordinates: 51.58062, -1.597561 • what3words: ///flotation.mega.princes

Getting shots of the Great Central Railway is tricky because a lot of it is either urban (so difficult to get far enough away) or in wooded cuttings. However there are a few bridges which allow access and a good view of the track. Good if you want to practice tracking moving objects.
Swithland Sidings has a lot of interesting things to shoot, but strictly speaking you’ll need a spotter because the TOAL spot is hemmed in by trees. Once above the trees. from the road bridge the line heads North across Swithland Reservoir – with good atmospheric shots - and South past the sidings towards Rothley (keep clear of the power pylons).

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 52.71376, -1.16807 • what3words: ///rental.joystick.stall

Getting shots of the Great Central Railway is tricky because a lot of it is either urban (so difficult to get far enough away) or in wooded cuttings.

However there are a few bridges which allow access and a good view of the track. Good if you want to practice tracking moving objects.

You get to Bridge 345 by taking Kinchley Lane out of Quorn and running along the side of Swithland Reservoir, then across the dam. You can either park at the end of the dam or follow the “Unsuitable for Motors” (bumpy) track to the bridge. It’s only a 5 minute walk to the bridge from the dam.

TOAL is from the bridge, or the lane adjacent. The bridge is about halfway between Quorn & Woodhouse and Rothley stations, so expect trains about 6 minutes after leaving either.

The timetable is on the GCR website (https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/timetables-and-fares/). A local dog walker told me the bridge can get busy when special trains are running.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 52.72417, -1.18206 • what3words: ///beads.situates.manual

This is the war memorial in Stornoway.

It's in a predominant point in the outskirts of the town and can be seen from far and wide.

Used on remembrance day and when military history of the island is remembered.

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Co-ordinates: 58.2218, -6.400105 • what3words: ///writers.arranges.dreading

Hardwell Castle or Hardwell Camp is an Iron Age valley fort near to Compton Beauchamp in Oxfordshire (previously Berkshire).

The earthwork is in reasonable condition with visible ramparts and ditches among the wood that covers large parts of it. From the Western and Eastern side the hillfort is protected by natural ravines, while the earthwork is particularly strong from the South. The site has never been excavated

It lies halfway down the scarp slope of the White Horse Hills and is tucked away in a curve, invisible from most angles. The site is surrounded by a double vallum (earth rampart) 140 by 180 feet (40 by 50 m) in dimension.

It has been a Scheduled Monument since 1958.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.57898, -1.586645 • what3words: ///surgical.clays.resorting