First rule of Drone Club, don’t be a dick
Karens everywhere, pick your time and location carefully, smile and wave
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I know the feeling well. After I got my first drone I spent a couple of years worrying I’d upset somebody or be ‘caught’ flying where I shouldn’t. Mrs C used to get so annoyed when we’d spend an hour or two driving somewhere for me to fly, get there only for me to spot an imagined reason why it wasn’t possible and head home again with full batteries.
It just takes some of us longer than others to build that confidence. All I can offer is that the more you do it the easier it gets.
If time/exposure isn’t enough, it also helped me to get some training. The A2 CofC course covers airspace restrictions, how to read NOTAMs, planning flights, etc. and just boosts your confidence that you do, actually, know more about this than the random person you imagine might come up to you.
Also, however often you think random people are going to come up to you and object to you flying, I can all but guarantee you’re massively overestimating. Over about 8 years of flying drones I think it’s only happened to me two or three times, and I think I left them all on good terms. I’m not sure where the idea that half the folk out there have a pathological hatred of drones, but that’s not been my experience at all.
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All sensible stuff here but I can’t find the link to the video!! (As a Wolfrunian living in the far north I was looking forward to this one….)
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Ahh bless you dude, I will post it once its all edited and up 
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Byelaw from 1982:
Forestry Commission Byelaws 1982.pdf (153.9 KB)
States:
- No person shall in or on the lands of the Commissioners:-
xxiii. operate any aircraft, glider, hot-air balloon, boat, raft or craft or any kind, or any model aircraft, boat or car;
In summary of the entire document, if you’re standing on Forestry Commission land you should assume you cannot TOAL without prior written permission.
Overflight of Forestry Commission land is legally permitted with no permission being required (subject, of course, to there being no airspace restrictions).
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Here is a link to a map that if you select the correct lays it will give you an idea of what land is under their control - Forest England Land 2019 is one such layer.
More info at layer level here —
The area I live in is basically covered in Nat Forest area’s - its all over the show, if you believe all the signs dotted around the area near roads that is - when I went and selected the FE Land 2019 layer its nowhere near as vast as they try to make out to be
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I was just discussing that elsewhere 
Unsure of the accuracy of this dot for the Cannock Chase area versus the boundary layer that’s visible on the map.
Any insight? 
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Interesting if you look on google maps it has a pin for Cannock Chase Country Park in that location of that dot but if you enable the FE land 2019 layer it says its not theirs - but I think a bit like the Peak district lots of this land is forest land but not owned by FE but maybe managed and owned by others
I know a bit of land I fly from quite often is not public but loads of people enjoy the area - there are benches and paths and all sorts but it too does not seem to be FE and no one has ever questioned me about being there.
So its defo a case of - oops sorry - move on and no harm done - loads of green space like this needs to be used or we will lose it to a solar farm or houses.
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@PingSpike @LE60LAD Im going to use that map to locate my TOAL point, if I did TOAL on FE owned land then I won’t use the footage as I don’t want to encourage others to TOAL somewhere they shouldn’t (it was a genuine mistake and I don’t think anyone would be prosecuted for taking off an landing somewhere if it was a genuine mistake, I have seen police say this too can it would be a case of ‘please don’t take off and land here again’)
Again what baffles me is the fact cycling round there 100 percent will cause more disturbance to things like adders etc than a drone at a decent altitude. But hey it is what it is right. Thank you for reaching out to them PingSpike 
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@LifeDoesJon Cannock Chase has no restrictions other than sensible ones like lighting fires, camping, staying clear of the logging areas etc. Live 5 minutes away and have been up there most weeks all my life (67 now) and used drones there since 2022, no problem.
Proof of the pudding is here: Drone Scene
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Honestly Jon, unless they know the exact location and they can prove you did anything to upset the SSSI then I would post the video - I am sure if you did a bit of a dig you will find video of that very location. They need to be really bothered to chase you on that one and its a civil matter and really not that big a deal.
I get why you would be worried about it and fully understand and at one point I would be too in the same boat as you - but area’s like this need to be promoted - they cry when people don’t use it and when it is used they cry its being abused - cant win.
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Nothing they can do anyway as that’s where I took off and landed, there’s a picnic bench and a stream. Highly recommend it now actually
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I look forward to meeting you all at a meetup there it’s honestly a gorgeous place! I will upload the video tomorrow
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