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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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Harveys Brewery, Lewes (By grandad1950)

Famous throughout Sussex, Harveys produce a fine pint of bitter . Located on the river ouse in Lewes and dates from 1880.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.87468, 0.016504 • what3words: ///typified.eyelashes.trails

The Grand Pier Weston Super Mare, North Somerset (By Rustyo200le)

The Grand Pier at Weston Super Mare is a fantastic subject to film. Be warned the council do not permit drone flying but they really can't enforce it if you fly within the crown estate border. I generally go when it's quiet and avoid the busier areas.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.34758, -2.986329 • what3words: ///sofa.firms.social

Woolacombe beach, North Devon (By Rustyo200le)

Woolacombe in North Devon is one of our favourite beaches in the Uk. A fantastic place to capture the sunset with the drone. A huge beach where you can easily find space to take off and land from away from the crowds.

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Co-ordinates: 51.1706, -4.210832 • what3words: ///smudges.producers.sourced

Verity, Ilfracombe, North Devon (By Rustyo200le)

Ilfracombe is a lovely harbour village with lots to capture with the drone. But be warned, keep an eye out for the seagulls. They seem to take great interest in drones.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.21086, -4.11151 • what3words: ///processor.projects.battling

Hutton-in-the-forest, Eden (By D0c.Col)

Hutton-in-the-Forest sits quietly on the northern edge of the Lake District, surrounded by ancient woodland that once formed part of the royal Inglewood Forest. It’s one of the most historic country houses in Cumbria — and one of the few still lived in by the same family who’ve owned it for more than four centuries.

At the heart of Hutton lies a medieval pele tower, built around 1350 for defence during the turbulent border wars with Scotland. You can still see traces of that purpose in the arrow slits and thick stone walls. Over time, the fortress grew into a family home, as new wings were added in the Tudor, Jacobean, Georgian, and Victorian periods — each generation adding comfort and character rather than replacing what came before.

This gradual evolution makes Hutton almost a timeline of English domestic architecture in one building. The east front reflects the elegance of the 17th century, while the Gothic details on later sections come from a 19th-century redesign by Anthony Salvin, the same architect who worked on Alnwick Castle and parts of Windsor.

The gardens here are among the oldest in the north of England. The formal topiary yews, some over 300 years old, date back to the 17th century. The walled garden, first laid out in the 1730s, still produces fruit, vegetables, and flowers, much as it did centuries ago. Beyond it, the 18th-century parkland reflects the naturalistic tastes of the Georgian era, influenced by the style of Capability Brown.

Hutton’s setting still carries echoes of its medieval origins. The surrounding woods are remnants of the old royal hunting forest — home to oak and beech trees that have stood for hundreds of years.

I took off from the carpark as it was a quiet day, but the roadside is only about 50m further on. Refreshments and toilet facilities are on site as are places to sit and reflect.

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Co-ordinates: 54.71421, -2.839462 • what3words: ///skirt.shatters.excavated

Birleys Sports Field, Canterbury (By grandad1950)

A large sports field with extensive facilities and a lovely old church hidden in the trees

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Co-ordinates: 51.29087, 1.083089 • what3words: ///fever.truth.badly

Middle Falls, Craven (By markas)

Not many people have heard of this waterfall compared to the more well-known waterfalls in Yorkshire, and you won’t see many photos of it as it’s a little off the beaten track in Upper Warfdale, however its quite near a roadside parking spot, and can actually be seen on the drive, but few actually park up and walk right up to the waterfall.

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Co-ordinates: 54.21232, -2.084683 • what3words: ///reassured.willpower.skimmers

Swanbourne Lake, Arun (By winglider)

Beautiful part of the countryside very close to Arundel. A beautiful park and lake that is open to the public. Parking is very limited in the summer when it gets very busy. There is a tea room and toilets at the entrance.
Unfortunatly they did not want me to TOAL on their property so found a spot by the road.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.86196, -0.556248 • what3words: ///rinses.sketch.prospered

Porthcawl - Sandy bay and Trecco Bay Look Out Tower, Bridgend (By stubbyd)

Lovely open beach and area that I can't believe I haven't previously added.

At this hour it is generally empty, but with the introduction of one of two beach front saunas it has become popular with the early morning "sea dippers" (don't know if there's an official term for what these nutters do).

Also included a shot of the old Coney beach fun fair which is slowly being dismantled [thankfully]. This is meant to be replaced by a development of houses, shops, etc.

There is a large choice of parking, but the closest and easiest is the car park of the Hi Tide Inn, the same Inn that hosts the annual Elvis festival, and is literally right on the edge of Sandy Bay itself.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.47858, -3.693852 • what3words: ///schematic.abruptly.studio

Cliffe Castle, Bradford (By Rick2522)

Cliffe Castle is a beautifully restored Victorian mansion and museum set within large landscaped parkland on the western edge of Keighley, West Yorkshire. The grounds include wide open lawns, ornamental gardens, glasshouses, fountains, and long tree-lined paths — all surrounded by gently rolling hills and views across the Aire Valley.

For drone flying, it offers a great mix of architectural detail, open space, and scenic landscape, ideal for both cinematic and aerial photography.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.87495, -1.913091 • what3words: ///plank.united.remove


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