Where can I fly my 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? Looking for great places to fly? Looking for £5m Public Liability Insurance cover? Well look no further!

Welcome to Drone Scene, the place to find great drone flying locations in the UK, view images and videos posted by other pilots and share your flying locations in order to help other UK hobbyists find great locations where they can fly safely too.

Click on a marker pin to view details of that location. You can also add comments and discuss the location in our forum.

×You must login to see Airspace Restrictions, National Trust boundaries and other interactive map layers.

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...

Land owner permission not required.

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.

Where to fly your drone


Recently added locations

Hole of Horcum (By D0c.Col)

Beautiful Circular walk around Levisham and the Hole of Horcum North Yorkshire

The Hole of Horcum is a section of the valley of the Levisham Beck, in the Tabular Hills of the North York Moors National Park, England. The first element of the name is Old English horh, meaning "filth," while the suffix, cumb, means "bowl-shaped valley", and is of Brittonic Celtic origin.

The hollow is 400 feet (120 m) deep and about ¾ mile (1.2 km) across. The Hole was created by a process called spring-sapping, where water welling up from the hillside gradually undermined the slopes above, eating the rocks away grain by grain. In this way, over thousands of years, a once narrow valley widened and deepened into an enormous cauldron. The process continues today.

A more colourful, yet not exactly PC, explanation, however, is provided by a local legend that has it that the "Devil's Punchbowl"-type feature, the amphitheatre, was formed when Wade, the Giant scooped up a handful of earth to throw at his wife during an argument, what a sod eh!

There is a Carpark on the A169 Saltergate viewing area.

There are so many walking routes to choose from - around the rim, down in the hole, out to Skelton Tower, etc. One can also include Levisham Station (for NYM Railway) and refreshments at the Horseshoe Inn. It is a wonderful hike that takes two to four hours depending on your route and doesn't require any special fitness. Nice way to see pastures filled with animals, wet lowlands with streams, and high moors all on one hike.

Please note that, at the time of my flight there was no indicated Flight Restriction or NOTAM in the area. This is not always the case as RAF fylingdales is close by, so best to check prior to flight. Details of who to contact for permission to fly will be published in the temporary Flight Restriction/NOTAM if and as applicable.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.33033, -0.700531 • what3words: ///

St James' Park (By DJNelson)

Plenty of options to TOAL from around the stadium. Particularly Leazes Park to the North and around St James' Stack to the South.

I wouldn't suggest attempting on a Matchday and also watch out for flocks of seagulls. Height of the stadium also limits line of site but you can land a relocate.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.97512, -1.621642 • what3words: ///

Lancaster Canal Bridge, St. Michael's Lane (By George16)

This is a nice place for views over the central village and canal bridge.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.10342, -2.792062 • what3words: ///

Henfield Common West Sussex (By grandad1950)

Just west of Henfield Village is a large public open space. Home of Henfield Cricket club and various football and Hockey teams. Pleasant woodland , small lake and several footpaths to explore the common.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.92594, -0.262068 • what3words: ///

Future Flower (By Cjh)

Accessible by foot or bike along the Sankey Valley canal between Penketh and Widnes.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.3615, -2.704628 • what3words: ///

Saint Oswald Church (By Cjh)

Asked permission from St. Oswald's warden. Can park in the grounds car park.

Land owner permission obtained.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.43081, -2.597874 • what3words: ///

Packet Boat Basin Bolton-le-Sands (By George16)

The basin is a wider area of the canal in the centre of the village. Quite often there are boats moored there which can enhance the view. There are two canal bridges there that are quite photogenic however be aware of minor powerlines crossing the bridge. There is good parking on mainstreet just over the bridge.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 54.10514, -2.79073 • what3words: ///

Slaugham Mill Pond West Sussex (By grandad1950)

Tucked away up a lane in the village of Slaugham is the fishing lake and fishing club.

Very small car park with a tricky TOAL.

Nice church in the village.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.03387, -0.210758 • what3words: ///

Lytham Hall (By leonteale)

Description of the Flight: This footage was captured during the Christmas event in December 2024. The flight took place on a quiet Saturday evening at 8 pm, with no one around, providing a serene and uninterrupted environment for a quick couple of shots of the lights/house for the Mrs.

Permission to Fly: The location is just inside Blackpool ATC's No-Fly Zone. However, Blackpool ATC is very accommodating. You can request permission to fly directly from them or alternatively, fly just outside the zone and use your drone's zoom capabilities to capture footage safely as it is right on the very edge.

Parking: Onsite parking is available. During the event, parking was free, but it’s normally paid outside of such occasions. Make sure to check current parking rates if you visit outside event timings.

Accessibility and Other Information: The site is easily accessible, making it ideal for drone enthusiasts of all experience levels. For those planning to visit during quieter times, it’s worth noting that the area is typically peaceful after event hours, offering a calm environment for uninterrupted drone flights.

Tips:

If flying close to or within the NFZ, ensure you communicate with Blackpool ATC well in advance for a smooth approval process.

Land owner permission not required.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.7442, -2.976407 • what3words: ///

Staplefield Common, West Sussex (By grandad1950)

During the winter months I often use cricket grounds as a place to fly. They are usually quiet and they are usually large open spaces with room to fly. Quite often they are in pretty villages or surrounded by countryside. This is Staplefield Cricket ground on Staplefield Common.

If you are looking for somewhere to fly, to practice or just take a few snaps seek out your local cricket grounds.

Land owner permission requirements unknown.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.03872, -0.183171 • what3words: ///


Show All Locations

Service provided by