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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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The South Coaster (By pross)

Ship wrecked in Dec 1943 easily accessible from pebble beach.

You do have to cross a live traintrack so remember to look both ways!

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.61459, -3.442264 • what3words: ///spite.squabbles.gripes

Wintour's Leap, Forest of Dean (By gasbag43)

Wintour's Leap is a noted rock climbing location and viewpoint located near the village of Woodcroft in Gloucestershire, on the English side of the Wye Valley, north of Chepstow.

Wintour's Leap is named after Royalist Sir John Wintour who, hotly pursued on his horse by Parliamentary forces, according to local myth survived a leap off the cliff and, landing safely in the Wye (100 metre drop…) below, swam to safety in the nearby Chepstow Castle. In fact, Wintour did escape from the Roundheads by using the river nearby on two separate occasions, but from less spectacular positions at Lancaut and Sedbury.

The area around Wintour's Leap is a very popular limestone rock climbing area. It contains over 300 recorded routes most of which are multi-pitch. It has a high proportion of quality climbs up to 100-meters in length.

The location is pretty spectacular (albeit better when the tidal river is higher!) with the cliffs to the left of the photo while to the right is the "lost village" of Lancaut. All that remains of this medieval village are the ruins of St James Church said to have been built by the Lord of Chepstow Castle around 1067.

Access is via the Offa's Dyke footpath. TOAL site is a 10 square foot of bare rock 10 feet off the footpath (you need to push through some bushes to access it) with a 100 metre sheer drop at its edge and no safety barrier.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.66297, -2.66367 • what3words: ///sheds.spike.months

Crowborough Leisure Centre, Wealden (By grandad1950)

Lots of parking and room to fly. After you have finished flying you could go for a jog .

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.06322, 0.166131 • what3words: ///inflation.behind.snowballs

Tretower Castle, Powys (By gasbag43)

Tretower Castle is a Grade I-listed ruined castle in the village of Tretower in the county of Powys, Wales. It was built around the beginning of the twelfth century as a motte and bailey castle, enlarged in the early thirteenth century, but later fell into ruin.

This monumental tower with four storeys and stone walls nine feet thick is roughly triangular in plan, with the motte and keep occupying the western corner. The 12th century shell-keep is an irregular enclosure with a gate-tower on the line of approach from the bailey. In the centre of the shell stands the tall cylindrical 13th century keep. The keep is of three storeys, with an original entrance at first floor level

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.88399, -3.185778 • what3words: ///reconnect.nickname.hush

Herstmonceux Castle Estate, Wealden (By Kirky)

Herstmonceux Castle Estate Sussex,
A lovely castle with lots of fields around & woodland,
Thought id head down here today but unbeknown there is renovation work on going with the castle so didn’t manage to capture the shots that I wanted, nonetheless I thought carry on, had done some research on the place itself before I headed down & would be more photogenic when the renovation is finished so I may head back, TOAL & park is very easy with just a couple of minutes walk, a few public & dog walkers in & around but a real easy place to fly, in all a real nice location.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.86908, 0.33843 • what3words: ///polo.delusions.charm

High Cross Estate, Wealden (By Kirky)

High cross estate aka Hamilton palace half built derelict mansion some history below.

On the site of the former High Cross House, a former nursing home destroyed by a fire of unknown cause, van Hoogstraten began constructing a private mansion he called Hamilton Palace, at Palehouse Common near Uckfield in East Sussex in the mid-1980s. According to Emma Brockes of The Guardian in 2000, Hamilton Palace was named after the capital of Bermuda, where van Hoogstraten owns property.
Construction of the mansion began in 1985 and had cost around £40 million by 2006. The neoclassical palace features a copper dome. The enormous edifice is intended to house his private collection of art, currently stored in Switzerland, and includes a marble mausoleum he intends for himself. Under English law, perpetual trusts are only allowed in the upkeep of monuments and graves. By using the palace as a mausoleum, van Hoogstraten's trust would legally own the buildings and their fittings in perpetuity after his death. A large portion of his wealth has been transferred into a Bermudan trust for the upkeep of historic monuments. The structure of the mansion and ancillary buildings was largely in place, but van Hoogstraten fell out with architect Anthony Browne in 2000[21] and the site remained unfinished. Recent drone footage shows an abandoned building surrounded by scaffolding on which foliage is growing.

See this place a while back on the news so whilst in the area I thought I’d take a look, found a big grass verge next to a large gate & field off the road nearby,
Worth a look there’s also a few Ariel videos on YouTube.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.9471, 0.120785 • what3words: ///lunching.relax.position

Horsebridge Mill, Wealden (By Kirky)

Former Horsebridge flower Mill aka McDougall's Flour Mill.

Spotted this on the way to another location I was visiting, it’s down a dead end road where you can park at the bottom if driving, looked a good little bit of history so thought why not,
Easily accessible to the public & there is a path running through some woodland next to it,
Was quite quiet only see a couple of dog walkers who was very friendly & all smiles & said hello,
The thing you have to be carful of here when flying there’s lots of little twigs in around & hanging by the mill so you have to keep alert, it’s a great little place just a shame there’s not much room to move with the drone, well worth a visit old & rustic with great history.


View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.87971, 0.246272 • what3words: ///fishery.lighters.happen

Bo Peep Bostal, Wealden, Sussex (By Kirky)

Stumbled on this place on the way back home from flying a few locations in Sussex I just had to explore,

The hill at Bo Peep Bostal, East Sussex, is known as Bopeep Bostal Hill. It's a steep climb, considered a 4th-category climb, reaching an elevation of 168 meters. It's a popular route for cycling and hiking, offering views of the South Downs and the surrounding countryside.
absolute stunning landscape peaceful & tranquil with breath taking views,
I drove into a road called Bopeep Lane where I pulled in to an off rd parking lay-by on the right that looked out across the fields towards the hills, I had to be quick as id not much juice in my battery’s but didn’t want to not take the opportunity, wind was very strong which the drone kept giving me warnings the low battery kicked in return to home so I couldn’t get as much as I wanted too,
When I finished I took a drive upon the hills & the views are even more stunning, there was a few public about & dog walkers alike it is also sssi upon the hills but where I parked & TOAL’D it is not,
Stunning place well worth a visit would definitely go again if I was in the area.
Gorgeous !

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 50.83096, 0.123339 • what3words: ///disarmed.custard.winks

Newport riverfront and bridges, Newport (By AltitudeWales)

The Newport Riverfront is a solid spot for flying drones, with plenty of open space and a blend of urban and natural scenery. You’ll find a number of bridges nearby, which can make for some really good aerial shots. Just remember to follow local rules and be mindful of those around you while you’re out flying.

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.58664, -2.991532 • what3words: ///pops.expert.grab

LLangorse lake, Powys (By gasbag43)

Llangorse Lake is the largest natural lake in Mid and South Wales, and is situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

It has a three-mile perimeter covering an area 340 acres and is one mile long.

The lake itself is worth a visit in its own right, but the surrounding countryside – fields with a dramatic mountain backdrop – is impressive.

Good location too for morning mist shots, but on the day I visited, it was so thick I couldn’t even see the lake so for this location shot(!), I came back later on in the day once it had cleared

View and discuss this location on Grey Arrows.

Co-ordinates: 51.93077, -3.265942 • what3words: ///fabricate.driven.chained


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