Drone Scene

Wondering where you can fly your drone in the UK — and get £5,000,000 public liability insurance cover? Welcome to Drone Scene!

Wondering where you can legally fly your drone in the UK? Drone Scene helps you find great flying locations and provides £5m Public Liability Insurance cover for complete peace of mind when flying throughout the UK and Europe.

What is Drone Scene? Drone Scene is an interactive drone flight safety app and flight-planning map — built by drone pilots, for drone pilots. Trusted by tens of thousands of hobbyist and professional operators, it is the modern, feature-rich alternative to Drone Assist, featuring thousands of recommended UK flying locations shared by real pilots.

What makes Drone Scene the number one app for UK drone operators? It brings together live data including NOTAMs, Flight Restriction Zones (FRZs), Airports, Airspace Restrictions, and National Trust land boundaries, alongside trusted ground-hazard layers and detailed airspace intelligence — giving you the clarity and control to plan safe, legal flights on desktop or mobile, with no installation required.

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Haywood Junction, Great Haywood added to Rivers and Canals in West Midlands by D0c.Col on 27/11/2022

Haywood Junction, photo taken with Mini 3 Pro (my 1st picture with it!).

At Great Haywood, the Trent and Mersey Canal heads north, as it continues its ascent from Derwent Mouth towards its short summit near Stoke on Trent. Haywood Lock is just to the south, while Hoo Mill Lock is a little further to the north. The River Trent runs to the west of the canal, much too small at this point to support navigation. Derwent Mouth, where the canal joins the river, is 39 miles (63 km) from the junction, while Etruria Lock, where the summit level begins, is 18.9 miles (30.4 km) away.

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal heads west from the junction. The Trent and Mersey towpath is carried over it by a bridge, and almost immediately, it crosses the River Trent on an aqueduct. It follows the valley of the River Sow, which joins the Trent below the junction, and soon reaches Tixall Wide, a broad expanse of water, which, although it looks like a lake, is deep enough to allow boats to reach its edges.

There are plenty of attractions nearby including Shugborough Park and Hall, which are now owned by the National Trust, and are located to the south, with Tixall Gatehouse to the north. The canal ascends through Tixall Lock, after which is crossed the Sow on another aqueduct. Tixall Lock is 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from the junction.

Shugborough Hall was begun in 1695, was extended in the 1760s, and some remodelling was carried out at the end of the eighteenth century by Samuel Wyatt. Internally, the plasterwork is magnificent, and the building is grade I listed. Many of the structures within the grounds are also listed. Tixall Lodge is a small octagonal-shaped building with a stone dome, which bears the date 1807. It is grade II listed, as is the roving bridge at the junction. Just to the south of Haywood Lock, a bridge carries a footpath from Great Haywood to Shugborough Hall. The path crosses the Trent at Essex Bridge, a grade I listed structure with fourteen arches, which is only 4 feet (1.2 m) wide. It was probably built in the 1500s, and is virtually unaltered. [source: wikipedia].

There is plenty of parking across the road from the junction in the Canalside Cafe & Farm shop (also featured in drone scene) during weekdays but it does get pretty busy at weekends but I've always managed to park there. They do a great breakfast as well as the normal cafe menu - all excellent!

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

Co-ordinates: 52.80483, -2.008535 • what3words: ///iceberg.crunched.built

The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 22/11/2022. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location. Landowner permission may be required before taking off.

Where to fly your drone

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Wintersett Reservoir, Wakefield (By skysnapper13)

Wintersett Reservoir is a large, popular carp fishing lake in West Yorkshire, England, part of the Wintersett Fisheries complex, offering silver membership for its quality carp and other species, alongside walking trails around it and nearby Anglers Reservoir. It's known for quality fishing with large carp, features extensive fishing swims, and is surrounded by woodland, with ongoing improvements to access tracks and facilities.

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Co-ordinates: 53.62889, -1.432217 • what3words: ///nightcap.estimate.options

Twmbarlwm Hillfort, Caerphilly (By gasbag43)

Twmbarlwm, also known as Twm Barlwm, Twyn Barlwm or locally known as "the Twmp" (translation: hump) is a hill situated 2 km (1.2 mi) to the northeast of Risca in South Wales. It is 419 m (1,375 ft) high and is a well-known landmark throughout the region.

It commands extensive views across the Motorway 4 corridor and out over the Bristol Channel.

At the top of the hill, near its summit, are the remains of an Iron Age hillfort, believed to have been built by the Silures, the Celtic tribe that inhabited the area before and during Roman times.

There is also a Roman signal point and a substantial Norman motte-and-bailey castle incorporated into the eastern end of the for. The area is a scheduled monument.

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Co-ordinates: 51.62703, -3.096079 • what3words: ///outermost.gourmet.eggs

Ford Green Hall, Stoke-on-Trent (By D0c.Col)

Ford Green Hall stands quietly in the north of Stoke-on-Trent — a rare survivor from a time long before pottery kilns, factories, and industry reshaped the city.

Built in 1624 during the reign of King James I, this historic farmhouse was once the home of Hugh Ford, a yeoman farmer whose life was rooted in land, labour, and self-sufficiency. For nearly two centuries, the hall remained at the centre of a working farm, witnessing some of the most turbulent moments in English history, including the English Civil War, the execution of King Charles I, and the beginnings of industrial change.

Ford Green Hall is a beautiful historic building on the edge of the Whitfield Valley Nature Reserve— its architecture, interiors, surrounding farmland, and the quiet rhythms of rural life that once defined the area. It also reflects on the hall’s later history, including its survival through industrial expansion, flooding from the nearby Ford Green Brook, and its preservation as a historic house museum.

Blending calm narration with aerial footage, historic imagery, and atmospheric reconstructions, this video offers a gentle journey through four centuries of local history — reminding us that Stoke-on-Trent’s story began long before industry, shaped by land, labour, and ordinary lives quietly lived.

There is a carpark right next to the hall, but it is so close the road that there are loads of opportunities to park and film from. There is a petrol station opposite the hall so I'm confident that you could get a drink and a snack if you're feeling dry and peckish! The Whitfield Valley Nature Reserve looks superb, but I ran out of time to explore. I do know that it stretches back a fair way and you end up at the Whitfield Colliery Heritage Museum!

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Co-ordinates: 53.05491, -2.1696 • what3words: ///skips.actors.coast

Shamley Green, Waverley (By grandad1950)

Views across the two large greens in the centre of the charming Sussex village of Shamley Green complete with village pond and a cricket club.

Lots of room to fly but not a lot of parking space

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Co-ordinates: 51.18398, -0.524184 • what3words: ///repelled.left.respond

Side Pike & Lingmoor Fell, South Lakeland (By DavrosTG)

Fantastic views easily accessible from multiple locations straight off the road.

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Co-ordinates: 54.43731, -3.099599 • what3words: ///overdrive.farms.paddle

Clawson Hill oilfield, Melton (By bryand)

Another part of the Nottinghamshire oilfield, but unlike Eakring, this time with working Nodding Donkeys.
Parking close by, but probably prudent to ask the farmer if anyone is around to ask.

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Co-ordinates: 52.82104, -0.922398 • what3words: ///diplomats.flops.tracks

The Oasis Leisure Centre, Swindon (By Rustyo200le)

The now abandoned Oasis Leisure Centre in the heart of Swindon.

There has been many attempts and draft plans submitted to bring this once thriving leisure centre back to life but unfortunately nothing as of yet seems to get started.

We parked in the entrance to the old car park which is now gated off and took off in the car park. We did get confronted by security who politely asked us not to fly over the building but had no issues with us flying otherwise.

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Co-ordinates: 51.56744, -1.790128 • what3words: ///ties.agents.bunny

St Quintins Castle, Vale of Glamorgan (By gasbag43)

Llanblethian Castle, also known as St Quentin's or St. Quintin's Castle, was likely built by Gilbert de Clare in the early 14th century. Its key remains include a twin-towered gatehouse and a northern curtain wall. At its centre is an earthen mound with remnants of what may have been an earlier keep.


The site features ruins such as a rectangular keep stump, a semi-octagonal tower at the southeast corner, traces of a similar southwest tower, and an ivy-covered gatehouse flanked by polygonal towers.


Features include cross-shaped arrow loops, a spiral stairway leading to now-ruined rooms, and parts of the bailey walls, though much of these walls have collapsed or are buried.

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Co-ordinates: 51.45748, -3.456552 • what3words: ///richly.decks.cabbages

Candleston Castle, Bridgend (By gasbag43)

Candleston Castle is a 14th-century fortified manor house, in ruins since the 19th century.

It comprises a D-shaped courtyard about 30m across with a very ruined wall 1.1m thick rising 2m to the wall walk from the inside but rather more above the ground outside, plus a two storey hall block and tower on the east side

Candleston's original long and narrow rectangular structure lay across the western end of a low narrow promontory, suggesting a defensive position.

The castle is believed to be named after the Norman family of Cantilupe, thought to be its first feudal tenants.

As you can see from my photos, its pretty overgrown, but beautifully located in a heavily wooded area with lovely views to be had of the surrounding area from the air

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Co-ordinates: 51.48285, -3.626754 • what3words: ///meanders.exams.unscathed

Newton Beach, Bridgend (By gasbag43)

Newton is the most easterly beach at Porthcawl and is a ten minute walk from the picturesque village of Newton (several nice pubs!).

It is a long sand and rock beach backed by the very extensive and scientifically interesting Newton Burrows and Merthyr Mawr sand dunes. It is popular with windsurfers, jet skiers and power boat users so best to time any flight away from peak periods

There is a pay car park, but off season, I’ve always found it possible to park on the road no more than 100 metres from the beach

To the top right of the image in the distance you can see Dunraven, Monknash and Nash Point along the coast – all great drone locations

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Co-ordinates: 51.47914, -3.662567 • what3words: ///sweetly.inefficient.secondly


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