Hey there! I’m brand new to drone flying — I’ve just been gifted a DJI Mini 2 SE by my partner and am looking for advice about where I can legally fly in the Clevedon/North Somerset area, as I’ve got myself a bit spooked about where I can actually fly.
I’ve completed the CAA course and labeled up my drone with my operator ID and started to plan my first flight.
I thought because the mini is just under 250g I wouldn’t have many restrictions with flying and planned to try my first flight on a local playing field when it was quiet.
I checked the North Somerset council website only to discover hobbyist drones cannot take off/land or film over council owned land/buildings. Does this mean I can still fly over just not film? It seems all local playing fields are owned by the council. So I thought okay I’ll try Court woods (usually quiet and publicly accessible), but these are part privately owned and part owned by the National Trust who have strict no hobbyist flying rules. Then I thought I’d try the local beaches but these appear to be council owned too according to the map they provide. I’m running out of places to take off/land which aren’t council owned, private residential or National Trust.
Does anyone know of somewhere I can fly legally in the area/am I overlooking something/public areas where I can take off from and fly?
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.
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North Somerset Council - if they do not allow take off and landing TOAL from their land, that is their right. Flying over is controlled by CAA. Take-off and landing be from a public right of way.
See other thread about National Trust. You can TOAL from public tight of way and fly over. The local park from me is National Trust - I fly often, (TOAL from public footpath). And try not to be a idiot and be friendly - no one has stopped me. - Worse case is interest/excitement when I want to fly.
Have you operator ID to hand
Hope this helps - go and have fun. Consider signing up to the DJI Care Packages whilst your drone is ununsed.
Hi Martha
You could try the lighthouse at Burnham on Sea when the tide is out, and the harbour at Uphill. Wear wellies, though, as the sand is very sticky
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and thanks @bmsleight for the crown owned map link! @DroneGeek thanks for sharing info about the South West group, I’ve joined and will keep an eye on events.
So from the sounds of it beaches are a good way to go once the tide is out. I’ve had a closer look at the council owned land/property map and it does appear that their beach ownership doesn’t span the full length of the beaches here out towards sea. There’s a little jetty on one local beach here so if I’m on that I should be nice and legal going by the council map.
I’m looking forward to flying somewhere other than my living room !
!
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