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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.

Where to fly your drone

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Westwood Manor, West Wiltshire (By gasbag43)

Westwood Manor is a 15th-century manor house in the village of Westwood, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire.

The manor is set within gardens featuring modern topiary and offering excellent views over the Frome Valley. Taken as a whole, the house is an outstanding example of medieval and Tudor architecture, with wonderful topiary, in an idyllic country setting.

It has been in the ownership of the National Trust since 1956 and was designated as Grade I listed in 1962.

The manor is immediately adjacent to a lovely 12th century church – St Mary the Virgin. It so close its hard to get a shot of the manor without it encroaching :)

If making the trip to the area, you can easily combine this location with flights at Iford Manor and Farleigh Hungerford castle which I posted earlier this week (both no more than 10 minutes drive away)

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.32997, -2.270844 • what3words: ///trying.insist.rinse

Monsal Head and Viaduct, Derbyshire Dales (By robsumm)

Monsal Head and Viaduct, part of the Monsal trail starting at Bakewell, this site has everything, stunning views, big bridge, a tunnel and a pub near the carpark!

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.24064, -1.727504 • what3words: ///chitchat.foremost.dusty

Priory Gardens, Bromley (By grandad1950)

Very pleasant ornamental park with a large lake at one end and a walled formal garden at the other. Lots of space to fly.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.38053, 0.105985 • what3words: ///gent.piano.chimp

St Bartholomew's church, North Wiltshire (By gasbag43)

St Bartholomew’s in Corsham, Wiltshire, is a beautiful Grade I listed building with a rich heritage and architecture dating from its Saxon origins through development by the Normans in the 12th, 15th, and 19th centuries (the current building dates back to the mid-12th century and is actually built onto the original Saxon foundations).

The church and its tall spire stands out in its scenic setting adjacent to Corsham Court, Corsham Park and the surrounding historic listed buildings of the town centre. It is surrounded by a large, peaceful churchyard and has featured in Poldark and other films

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.43383, -2.18231 • what3words: ///proofs.handbook.proposals

Corsham Court, North Wiltshire (By gasbag43)

Corsham Court is a country house situated in a park designed by Capability Brown. It is in the town of Corsham, 3 miles west of Chippenham, Wiltshire. It is currently the home of the present Baron Methuen, James Methuen-Campbell, the eighth generation of the Methuens to live there.

Corsham was a royal manor in the days of the Saxon kings, reputed to have been a seat of Ethelred the Unready. After William the Conqueror, the manor continued to be passed down through the generations in the royal family. It often formed part of the dower of the Queens of England during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. During the 16th century, the manor went to two of Henry VIII's wives, namely Catherine of Aragon until 1536, and Katherine Parr until 1548.

During the reign of Elizabeth I the estate passed out of the royal family; the present house was built in 1582

In 1960, the house was recorded as Grade I listed

Impressive house situated in large park incorporating a big lake

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.43501, -2.182578 • what3words: ///loaded.affair.comforted

Iford Manor, West Wiltshire (By gasbag43)

Iford Manor is a Grade II listed building in Wiltshire, about 2 miles southwest of the town of Bradford-on-Avon.

It is a Grade II listed building sitting on the steep, south-facing slope of the Frome valley. The Manor House was built in the late 15th or early 16th century, but most of what is visible is from a rebuilding as an early Georgian house c1725-1730.

Iford is best known for its beautiful gardens, which are designated Grade I in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens by Historic England

The Manor house and Gardens are the main reason for recommending this as a location to fly your drone, but its setting in one of the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" (Condé Nast Traveler in 2020) strengthens its case as a great place to visit

To cap it all, immediately outside the manor is a very pretty and ornate medieval stone bridge built circa 1400

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.32901, -2.287597 • what3words: ///vague.leans.healers

Farleigh Hungerford Castle, Mendip (By gasbag43)

Farleigh Hungerford Castle is a medieval castle in Farleigh Hungerford, Somerset.

The castle was built in two phases: the inner court was constructed between 1377 and 1383 on the site of an existing manor house overlooking the River Frome.

A deer park was attached to the castle, requiring the destruction of the nearby village.

Later, the castle was extended with an additional, outer court, enclosing the parish church in the process.

In 1643, the castle was seized by Royalist forces in 1643, but recaptured by Parliament without a fight near the end of the conflict in 1645. As a result, it escaped the destruction of its defensive capabilities following the war, unlike many other castles in the south-west of England.

It is now owned by English Heritage, is a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.31743, -2.286771 • what3words: ///full.worry.both

Stoney Littleton Long Barrow, Bath and North East Somerset (By gasbag43)

Stoney Littleton Long Barrow is one of the country’s finest accessible examples of a Neolithic chambered tomb. Dating from about 3500 BC, it is 30 metres long and has multiple burial chambers open to view.

The barrow is also known as the Bath Tumulus and the Wellow Tumulus and is located near the village of Wellow in Somerset. It is an example of the Cotswold-Severn Group and was scheduled as an ancient monument in 1882.

Excavations in the early 19th century uncovered bones from several individuals. The stone structure is about 30 metres (98 ft) in length and contains a 12.8-metre (42 ft) long gallery with three pairs of side chambers and an end chamber.

The central passage and entrance are roughly aligned towards the midwinter sunrise.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.31329, -2.381826 • what3words: ///amends.safety.upward

Great Pulteney Street, Bath and North East Somerset (By ColinPeachey)

At over 1,000 feet long and 100 feet wide, Great Pulteney Street is the widest, grandest thoroughfare in Bath, flanked on either side by beautiful Georgian properties.

One of the longest streets, it is also home to the shortest street in the city. A side street just off Great Pulteney Street, Sunderland Street, has only one address!

This beautiful street, completed in 1789, was commissioned by Sir William Pulteney and designed by Georgian architect Thomas Baldwin.

At one end you will find Laura Place, with its pretty fountain at the centre. At the other end stands the magnificent Holburne Museum, the city's first public art gallery, and Sydney Gardens, the only remaining eighteenth-century pleasure gardens in the country.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.38533, -2.351677 • what3words: ///sound.draw.flank

Bayard's Cove Fort (By Grazuncle)

This Tudor fort, built by the borough of Dartmouth between 1522 and 1536, contained heavy guns to protect the prosperous harbour town from attack.

It was the last line of defence against enemy ships that had eluded Dartmouth and Kingswear castles and the iron chain stretched across the Dart estuary between them.

Occupying a terrace cut from the rocky river bank, Bayard’s Cove Fort is picturesquely sited at the entrance to Dartmouth harbour.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.34802, -3.577593 • what3words: ///over.degrading.proudest


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