Take off and land (where can I ?) UK

[GACUK]

Newbie struggling again. Been reading so much material it hurts now. I understand the published drone code once flying but unless you take off on land that you own you seem to be a bit restricted. Wherever I am going to take off from it seems to me I am going to need permission from the land owner being private or council land. Is this the case?

 

[Alan_M]

Allow me to introduce you to the Crown Estate foreshore and estuary map. The crown estate have given permission for drone pilots to fly from the areas marked in purple on this map. It covers a lot of coastal and riverside areas.

Crown Estate Foreshore and Estuary Map and Info

Avoid National Trust sites, they don’t like us at all.

 

[BikerBuster]

Nice one [emoji106]

 

[THE CYBORG]

National Parks are OK but as Alan_M says the National Trust don't like us.

 

[irpnetgb]

Technically in the UK you could take off/land on any public footpath (if there is no byelaw restricting such) or public right of way within the bounds of the drone code (away from people/houses etc). You could even take off and land from a roadside if you were in the middle of nowhere and there is no traffic.

There can be some difficulty establishing if there is a byelaw in place (some parks have these). However, if someone approached you could either a) land immediately if safe to do so or b) move off the land you are on and land your drone elsewhere (again within the constraints of the drone code).

Police are unlikely to take a hard line with people unless they (the pilot) are severely unsafe (low altitude/close to people/near an airport/over built up areas etc), abusive to them or just ignore them. Ignoring them would be the worst thing you could do. Usually a friendly word in your ear is all they will do.

Most people I've come across whilst flying have been nothing other than curious.

Oh, I should mention the power of a high-vis jacket/bib. People generally tend to leave you alone (except of course the police) if you wear one of these because you look more 'official'.

Have fun flying!

PS: I'm only giving general guidance here. I am not a lawyer. Fly at your own risk.

 

[Peter Hughes]

Technically in the UK you could take off/land on any public footpath (if there is no byelaw restricting such) or public right of way within the bounds of the drone code (away from people/houses etc). You could even take off and land from a roadside if you were in the middle of nowhere and there is no traffic.

There can be some difficulty establishing if there is a byelaw in place (some parks have these). However, if someone approached you could either a) land immediately if safe to do so or b) move off the land you are on and land your drone elsewhere (again within the constraints of the drone code).

Police are unlikely to take a hard line with people unless they (the pilot) are severely unsafe (low altitude/close to people/near an airport/over built up areas etc), abusive to them or just ignore them. Ignoring them would be the worst thing you could do. Usually a friendly word in your ear is all they will do.

Most people I've come across whilst flying have been nothing other than curious.

Oh, I should mention the power of a high-vis jacket/bib. People generally tend to leave you alone (except of course the police) if you wear one of these because you look more 'official'.

Have fun flying!

PS: I'm only giving general guidance here. I am not a lawyer. Fly at your own risk.

I always understood that you DO need permission to fly from a Public Footpath.

Irrespective of by-laws, the land is owned by someone and while you may have the right of way over the land the word “Way” indicates your movement. It doesn’t mean stopping for an extended period of time to fly.

I was given to understand that I should seek landowners permission if I wished to position myself on their land and use it to take off or land....was I misinformed?

Take care. Peter

 

[irpnetgb]

I always understood that you DO need permission to fly from a Public Footpath.

Irrespective of by-laws, the land is owned by someone and while you may have the right of way over the land the word “Way” indicates your movement. It doesn’t mean stopping for an extended period of time to fly.

I was given to understand that I should seek landowners permission if I wished to position myself on their land and use it to take off or land....was I misinformed?

Take care. Peter

According to Rights of way and accessing land you have a right to 'roam'. This doesn't mean you have to be moving (moors, common land etc that people are allowed to camp on/picnic/photograph all of which invloves stopping). If a bylaw is in place it could prevent you from using it for drones. My local park has a clear sign that says there is a bylaw preventing such. Not all parks do. Worst case scenario, you fly/a member of staff speaks to you/you land/you leave. It is unlikely, unless you are a complete numbnuts (not you personally), to get into proper trouble. Unless of course you decide to fly around airports or other places you shouldn't!

Yes you should always seek the landowners permission. Is that always possible? But mostly we see something we'd like to film and we fire our drone up. Would it be reasonably practical to make 5 phone calls, send emails, check the interwebs for landowners details and seek permission before doing so? The moment would be gone.

Like I said before, I'm no lawyer.