I have just added this to the map of places to fly your drone at Drone Scene:
Land owner permission requirements unknown.
Durdle Door is one of Dorset’s most photographed and iconic landmarks. It is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and is an extremely popular beauty spot.
It is located on the Lulworth Estate in south Dorset and is part of the Jurassic Coast. The coastline is of such international geological importance that it was designated England’s first natural World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001 and is now part of a family of natural wonders including America’s Grand Canyon and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
The magnificent natural limestone arch was formed when the power of the waves eroded the rock and forged a hole through the middle. The name Durdle is derived from an old English word ‘thirl’, which means to pierce, bore or drill.
As you look towards the sea, you will see Durdle Door beach on your right. Access to the pebble and shingle beach is on foot via a path and steps over the hill from Lulworth Cove or down from the Car Park (charges apply) which is located on the cliff top at Durdle Door Holiday Park. There is a coach drop-off point at the car park, and coach parking is at Lulworth Cove.
You can take off from the beach, as long as it is from below the high water mark. The area of land below high water is owned by the crown throughout the UK and as long as there are no specific by-laws, you have permission from the landowner…
I almost posted the same … but wasn’t 100% certain.
Mind you - Durdle Door beach is usually coarse shingle stacked at about 30 degrees. You’d have to excavate a little platform first. Worth it, tho.
Useful link, too! Thanks! Especially the specific inclusion of Drone/UAV in the overall permission.
Frankly it all sounds confusing to me, and doesn’t seem to guarantee I won’t end up in trouble: the Crown Estate only states that they “grant permission for unmanned aerial devices flights OVER Crown Estate foreshore” which doesn’t necessarily imply that I can simply take off from there and then fly anywhere I want outside of the Crown Estate area (within the boundaries of UK regulation).
The Lulworth Estate website clearly says that “no drone flying is permitted anywhere on the Lulworth Estate, Lulworth Cove or Durdle Door, without permission”, and the Crown Estate area is quite narrow and fragmented anyway: [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](Crown Estate area around the Durdle Door)… So perhaps it’s only really safe to take off vertically, do a 360 from up above my head and then return straightaway?
You do not need permission to flyover their land, they have no right to stop you as they do not own the sky. As long as you have permission to take off and land and you are not breaking by-laws or entering no fly zones, you can overfly without landowner consent. The only issue comes when you need to retrieve a drone from private land should you have to make an emergency landing.
I was there yesterday at Durdle Door. Didn’t see a single sign banning drones. Only saw signs “No Fires and BBQs”. But I had read this forum so I left my drone in the car boot. Feel like a fool now.
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