My name’s Phil and I’ve just joined the forum. Nice to “meet” you all.
Having been a DSLR user for a number of years, I’ve been desperate to get a drone.
Having read all of the rules online and the new restrictions coming into place, I opted for a DJI Mini 2.
I had my first flight on Friday and since then, it’s done nothing but rain.
I’ve been reading up on places I want to visit with my new drone, one of which was the Brecon Beacons, which obviously covers a huge, beautiful area near where I live.
Now I’ve read that I can’t fly on the Brecon Beacons.
I can totally understand not flying near any of their buildings, but the Brecon Beacons is mostly rolling expanse of open countryside. It seems very over the top to impose a blanket ban and I cannot see any logical reason that makes this land any different to any other publicly accessible land. Rant over!!
Is there any app that you guys use that would help me out, to know where I can and can’t fly in the local area?
Knowing now that I can’t fly over the Beacons has kind of limited the whole point of getting the drone in the first place and I’m feeling a little bit deflated about that.
Have you seen our members map? (Click the burger-menu in the top right) You may find some pilots living near you. Feel free to add yourself to the members map too
We’re a well established club with many knowledgeable members so it’s very likely that any issues you come across will have been discussed here before. Our discussion forum has very powerful search features which should help you find what you need but if you get stuck you can post a new question in the #questions-and-answers category.
Looking for recommendations of places to fly? Check out our interactive map on Drone Scene - be sure to log in to gain access to the full suite of features and map layers:
And please feel free to add locations of your own too.
Please also take a moment to look at the Membership Levels section on our FAQ as we’re quite different to other clubs and you’ll be eligible for some rather exclusive club discounts as your membership level increases
Greetings and welcome.
Apart from the army training area at Sennybridge, I wasnt aware of any restrictions for the Brecons.
If you take a look at https://dronescene.co.uk/ you can see where others have given their recomendations of where to fly in the Brecons.
Hi everyone and thank you very much for the welcome!
I’ve just tried to add my location but I don’t seem to have all the options given in the “how too” guide, so I’ll try on my computer later. (Perhaps it’s not visible on a phone…)
I’ll be sure to check out the links. It’d be great to meet up with some local members too.
I googled the National Trust and they say that flying from (I read that as taking off, landing and operating) is strictly prohibited and they actively enforce this.
I find it bizarre to think that I can’t fly a drone in the middle of nowhere. It just seems mean and totally unnecessarily over the top.
I had some hope of flying north of Upper Brynamman over and around the Black Mountain. (Not the Black Mountains) Apparently there’s more than one…
Also, I wanted to do some photography over the top left of Henrhyd Falls. Seems that’s not allowed either.
Welcome Phil. I know the Beacons very well, and can 100% confirm that this is untrue. Certain areas within them, perhaps. But this is no different to anywhere else. See link below, as you can see, there are no NFZ (No Fly Zones). So you a good to fly there
Thanks very much everyone.
I’ve added myself to the map. There’s a few people in the vicinity. It’d be nice to meet up. As a new Drone user it’d be good to see some of the more seasoned operators.
This is where I got my information from:
It says: The use of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) or drones as they are more commonly known, is not permitted on or over National Trust land as part of our byelaws without the necessary required qualifications and a licence granted by us.
As Henrhyd Falls and the Brecon Beacons are owned by NT I assumed that Drone use was not permitted… This is where my confusion came from.
Hi phil im phill from ystradgynlais you can fly in the brecon beacons if you ask the farmers or land owners premision to take of from thier land so give it a go many farmers are ok
If you apply for permision from the national trust they will ask you to provide post codes and grid referances of where you want to fly iv got a post code map here if you need to use it
To try and clear up the law regarding the 'Beacons, The National Trust is obviously s huge organisation with an enormous varity of property so their rules are very ‘general’ to say the least and have to cover their entire estate.
Therefore, the rules are basically written with their more populated or historic properties in mind. Theres a big difference between a drone buzzing a palace full of coach tripers and one flying over a deserted moor!
Having said that, the law is pretty clear, the only authority that governs the sky is the CAA, no-one else.
Any private landowner, be it The National Trust or just some bloke next door, has the right to say what can and can’t be done FROM their land (ie - take off / landing) but the sky above is NOT THEIRS. The only objection a private landowner can make is on the grounds of security or privacy, clearly not aplicable in the middle of nowhere!
The rule of the sky is set by the CAA and so long as you follow their rules, specifically the ‘drone code’, you’ll be fine.
Yes, in most cases, if there are no safety, privacy or security concerns, you’ll be given the all clear, however, as I said above, if you follow the actual law set by the CAA, theres really no need to. So long as youre not breaking any of the Drone Code guidlines (not overflying groups of people for example), you have the right to fly. All asking for permission gets you is more convenient take off / landing locations.
Thanks all for your replies. It’s nice to know there’s some nearby members. If you ever fancy a meet up, it’d be nice to meet people that share the hobby.
I understand all that you’ve said.
I’ll use my car as a helipad! I guess the issue comes from, who owns the layby/car park.
I’m thinking specifically of the car park at the top of the Black Mountain where the ice cream van pulls in.
As others have said, NT cannot restrict access to airspace, so long as you don’t take off and land (TOAL) from their property. There can be temporary flight restrictions applied for, such as rock concerts, etc, where an unexpected extra number of people would render an otherwise safe flight against the drone code. There are various apps that can alert you to such temporary flight restrictions. And I’d imagine you are never going to be able to get permission for some permanently restricted locations, like Sennybridge. I’m up at Henrhyd - mostly to swim - but there is, for example, a farmer’s field right by the NT car park. He charges a small fee for “overflow” parking - the official car park is free, if you can get a space. As that is his land, asking him if he would let you take off might be a good solution, possibly
@PhilD The National Trust don’t own the whole Brecon Beacons areas. It can be hard to check the boundaries and extent of their land, even on OS maps. This NT map is really helpful: [Discover Our Land Ownership Map | National Trust]
