Best to travel by train (Tower Hill on Circle Line is nearest tube). 10 min walk from Station. Area was mainly quiet, even for a Saturday morning.
Note that there is a naval area - HMS President - that has a restriction above it, but if you fly towards the south bank and then forward you can get some great shots of Tower Bridge. You cannot fly past the bridge, as that is restricted airspace.
The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 25/01/2025. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location.
Below is the best photo that I could get from the footage I had. The take off area is the park that is directly on the Thames by the boats. Are you able to upload/use this?
Oooh, really? I feel a filming opportunity coming on, if that’s the case!
I just revisited Drone Scene that shows there is restricted zone EGR158 (which, given its darker red colour I took to mean ‘don’t fly!’). Not sure if you have to request to fly here or whether (certainly with my Mini 4 Pro, 249g) I am OK to fly.
I’ve read so much conflicting information both here and on Facebook, and couldn’t find anything definitive on the CAA website. Would I have to apply to NATS for a non-standard flight application?
So I was in the area yesterday and happened upon an entrance that leads down a set of steps called Horselydown Old Stairs.
Naturally you’d only want to venture down them at slack water, but there’s enough room to hand launch a drone and be right beside Tower Bridge and still to the east of it which there is no flying restriction.
The entrance which is along Shad Thames on the south side is privately owned with allows public access, but I highly doubt the foreshore is owned privately?, it’s certainly not Crown Estate owned.
The next time I’m that way, I might give it a try!
Don’t forget Wapping Overground is actually closer in walking distance than Tower Hill. I tend to use that station as it connects in no time to the Jubilee /District /Hammersmith & City lines.
I’ve flown it twice, have no intention of returning, however I do feel at some point the fun is going to stop at the gardens. It’s getting too popular and that could be its undoing with restrictions imposed.
