Is it worth getting a drone (for photos) when there are few places to fly in the UK?

[JeffRUK]

I think there is no chance for you to fly anywhere.
I will send you my address, so you can send me the drone.
That way it will save you having to find out where to dump it

i don’t have one yet, but your request is noted.

 

[Johnno53]

Sub 250g drones can be flown over just about anywhere in the UK so long as you take off from public space or private space when given permission. There are a number of youtubers in the UK, call themselves auditors that are educating people on drone laws, including the police, very interesting. Two of the better ones are "Random Audits" and "DJ Audits".

I'm not condoning their actions as I do believe they seem to want to wind people up so that they get more views on their youtube channel. What the videos do though, is show what is lawful in the UK. Just pointing out that the UK has very relaxed laws when it comes to sub 250g drones.

Enjoy your hobby, go get that Drone.

 

[Jamesz]

The (Dark) Peak is my backyard where I spend most of my free time and use drones for SAR here, so hopefully can give you some up relevant guidance.
A quick trawl of Youtube shows that a great many people are flying drones in the Peak Park without apparent problem and as far as I'm aware there have been no significant incidents to date. However there are a few caveats:
Although there is a lot of open access land ( but privately owned), much of the Peak Park is SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and drone flight could be interpreted a 'damaging' the SSSI, which potentially carries an unlimited fine. The only realistic way (other than a battery fire causes a massive moorland blaze?) you could actually cause damage would be to disturb the birdlife- this is a serious issue here from April to July as there are many endangered species nesting on the hills.

A less well known issue is the potential conflict with low flying aircraft; the area is extensively used by the RAF for (VERY) low flying training using Hercules, hawks, Chinooks etc. Also helicopters doing moorland restoration work are regularly NOTAMed and Coastguard S92 helicopters regularly train here at low altitude. I'd really recommend learning how to use the SWK notification procedure for the RAF and check NOTAMs carefully.

The National Trust (a major landowner here) don't allow flying on their land, but as others have pointed out, have no power to stop overflight if you TAOL elsewhere. Some specific honeypot sites like the Derwent Dams, Mam Tor, Chrome hill etc have 'no drone' signs and are best avoided. Due to the bird issue, moorland should be avoided until later in the year ( and looks at its heathery best in Late August/Sept- but that when the grouse shooting season kicks off....

Happy to help with any specific guidance if you pm me.

I'd be happy to give some

 

[EricF]

I think there is no chance for you to fly anywhere.
I will send you my address, so you can send me the drone.
That way it will save you having to find out where to dump it

Drat! You beat me to making that identical generous offer...

But seriously, if you find privately-owned property that you think would give you nice views of something of interest nearby, consider approaching the property owner to ask permission. Even better, offer to give them a photo of their place in return while you're up: they'll probably be keen to hang around to see how it works, and you'll help to further dispel the irrational fear of drones stoked by misinformation & fear.

 

[GreyDad]

NT land is a big no no too.
One that I know of is the Giant's Causeway, it's got to attract hundreds of would be drone flyers every year.
However.....it's coastal and The Crown owns tidal land/zone ........ and no it is not a wildlife sanctuary etc..
If ever I was there I would be tempted but only in the early morning or evening when the tourist have gone, waves would be a problem too, it's Atlantic coast line.
One thing to watch out for is whether or not over flights would disturb wildlife, if so and especially if it's protected species etc. then you might be in the wrong to overfly ( legally and or morally ).

Crown Estate doesn’t seem too fussed about drone flights from their foreshore:

Crown Estate Drone Flying

“Drone flying / Unmanned Aerial Devices (UAD)

We grant permission for UAD flights over Crown Estate foreshore (defined as the land between mean high water and mean low water).

This permission is subject to all operators complying with the applicable laws, statutes, regulations and codes, as well as the requirements of The Civil Aviation Authority, and obtaining any other necessary consents for the operation of UADs.

On occasions, third parties such as Government agencies or local authorities may restrict the flying of UAD's on Crown Estate land. We therefore recommend checking with the appropriate authority to ensure that no such restrictions are in place.

To find out which areas of foreshore we own, please use our Foreshore and Estuary Ownership Map.“

Bit vague as to “over” vs “on” but both terms are used so room to wiggle.

Of course it gets more complicated if there’s an SSSI or other third party involved but they seem to be more open than some of the others.

cheers

Neil

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

complicated if there’s an SSSI or

SSSI = what?

 

[RichR]

Site of Special Scientific Interest - essentially an area that has legal protection usually due to being a rare or threatened natural habitat. Generally you don't want to be disturbing endangered wildlife, so should avoid getting too near SSSIs - especially during breeding seasons. Not illegal as such to overfly, but you open yourself up to prosecution should your flight be deemed to be causing distress to wildlife - in the same way as say riding a noisy motorbike in the area would.

They're marked on the Dronsescene map along with other sensitive areas (eg schools, infrastructre etc), so easy to avoid.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

in the same way as say riding a noisy motorbike in the area would.

speaking of which, did you see that the cops used a drone to track some dirt bikes and a quad then confiscate them?

 

[RichR]

I've seen on a couple of the TV shows (Police Interceptors/Traffic Cops etc) that most forces now have thermal camera drones for searching for missing persons and people on the run - guess it's a lot cheaper and quicker to get airborne than calling in a helicopter. Seems a good application to me.

 

[DANNY ROMAN]

The (Dark) Peak is my backyard where I spend most of my free time and use drones for SAR here, so hopefully can give you some up relevant guidance.
A quick trawl of Youtube shows that a great many people are flying drones in the Peak Park without apparent problem and as far as I'm aware there have been no significant incidents to date. However there are a few caveats:
Although there is a lot of open access land ( but privately owned), much of the Peak Park is SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and drone flight could be interpreted a 'damaging' the SSSI, which potentially carries an unlimited fine. The only realistic way (other than a battery fire causes a massive moorland blaze?) you could actually cause damage would be to disturb the birdlife- this is a serious issue here from April to July as there are many endangered species nesting on the hills.

A less well known issue is the potential conflict with low flying aircraft; the area is extensively used by the RAF for (VERY) low flying training using Hercules, hawks, Chinooks etc. Also helicopters doing moorland restoration work are regularly NOTAMed and Coastguard S92 helicopters regularly train here at low altitude. I'd really recommend learning how to use the SWK notification procedure for the RAF and check NOTAMs carefully.

The National Trust (a major landowner here) don't allow flying on their land, but as others have pointed out, have no power to stop overflight if you TAOL elsewhere. Some specific honeypot sites like the Derwent Dams, Mam Tor, Chrome hill etc have 'no drone' signs and are best avoided. Due to the bird issue, moorland should be avoided until later in the year ( and looks at its heathery best in Late August/Sept- but that when the grouse shooting season kicks off....

Happy to help with any specific guidance if you pm me.

I'd be happy to give some

I called Natural England and put this question to them and they couldn't answer it. I said I live near an airport and the flight path goes over the top of an SSSI site so how come passenger aircraft can fly over yet I can't with my drone ??? She said hmmmm good question... I'm still awaiting a reply back from them... I think they just make any **** and bull**** story up to stop drones full stop. I said aircraft are much much noisier than my drone. No comment.

 

[landmark orbiter]

I called Natural England and put this question to them and they couldn't answer it. I said I live near an airport and the flight path goes over the top of an SSSI site so how come passenger aircraft can fly over yet I can't with my drone ??? She said hmmmm good question... I'm still awaiting a reply back from them... I think they just make any **** and bull**** story up to stop drones full stop. I said aircraft are much much noisier than my drone. No comment.

Hey that’s brilliant! I might need to use this one day!