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Basildon Park added to National Trust in South East by clinkadink on 10/09/2023

TOAL: 51.493479, -1.115587

The masterpiece of John Carr of York, this Palladian villa was built for Sir Francis Sykes between 1776 and 1783. It is a beautifully balanced building of warm Bath stone consisting of a main central block joined to individual pavilions by single-storey linkages.

Sykes was the youngest son of a Yorkshire yeoman farmer who made a fortune working for the East India Company on the great Sub-Continent. He held many important posts including Factor & Chief of Kasimbazara and resided at the Court of the Nawab of Bengal, until ill-health forced him to return to England in 1768. He bought Basildon from the estate of Viscount Fane, three years later. Sykes was a close friend of Warren Hastings, the Governor-General of India, who lived at nearby Purley Hall and, along with a number of other 'nabobs' resident in the vicinity, he helped give Berkshire its reputation of being the "English Hindoostan". He was created a baronet in 1781.

Basildon was inherited by Sir Francis' grandson and namesake in 1804, when parts of the house were still incomplete. Unfortunately, Sir Francis Junior inherited massive debts from his spendthrift father and, in 1838, the estate was sold to James Morrison MP, one of the richest of the early Victorian merchant princes. He was a famous art-lover who became instrumental in the setting up of the National Gallery. He exclaimed of Basildon, "What a casket to enclose pictorial gems!". His architect, John Papworth, undertook a number of sympathetic alterations at the house between 1837 and 1842, after which the family took up full residence in the best of Victorian traditions.

The last of the Morrisons died in 1910, after which Basildon often stood empty. It was used as a convalescent home for Berkshire regimental soldiers during the Great War, but subsequently fell into an increasing state of dilapidation. The estate was purchased by the 1st Lord Iliffe in 1928 in order to expand his Yattendon lands and the house was sold on to a George Ferdinando. This man had planned to have the place systematically demolished and re-erected in the United States! A scheme which, fortunately, never came to fruition, though many of the decorative fittings can now be seen in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Miraculously, in 1952, Basildon was repurchased by Lord Iliffe's son and his new bride who set about restoring the place to its present splendour. Many fixtures and fittings were bought from other country houses whose fate was not so fortunate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basildon_Park

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location in more detail on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.49878, -1.121342 • what3words: ///stealthier.curated.tumble

The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 10/09/2023. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location.

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River Wear at Hylton (By mollin)

This is really a 2-part location, with Hylton Viaduct as the separation line; with each part accessed from the same starting point.

Parking at W3W: ///served.only.live (or across the road in the other car park…) is free.

The car park is next to the burnt-out shell of the Golden Lion pub. You will also find the old ferry tethering post, and a small boat with a large rock in it, next to the car park.

If you don't have a car, South Hylton metro station is only about 500m away.

Other Points of Interest (POIs)
The Wear Hopper 36 is at W3W: ///party.reap.jabs
The Shipwrights pub is at W3W: ///then.horses.gifted

TOAL from W3W: ///arrow.drank.closed, or follow the public footpath further along the river bank and choose a spot to your liking.

The 2 anchors are at W3W: ///economies.prices.study – they lie either side of a path through the trees near the Golden Lion.

Hylton Viaduct is at W3W: ///storms.length.mole

There is a public footpath that goes under the bridge. Follow this path and you will come to the wreck of the Elegant II near the river bank. The last part of this short walk can be wet and muddy, wear appropriate footwear.

A useful TOAL spot is at W3W: ///curiosity.trim.swim – this gives line of sight to both the Elegant II and the viaduct.

For all POIs, watch out for birds and other wildlife.
Enjoy!

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.90495, -1.456158 • what3words: ///oils.indoor.cotton

Whitrope Heritage Centre (By paulburgh)

It is a heritage with a few trains - kinda cool.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 55.29371, -2.748002 • what3words: ///wipes.tomorrow.daredevil

Mealt Falls and Kilt Rocks (By AlbionDrones)

Decent sized car park, which gets busy, but superb views over the waterfall and great VLOS over the water to Kilt Rocks.

No anti-drone signage and on a clear day excellent views, be warned though, when windy the waterfall flows upwards.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 57.61092, -6.172351 • what3words: ///named.existence.dolphins

Seilebost and Luskentyre Beaches, Isle of Harris (By AlbionDrones)

.If you get the weather - and we did - then the Isles of Lewis and Harris are among the most beautiful places in the world, and the beaches of Luskentyre and Seilebost are truly outstanding...

Park at the Old School Car Park - free - and walk to the beach - bewars Ticks as the fields are sheep infested...

Log ranging views, which I don't feel I did particular justice to as we were with friends and I didnt want to delay folks too much, I need to return here for a longer stay...

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 57.86892, -6.953348 • what3words: ///chaos.rushed.column

Wardlow Quarry (By Grockerman)

Parking is conveniently available near the site. I embarked from a public footpath that circles the quarry's edge. As the quarry is operational, it's important to be cautious. Nonetheless, the weather was delightful, and I enjoyed some breathtaking views.

https://w3w.co/blueberry.unzipped.shadowed

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.02616, -1.879577 • what3words: ///reliving.quantity.zealous

Barnham mill (By grandad1950)

An old mill that is now a residential building. Tricky TOAL from a small car park by the shops with lots of telephone wires overhead. Try it if you like a challenge

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.82703, -0.627404 • what3words: ///bumpy.punk.random

Cliffs of Arbroath (By dansdrone)

This is tricky, be prepared not to fly depending on conditions and if you're using something other than a mini, the area for TOAL to comply with SSSI is not massive so people could be nearby. I was able to get there first thing in the morning in November, so nobody was around.

To fly at the cliffs but avoid the SSSI and/or hikers, note the small gap in the SSSI near the carpark. I set up at the end of that gap, flew through the gap out to open water. That was my passageway each time. I'm not sure if that was being overly cautious, but seemed like a good idea. I also did not overfly the cliffs at any point. With that being said, I had no issues.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 56.56017, -2.557476 • what3words: ///daring.vocab.spit

Cuilin Views, Elgol, Isle of Skye (By AlbionDrones)

Perhaps the most iconic Skye view of the Cuillins, Loch Scavaig, and the Small Isles - Rum, Eigg and Canna - from the remote village of Elgol, a classic photographic spot reimagined with the DJI Air3.

Taken on our last full day on Skye, as the weather was beginning to break - 25 mins later we were dodging the rain - but still the landscape was looking gorgeous.

The foreshore has an SSSI for fossils, but there are no restrictions for drone flying nor at the Car Parking area, which is where I flew from.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 57.14569, -6.106949 • what3words: ///spines.trending.fraction

Glen Shiel Waterfall and Bridge (By dansdrone)

Beautiful view of the River Shiel and stone bridge that I couldn't quite figure out the purpose of - doesn't seem to go anywhere of note. Easy to get more than 50 meters from car park and able to maintain that separation from road with no problem. November flight outside of the restricted hours for RAF Low Flying.

Kept drone flight low and very close given proximity to road, and only flown when no other cars were parked in the car park. A little ways back down the road, there is a trailhead for hikers but again keeping the drone low and very close made this a non-issue.

GREAT for shots where you have a foreground element (a small hill, or the bridge, or a tree) that the drone can move around/focus on, with a gorgeous background in the shot.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 57.16588, -5.325561 • what3words: ///firelight.noses.chaos

Cotter Force, Richmond (By D0c.Col)

The Falls and Cotterdale Beck.

Cotter Force is a small waterfall on Cotterdale Beck, a minor tributary of the River Ure, near the mouth of Cotterdale, a side dale in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England. Cotterdale Beck has several other smaller falls in its course before joining the Ure, but Cotter Force is the largest. The force is not visible from the road, but it takes only a short walk to reach it. It comprises a series of six steps each its own small waterfall with the largest single drop being about 5 feet (1.5 m). The force is narrower at 13 feet (4 m) at the top widening to 43 feet (13 m) at the bottom.[4] A short path allows easy access from the A684 near Holme Heads Bridge approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Hawes. After the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust carried out an upgrade to its footpath, Cotter Force is now accessible to wheelchair users and less mobile visitors and a small layby is right next to a sign adjacent to the path from the road.

Be aware, that if you want to get close to the action there is a lot of small branches to negotiate!

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.32284, -2.234763 • what3words: ///adapt.additives.chemistry


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