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Queen Elizabeth Country Park added to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in South East by AeroJ on 11/08/2024

The South Downs contains a good few spectacular locations along its length, and Butser gets a lot of attention for being among the tallest and most open of them.

But the neighbouring peak of Butser is a slightly lower, almost entirely tree-covered hill where we find QECP, Petersfield's main big out-of-town country park, which deserves a pin on the map because it will occur to many to try and fly here, but we should be aware of the challenges in advance...

Parking is expensive if you bring the car, but bikes (and EUCs) get in free if you are up to the 400 ft climb to the top of the hill with another mile or 2 to go to the fly site once you get there ! Toilets and cafe facilities open within normal park sort of hours (also expensive !). The Park does not have any 'no drones' signs (as of Aug 2024), and I believe it's fine as long as you don't hang around the busy picnic and pizza oven areas at peak times. These border the closest TOAL field right next to the car park and make that one the least preferable of the 3 or 4 available - the others don't generally have stationary groups of people in them !

There ARE spectacular views available here, just not as many as you'd think ! It is MAINLY about the trees and sheer amount of them ! And it's quite a challenging place to fly for number of reasons I will briefly mention below.

All 3 of the potential fly sites are right at the top of the hill and are variously sized fields that adjoin the main gravel track running all the way along the main ridge from the upper car park to Wardown, which is the highest point of and end of the hill. The best place to fly from is undoubtedly the largest field, furthest from the car park (about 1.5km walk), and just before the hill drops off into the Wardown viewpoint (which is almost entirely obscured from view by trees from the ground). THIS is the view we want though and is a stunning vista back towards the town, in which we have imposing Butser on the left, the chalk quarry and town in front, and the A3 carving between the 2 hills, and vast, lush tree canopy in the foreground. This looks AMAZING in Autumn.

But the Achilles heel, so to speak, of this site is the fact that each of these TOAL fields are surrounded by tall trees, seriously limiting the amount of horizontal travel we have, even at some height without losing VLOS. The ONE exception is if you get your UV to follow the main track all the way along the hill ridge, which will give a long continuous shot with clear views of craft all the way along if you follow it on foot and lovely wooded drop-offs on both sides once you get about 100 ft above the tree-line.

We do get some RAF traffic appearing low over those trees on occasions, so good to notify them of any flights you may be intending to make here in advance. We also have to watch out for excess wind, which may seem calm at ground level, but can become suddenly huge as soon as you emerge from the canopy, where you are subject to a powerful prevailing wind that gets channelled along the A3 between the 2 hills. Although updrafts from this do get diffused by the woodland to some extent, some skim above it and can catch you, making descent a bit sketchy if you try it in the wrong places or need it in a hurry, so this is actually quite a challenging place to fly because you don't have much chance to see things coming and winds are unpredictable and powerful ! My advice is 'don't run low on power here - land well early'. The main risk is being blown out of VLOS for craft that can't handle big wind. I will only fly my M4P here on the very calmest of days.

A valid question to ask might be why you would fly here, when there is even bigger hill Butser right next door, which is a relatively easy-fly, vastly wide open space, with amazing all-round visibility wherever you fly on it, and I would have to agree !

QECP is for specialists, who want tree-lined ridges in certain lights, (and ones tall enough to poke through clouds occasionally) and who want to actually fly IN the woods where there are helpfully widely spaced and nicely managed trees and a number of interesting things to film including assault courses, bike trails, epic drop-offs and several crafty type play areas with rope swings and bridges and what-not. Looks great in golden hour. FPVers would have a ball in the woods if the light was right...

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

Co-ordinates: 50.97363, -0.967226 • what3words: ///logs.marching.relations

The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 10/08/2024. 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.

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Crowden Brook, High Peak (By akey_uk)

Easy access from Crowden carpark, TOAL from the footpath. Can get busy during the day, but was really quiet in the evening when we went. Beautiful little weir.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.49081, -1.895882 • what3words: ///copycat.overused.deck

Hampshire Farm Meadows, Havant (By grandad1950)

A 42 acre wild public open space with lots of room to fly

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.86369, -0.930362 • what3words: ///glare.dame.pasta

Waddow Weir, Ribble Valley (By Bilbo)

Surrounded by beautiful countryside, Waddow Weir is a historic structure on the River Ribble, located near Waddow Hall in Waddington, Clitheroe. The weir is located on the River Ribble, between Edisford Bridge and Brungerley Bridge, near Waddow Hall. The surrounding area is described as Undulating Lowland Farmland with Wooded Brooks and Valley Floodplain, according to the Forest of Bowland Landscape Character assessment.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.87832, -2.405422 • what3words: ///sedative.cleans.brief

Rowlands Castle Recreation Ground, East Hampshire (By grandad1950)

The recreation ground in Rowlands Castle, East Hampshire.

Good views of the village, the sports facilities and the local golf club.

Lots of space to park and fly.

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Co-ordinates: 50.89242, -0.963793 • what3words: ///revived.slyly.reworked

Nostell Priory, Wakefield (By richrab)

Nostell Priory is a Palladian house in Nostell, West Yorkshire, in England, near Crofton and on the road to Doncaster from Wakefield. It dates from 1733 and was built for the Winn family on the site of a medieval priory.[2] The Priory and its contents were given to the National Trust in 1953 by the trustees of the estate and Rowland Winn, 3rd Baron St Oswald.

TOAL from the Doncaster road outside the grounds, only parking option was a pull in with a locked gate to Ashfield Angling fishing lake. Ok for a ten min flight, but I would not park and walk off as access may be required.

This was within the advisory boundary zone of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, so be aware.

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Co-ordinates: 53.65159, -1.387835 • what3words: ///crafted.jets.taxpayers

Brodsworth Community Woodlands, Doncaster (By richrab)

Following the closure of Brodsworth colliery in the 1990s, the community suffered from high unemployment and health and social problems, compounded by the large area of derelict land which became a focus for antisocial behaviour. The site was remediated as part of the National Coalfields Programme, transforming it into a thriving natural space which offers rich habitats for wildlife and a valuable recreational space for the local community.

Visitors can explore an extensive network of walking and cycling trails that wind through picturesque woodland and open meadows, where kestrels can often be seen soaring overhead. The site’s carefully designed wetland areas support diverse flora and fauna, making it a haven for birdwatchers and nature lovers. With panoramic views and peaceful surroundings, Brodsworth Community Woodland is an ideal retreat for those seeking to enjoy the outdoors.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.55695, -1.206158 • what3words: ///longer.armed.alpha

Saltend Power Station, East Riding of Yorkshire (By Osdog)

An easy place to photograph. No restrictions that I could see regarding TOAL. It's the King Charles 3 Coastal Footpath which runs right alongside the Power Station.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.73433, -0.242922 • what3words: ///ending.glare.rocket

Danny House, Mid Sussex (By grandad1950)

aerial view of the grade 1 listed Danny House in West Sussex. An elizabethan mansion house near Hurstpierpoint on the south downs and now used as an upmarket retirement home.

No direct access but easy to photograph from the South Downs Way

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Co-ordinates: 50.91904, -0.173228 • what3words: ///grafted.prune.wiping

Ayr Harbour (By Zipco)

Ayr Harbour, located at the mouth of the River Ayr, is a historic port on the west coast of Scotland with a commercial focus and facilities for leisure craft. It features lighthouses on the north and south breakwaters, as well as range lights within the dock area. The harbour has a rich history tied to the movement of goods like coal, wool, and fish, as well as shipbuilding.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 55.46785, -4.638196 • what3words: ///scrapping.ranges.earphones

Crossraguel Abbey, Carrick South (By Zipco)

The Abbey of Saint Mary of Crossraguel is a ruin of a former abbey near the town of Maybole, South Ayrshire, Scotland. Although it is a ruin, visitors can still see the original monks’ church, their cloister and their dovecot.

Founded in 1244 by Donnchadh, Earl of Carrick, following an earlier donation of 1225, to the monks of Paisley Abbey for that purpose. They reputedly built nothing more than a small chapel and kept the balance for themselves. The Earl took the matter to the Bishop of Glasgow for arbitration and, winning his case, forced the monks to build a proper abbey.

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Co-ordinates: 55.33878, -4.720914 • what3words: ///robes.whirlwind.cemented


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