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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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St Michael the Archangel church, Salisbury (By gasbag43)

St Michael's Church in Mere, Wiltshire, is a Grade 1 listed building. It has a rich history dating back to at least the 11th century, with evidence suggesting a Saxon church existed on the site.

The church is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel and features a striking 15th-century tower, visible for miles around. Over the centuries, the church has been expanded and modified, with significant additions and rebuilds in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries

The church is tucked away in a quiet part of town surrounded by cottages of Mere stone. The 15th century tower looks down on a churchyard with 12 yew trees clipped in the shape of skittles and known as the 12 Apostles

The backdrop to the church in this photo shows just a small part of the miles upon miles of lush rolling Wiltshire countryside that surrounds the village with a significant number of ancient earthworks – field systems and forts dating back to the Iron Age – in close proximity making Mere a great base from which to explore the area.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.08894, -2.271037 • what3words: ///famed.pictures.auctioned

Mere Castle, Salisbury (By gasbag43)

Castle Hill, also called Mere Castle, was a medieval fortification built by Richard, the Earl of Cornwall, in 1253 on a hill overlooking the town of Mere, Wiltshire.

It is a very prominent landmark, rising up on the north edge of the town and overlooking the settlement on one side, and the downs to the north

The castle was constructed in stone, with six towers, inner buildings and gates. It was abandoned in the 14th century and stripped of its stone and metalwork. Only earthworks remain in the 21st century

The site is protected under law as a scheduled monument owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and leased to the local parish council

The hill itself is picturesque, but the view from altitude (summit plus 120 metes) is of stunning Wiltshire landscape

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.09169, -2.27284 • what3words: ///flame.bead.napkins

Goddington Park, Bromley (By grandad1950)

aerial view of the 64 hectare Goddington park in Orpington in the London borough of Bromley. Extensive sports facilities and lovely parkland with trees

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.36705, 0.115153 • what3words: ///cages.signal.strict

Wainman’s Pinnacle, Craven (By markas)

Wainman's Pinnacle, originally built as a folly (and still used as a folly), is a stone obelisk in Sutton-in-Craven, North Yorkshire. It tends to be referred to as ‘Cowling Pinnacle’ or 'The Salt Pot' and could also be seen as being a part of the village of Cowling. It has been a grade II listed building in the National Heritage List for England since 23 October 1984. Wainman’s Pinnacle is situated upon Earl Crag and is often associated with Lund’s Tower as they are both locally known as the Salt and Pepper Pots

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.88236, -2.024918 • what3words: ///owned.rider.hatter

Lund’s Tower, Craven (By markas)

Lund's Tower is a stone-built folly situated to the south-west of the North Yorkshire village of Sutton-in-Craven. It is also known as Cowling Pinnacle, Sutton Pinnacle, the Ethel Tower, the Jubilee Tower or, in conjunction with the nearby Wainman's Pinnacle, the pair are referred to as the Salt and Pepper Pots.

It is listed in the National Heritage List for England at Grade II.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 53.88379, -2.013314 • what3words: ///muffin.enveloped.tornado

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


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