Pen y Fan - Added to Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Wales

Where to fly your drone in the UK
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I have just added this to the map of places to fly your drone at Drone Scene:

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Definitely a place I will be visiting in the near future.

Thanks for the up.

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You are welcome! :slight_smile:

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Welcome :blush:

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Can we fly dones along the way to pen y fan summit?

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Yes.

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Yes, I did in Feb.

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I want to fly here @ccowdry, but there are no parking or take off and landing markers. Would you be able to add some to the map please?

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Hi @KIPS1989, it looks as though you’re quite new here :wave:t2:

Why not nip over to the Introductions page, and say hello properly and tell us a bit about yourself. :+1:t2:

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I’ve flown here too @ccowdry :grin:

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HaHa, I know. I saw your name on Dronescene under the banner of ‘Where can I TOAL’. I watched your little film. Very nice. I’ve posted one here as well, and shorter versions on Instagram and Facebook

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I want to fly here, has anyone got any tips or advice on where to park?

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Parking depends which route you choose to approach the mountain from. The most popular route is from Storey Arms outdoor centre on the A470, and there is ample car parking there, and some car parking at Cwm Llwch Farm, which is the approach from the northern side, and at Neuadd, which is to the southeast in the Taf Fechan valley. There is a Roman Road that crosses the range from Neuadd at Big Gap, between Fan y Big and Cribyn, and the northern end of this is at Cwm Cwnwyn farm.

The Ordnance Survey Map makes all this clear, and is in any case something you should take with you if you are going to go to the summit. The car parking gets full on summer Saturdays, probably best time to avoid the area! The walking is a bit rough in places, and you should wear sutiable boots that support your ankles, as well as being prepared for sudden unpredictable weather changes. Take plenty of water if it’s sunny!

There’s usually an ice cream van at Storey Arms. as well as public conveniences, and there’s a very good burger van in a layby on the A470 half a mile north of that, much frequented by bikers but don’t let that put you off. Apart from that, this is proper mountains, you are out in the boonies and will need to take food & drink with.

But, as you can see in the video, it is worth it!

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@TheJohnster feel free to add a parking marker to this location on Drone Scene.

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I’ve just added a new Parking marker to this location @ccowdry :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi guys,

My first proper post here!
So I’m looking at taking my drone up the Brecon beacons in the next few weeks. Specifically Pen y fan and Craig Cerrig Gleisiad. Ideally I’d like to fly from the peaks.

However even though there’s quite a few drone flight videos online of these mountains, I can’t seem to find anything indicating that we can take off and fly from there.

After looking at a few maps and checking the National trust + NRW websites, it’s looking unlikely that I’ll be able to fly from these places.
Pen y fan for example seems to be completely covered as an SSSI and the websites seem to prohibit unauthorized drone use.

I’ve seen a few videos/threads of Pen y Fan on this forum JJ, but I can’t seem to find proper documentation or anything on the maps about safe places to TOAL… Would I have to take off from the roadside or something?

I’m just wondering if anyone has any clear updated resources or any indications on this

Thanks

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@KeystoneSeven I’ve moved your post to the existing topic that covers Pen y Fan :blush:

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You need to dig deeper @KeystoneSeven :slight_smile:

Drone Scene shows a few places to take off from which are outside the realms of National Trust (although I’ve yet to hear of a single drone operator getting in trouble for flying from NT land).

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And just because it’s an SSSI doesn’t mean you can’t fly there.

Have a look at this document from Drone Scene which tells you why it’s a SSSI :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the reply! :slightly_smiling_face:

Interesting, would that mean still having to take off outside of the NT area though?
As let’s say I’ve hiked to the top of a peak, is there no way to toal from that point - would launching and landing via hand count as a violation? :sweat_smile:

Their website seems to state:
“In accordance with the UK CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) Drone Code 2024, which states that byelaws can restrict drone flight, the National Trust Byelaws, constituted by Acts of Parliament, clearly express that an unauthorised person shall not operate an airborne vehicle or machine over National Trust property.”

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Much as NT would like to think they own the airspace above their land, they don’t.

That depends entirely on how risk adverse you are :blush:

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