Frustrated with rules & regulations


Chanced it and took off from the public right of way in this field. Lovely and didn’t spot a soul apart from some people riding horses, a few gypsies and a couple farmers in the distance.

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Good pic.

Nice picture!

can I just clarify that if you do a hand-take-off on a public right of way and keep moving, even if you’re flying over a farmers land, all is legal, right?
appreciate its better to ask if possible

A good question is, what do we want to take pictures/videos of? It is all well and good saying go out in the middle of nowhere early/late and fly, but is that the footage we want?
I got a drone to get a different perspective of interesting places I visit and the regulations whether drone code or local bylaws are restrictive.

Lengthy thread on public footpaths:

I consulted a public rights of way (PROW) specialist (who quite literally wrote the book on PROW law), and he wasn’t able to give me a definite answer. You have a right to pass along, and stop on, any public highway including a PROW, so long as you don’t obstruct anyone else or break any other laws while there. But that is not a right to do anything you want; a court will view what you do in relation to other laws and legal principles in the event a test case ever arises.

Whether you do a hand take-off or ground take-off isn’t likely to be relevant, the main question will be whether you cause an obstruction (a criminal offence) and whether your TOAL is safe (as per the Air Navigation Order / Drone Code). As your drone then flies off over private land, the landowner’s only legal recourse is a civil action for nuisance trespass, breach of privacy etc (they’ll get far more satisfaction from shouting at you than if they did go the legal route).

Having spent quite a bit of time looking at the various legal issues, my advice is to ignore the details completely and just:

  • Don’t obstruct anyone
  • Be sure you can take off AND land safely away from anyone
  • Don’t cause a nuisance while flying over private land (i.e. if there are people on it, fly up high)
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awesome thanks for this. Yes I’m learning more and more that there’s a lot of grey areas and the best approach is to just be sensible.

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Hi everyone … some great advice here … as pro photographer and knocking on doors… people can only say no…BUT go with an interesting story … learning… practice… etc.
Im not one hundred percent… But if you did offer a photo from high up I think they would give permission as long as you don’t do any wrong or stupid. Don’t forget the animals… do they eat drones???

I live up North Wales Rhyl, just the covid 19 lockdown giving me problems well until today I went to set of to do some flying & the steering on my car sounds like crap. So car in for repair leaves me just my Mobility Scooter to get about with, so I’m stuck, I can feel how you feel. I’ve flown over a pretty big pond locally, folk walking their dogs, ducks, swans about but no one has come over to me to have words with me about the drone being flown their, have heard people say I will scare the birds but I fly to high to scare them,
Maybe you can plan trips out to a place for when you are not working, myself I’ve been labeling places to try & go too on Google Earth, there’s a mansion left to rot for 35 years in Uckfield just off the A22 £40 million they say the cost was then left to rot, but that would be a overnight stay. Hopefully you will find a reason to keep flying

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Hi again. Yes, literally knock on the door! A farm house is reasonably obvious and may even be called a farm. If there are lots of dogs I’d avoid but often you find an obvious spot. Eton wick is a possibility on the flood plains. There’s a farm there you could try when the cattle aren’t in the fields. Just stay clear of the road and river. You might even be able to fly around the Millennium River but check the by laws on the RWMB website.

Oakley is also a good idea. Maybe check with the hotel to find it if they know who owns the land - they may do themselves.

The Crown Estates are usually pretty tolerant too, so you could ask at the Royal Windsor Farm Shop for contacts?

I know it’s not straight forward, and around Windsor just be mindful of Heathrow’s CTR and watch out for any Notams in the area, but honestly, you’ll find a spot and love it.

You could also get a Mavic Mini. Being less than 250g you don’t need to worry as much as its unlikely to cause much damage. I often take this out on walks and as long as you stay a good distance from people (150m without a PfCO) no-one’s going to mind much of you fly this over a field. They’ll barely see it or hear it.

And I can also recommend a Husban X4 (without camera) which you can fly inside your house. They’re tricky buggers as fully manual but it will improve your flying skills no end and provides a cheap thrill.

Hope this helps and if I hear of anyone with land near you, I’ll put you in touch.

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I was contemplating buying a mavic air 2 to initally fun but potentially ultimately commercial purposes. I spoke to a friend who has been giving me stern warning, essentially painting a picture of it being near impossible to legally fly and take photos with a drone.

And yet on here there are many example of your photography.

Are the warnings valid? I live near the lakes, if I were to go on a walk and take my drone do I need to go and work out whos land may be in view and ask permission to be there, I cant imagine this working at all…

and yet…you all have gorgeous examples of your photos on this site. So are you all getting permission or in reality is this not really an issue?

If I were to operate strictly are there actually any places I can go and be withing my right to film there without contacting any local authority or landowner?

Just follow the drone code mate and you’re fine

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As I understand it (and I am no expert!!), no landowner owns the airspace above their property, so whilst they can prevent you taking off and landing on their land, they cannot stop you over flying.

You have to follow the drone code (avoid people and built up areas) but it seems that there is plenty of freedom if you are sensible.

All I need to do now is get a drone of my own :rofl:

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Permission is only about take off and landing (to avoid being a trespasser). There are very few restrictions on what you can photograph (avoid close-ups of people, and steer clear of national security sites).

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I’ve learned (in the short time i’ve been a drone owner) that there’s a lot of grey areas, but the best approach is to just be sensible.

There’s many public rights of way through farmland in this country, and anyone is permitted to use those. If you keep moving and take off/land from your hand, there’s nothing stopping you flying over peoples private land. Of course they can question/ask you to stop, but i find it a lot more difficult to identify who owns a piece of land, ask them, etc when 9 times out of 10 they won’t even know you’re there anyway and even if they do, as long as you’re flying high/not being a nuisance, it should be fine.

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I go Early So no one is around

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That’s right, but you do need to be aware of where you can take-off and land. If for example, you’re looking to take off and land on a public footpath and that footpath becomes congested with people, thus making it impossible to land and maintain 30m of separation without landing on private land, then that wouldn’t be allowed (strictly speaking). But honestly, if you’re in open public fields and follow the code, you’ll be OK. If you fly in a small field with a footpath near a farm house and haven’t asked permission, the farmer might make objections. Best to ask. If flying in open countryside, like the Lakes, just follow the drone code and check local bylaws. For example, flying on Dartmoor isn’t allowed, even though its common land, without council approval.

Maybe, but claiming ignorance is no defence. And if you want to keep flying there, best to ask. No one has objected to me asking permission yet, but they would be within their rights to object if I hadn’t asked. Still, it’s a judgement call in the end and proximity to animals and farm houses plays a role

You can photograph / film but mustn’t share the images with anyone without permissions, as that could cause a data protection infringement. However, people also have a right to privacy, so if you film people in their private homes or gardens, even if you are more than 50m away, you would impinge these rights. If you’re flying down on a secluded public beach and capture random people in the background, that’s not a problem.

It’s just good common sense. Nothing more complicated than that.

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