Don’t ignore YouTube. There is good and useful content amongst the dross. I can certainly recommend Ian in London as probably the best, He is also a GADC member @ianinlondon
@macspite summed it up pretty nicely: common sense; consideration; not being a dick.
On the subject of auditors (without wishing to derail the thread again)… Don’t be fooled in to believing confidence is the same as knowledge.
Even in his pinned post (which you’d think would represent his very best content) “DJE Media” confronts NT employees in the NT carpark (where they can absolutely tell him to stop filming), refuses to leave NT property when instructed to, is specifically told (several times) that he’s standing on NT property when flying his drone and carries on regardless, and repeatedly conflates public access and public property.
If you’ve got a spare hour or two, this is a thread worth a read:
People flying drones over sensitive locations (eg. police stations ) and “auditors”
As a total novice I found the help from club members, at meets, invaluable
Totally agree, I wanted to capture a Norman church in 7Oaks today. I thought I was good to go at around 4pm, the church was closed, and it was quiet, but just as I was about to go up I saw someone enter the churchyard, with flowers. I decided to go back another day and not to interrupt their contemplation.
Done - he sounds like a choice human
It’s a bit more relaxed in Scotland.
A landowner can’t prevent you from TOAL on their land thanks to the Land Reform Act (as long as your not a dick) there are a few restrictions around land where a fee is normally charged for access (which is how NTS and HSE can prevent TOAL)
Not necessarily. There are specific exclusions in the Outdoor Access Code which, it could be argued, apply to us. In particular, use of motorised vehicles is specifically excluded from the Act (9f). Even NatureScot can’t decide whether that does or doesn’t apply to drones saying that “only the courts can provide a definitive position” and, to the best of my knowledge, there’s no case law on that yet.
There are also a lot more restrictions than just whether a fee is charged. NatureScot can (and do) also restrict access to protect cultural or natural heritage regardless of whether a fee is paid. A lot of land is also excluded because of its use (a lot of farmland, for example).
All for using the Outdoor Access Code to get the absolute most out of our stunning country… but coming from an area where tourists in hired campervans think it means they can just drive on to somebody’s croft to get a bit closer to the beach for the night, I often feel the need to point out it’s not a blanket carte blanche to do whatever we want. As you say though, not being a dick covers an awful lot of it.
My brothers a land manager near a local beauty spot and is constantly reminded by the clatty campers they can do what they want. He has a habbit of driving to the campsite at 2am in his noisy landrover, then turning on all his spotting lamps and full beam. They tend not to hand about too long after that