This thread is for suggestions for meetups in the South East area. Recently we have been at:
and have potential meets in the planning stages (damn this weather!) for
Fort Nelson (with full permission from Royal Armouries!)
Please add further suggestions - looking for ease of parking, something moderately interesting, nearby toilets and refreshments useful, dog friendly a bonus 
How about around the Exton/Warnford area?
I’m not too mithered about where but I’m looking for sites that (ideally)
All of those together would be great, a reasonable number of those requirements is worthy of consideration.
I’ve had a look at the area via Google Earth. There seem to be several viewpoints., like Beacon Hill, but none with anywhere nearby to park.
Further west Shawford Down is a possibility (site information is 6 years old):
Can you recommend anywhere that meets the criteria above?
When I get a chance, I’ll do a reccy of the area and update accordingly.
More on Shawford Down - looks good for a mini-meet of 4 or 5 people.
https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryside/finder/shawforddown
Butser Hill Summit Country Park ?
Petersfield Cricket Ground (Heath East) ?
Buriton Rec ?
Elsted / Iping Common ?
Thanks for the suggestions.
Is it possible that you could give a little bit of background on the places or the reasons you think they would be suitable?
Bear in mind that a site suitable for a solo flyer may not be so accessible or welcoming for a group of people, each in their own car and flying drones in public spaces?
Petersfield Heath is council controlled. Not sure whether the cricket ground comes under their remit but we would (presumably) need to get the clubs permission
- The take-off, landing and flying of drones and model aircraft on and above the Heath and
pond is prohibited (unless prior special permission has been obtained in writing from the
Council)
Whatever the legality of their pronouncement a number of drones all flying at once would cause friction and potential bad publicity for Grey Arrows.
School and railway line close by. Parking seems to be at the village hall. we would need to make sure no matches or scratch games are being played onthe football pitches and no events at the village hall to attract cars to the car park.
As it happens I do have written permission from the council, following a demo I did for them over 10 years ago (!), but don’t actually believe that is required in order to fly there. On this very web site I’m sure I read a FoI request made to the local council, EHDC, the answer to which confirmed that no drone policy exists for council-run sites, prohibitive or otherwise !
Here’s the actual sign !
However, I do note that our council is in the process of merging with several others to form a sort of ‘super-council’ (bit like the Galactic Empire in Star Wars would do), and perhaps they have already absorbed the policies of neighbouring authorities ? Clanfield, neighbouring village, HATES the drones for example, and tries to ban them everywhere within it !)
Needless to say I have been flying at PFCG and surrounds for years and years and it remains my ‘home ground’, where I go for easy, relaxing flights and testing things.
Yes, we would have to check with the club, and it would only be polite to ask, and yes, of course we wouldn’t want to be there on match days.
The parking situation there is totally fine - several lay-byes on adjacent roads, and 2 car parks in relatively close proximity, both of which (I think) are free !
There are many positives to this site - the wide-open-ness of the space, the seclusion / isolation from both the lake and Heath and surrounding houses by 360 degree treeline, interesting trees, picturesque lake, mountainous hills in far background, interesting town views from higher up, plenty of room for multiple flyers, not ‘too’ populated by pedestrians. Proximity to interesting things going on over on the Heath etc etc (fairgrounds on Bank Holidays etc) I ce cream / drinks nearby (admittedly at rather exorbitant prices and susceptible to seagull theft !)…
Of course there are negatives too…
Quite a lot of low flying private aircraft, some notably under 500 ft, (and more than our fair share of army stuff !) an enormous amount of birds, of all types, though most stay by the lake, which we would avoid crossing ideally (it would be beyond VLOS anyway).
Lot of free-running dogs who don’t respect landing zones…
So you know, swings and roundabouts… (not literally, though there is a playground on the main drag across the heath!)
Is it accessible outside of Queen Elizabeth Park opening hours? Theres a car park 700 metres from the trig point that marks the summit.
Parking is pricey!, up to £9.00 for over 4 hours, £8.00 for 2-4 hours 
Forestry England seem to control at least part of QE Park and have a no drones policy. Hants County Council are also involved.
I have flown there on SAR for a missing person, obviously a special case but we might try for permission
I appreciate that and there are many sites where we have a legal right to fly but doing so may bring us into confrontation with officials, Karens or pitchfork-and-torch-wielding locals It seems easier and more relaxing to fly without such distractions.
Unless we can get the written blessing of those in authority to fly there, something to show the hate-filled mob massing at our TOAL site so that we can tell them to FOAD
I am unsure what the actual permissions situation is here (I have tactically avoided asking too specifically), but recently I have been up there with my Mini4P pretty much every weekend, and no1 cares, tries to stop me, or even really notices ! Watch that video I put down there - despite flying relatively close to them in some bits, hardly any rambler or pedestrian even bothers to look up as I pass overhead !
I think I bumped into a ranger back in the ‘build your own’ Flamewheel days, perhaps 8 years ago, and even he warned me off but then advised me he was off duty in 10 mins, at which point he would be looking in a different direction, and I was basically fine to carry on. Make of that what you will…
In answer to your questions:
Yes, it is open outside QECP hours - it is not actually part of QECP, merely opposite it on a map.
The Car Park (yes there is one, right up by the summit) shuts at 8, 9, or 10 pm depending on the season as I recall, and as you say, is monster expensive. Unfortunately, to try and ensure its exclusive use, the Forestry dudes have recently fenced off most of the lay-byes on the road leading up to the site, such that only 4 or 5 remain, and those that do are a bit ‘rough and ready’ !
Recently there has been a temporary ‘free-for-all’ car park right on the hill while they do ‘upgrades’ to the main one. But as we can see from my recent video there, that has finished now, although a 3rd party security is still paid to go and sit about in a van up there around gate opening and closing times.
What is a valid concern is that this whole area is in an SSSI, but these refer to a number of rare plants and whatnot, and some wild ponies, and sheep which are not roaming around the summit, and are fenced in at the lower levels. And we don’t want to be up there when there is
We might also worry that the presence of a 130 ft radio mast might include this site in the Article 239 rules that have recently been foisted upon us, but of course there is no way to know that unless me or someone else gets a cautionary police visit to tell us that is the case…
Perhaps it is my habit of advising / telling people what I’m up to in advance of flying, but I find the people I meet at Petersfield Rec to be very friendly, tolerant and un-Karen-ish ! There are rarely enough people there at one time to form even a small crowd where protest could fester and propagate, so usually the only people that do more than pass through as they walk their dogs are the ones that are interested to stay and watch the drone flight !
Some do so with a level of suspicion and disapproval of course, but it’s very rare that anyone has the confidence to come over and actually say anything, unless they have questions, which are not necessarily hostile in tone or intent. Most people have just been interested !
The reserve is situated two miles west of Midhurst, there is a large car park on the Elsted Road just off the A272. The reserve is fairly flat but can be muddy in winter. There are no stiles, but there are many gates to allow entry into the grazing areas.
Car park is free looks to take about 20 cars, 2.2 metre height barrier.
Looks a good possibility.
That mirrors my experience in general.
The reason I’m being cautious is that I think there may be a difference in public perception between one person, standing confidently and flying a wee speck in the sky who is happy top answer questions and a group of (mainly) blokes sprawling around with drones and kit all over the place - that could be intimidating.
So I err very much on the side of caution with meetups. Flying alone I am representing myself and, if necessary, i can be big enough and ugly enough to cope.
Flying in a group we represent Grey Arrows and I do not want to be that person who gets the club into disrepute!
5 advisories here:
Whole area is 3 huge SSSI’s, referring mainly to Plant life but also ground-dwelling nightjars, of which there are a lot. Fortunately their interesting and seemingly obligatory proximity calls make for an inbuilt alarm system about where they are, so easy to avoid, but also easy to stress / alarm / worry - and they do !
Wild highland cattle - 1 moderately large herd of: These are a lot harder to escape, and mentioned both in warning signs and the SSSI notices. The sign doesn’t mention ninja cows specifically, but they do have invisibility level 3, and stealth level 8, so very easy to suddenly find 12 of them standing behind you that were not previously there while you are concentrating on your flyings.
They are annoyingly VERY interested in all unusual things going on at ground level and within their sight ! And do have an unsettling habit of coming over en-masse to investigate anything new that appears on their heath ! They are big, tall, solid units, and prefer to walk through you rather than around you, and their horns are quite intimidating. Last time I was there they wandered off with my landing pad !! 
They are also ‘tech’d up to the nuts’ - GPS trackers on each one, and what looked rather like webcams to me round their necks !
Surrounded as this heath is by tall(ish) trees, we can lose VLOS if we stray too far over the road beyond it and over that massive lake there. And if we go down in or really anywhere near that lake, there is no drone recovery possible - it’s an unusually well fenced quarry with very few chinks in the armour ! And the lake is VERY deep !
Best not to park in the car park alas. Can’t be seen from the road, and is hidden from most of the heath too, so anybody can be doing whatever in there, and signs there warn us about previous car thefts and not to leave anything in our cars…
