Just been looking at the Bewl Water site and they specifically state “no inflatables and no drones”. It seems to be the norm, which is to prevent all responsible Drone operators from flying, maybe because of the bad press some idiots have attracted. I’ve been challenged several times and for various reasons (permitted countryside footpath/bridleway - may result in injury to walkers, North Downs hillsides - permission to fly over private land not given and may frighten wildlife!, Kent beach - National Trust owned, Ardingly Reservoir - no drones allowed, concern for wildlife, yada, yada.
So my question to you guys is, where the hell CAN we fly legally in the South East, other than by belonging to a club? I really am beginning to regret bothering with this and may just get rid.
If anyone has CONCRETE knowledge of where to fly LEGALLY, I would appreciate a heads up, otherwise £600 of wasted kit.
Cheers guys
Hi. Yes, but this site lists Bewl Water and it’s a no drone area. I wonder how many other locations it lists, which are incorrect 
You could always take off from somewhere else and fly to the location you’re not allowed to take off from.
Or you could just sell your £600 quids worth of wasted kit.
Anywhere on the foreshore legally, softer than concrete underfoot though.
Yeah, helpful suggestion Pingspike. Was a serious question though to those down South
I think National Trust own a hell of a lot of foreshore in Kent/Sussex and again, drones are a no-no 
Still a big chunk available (their map, if you don’t believe our own DroneScene)
https://thecrownestate.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=0aac22685d2f4d78a2a3b0a5aa1660db
Must be loads of space inland to have a play ?
I live in Sussex and have traveled around the county as well as Surrey and Kent to fly.
Lots of places you can legally do it depending on the drone you have just needs some planning.
Where abouts are you?
Milkman Chris, thanks for heads up. I’ll check their site out. I’m a new convert, but right now have to say, massively frustrated
Hi ResUAV. I’m in Sidcup and planning to head out tomorrow as a lone scouting party!! I’m a mountain biker and plan to have a look at some of the more remote areas I ride on the North and South Downs
Just fly the thing, don’t overthink it.
Doug what drone are you flying? This will have some bearing on where you can fly. With regard to NT land and such, you can fly over their land, you just can’t take off or land from their land. If you go early morning or late evening out of hours, just find a nearby public footpath you can use to fly from (always check for no fly zones etc using Drone Scene or similar beforehand).
With regard to Bewl Water thats a fairly new rule as I went through their site with a fine tooth comb. I have flown there multiple times and never had any issues at all. Its worth noting that the main area that the public visit (where the cafe and mountain bike hire is) does get busy and I would avoid flying that area but its around 13-14 miles around Bewl Water and there are various places you can park up and fly well away from the masses (one such place was mentioned by @its.steves.shots when he posted it to DroneScene, Rosemary Lane). There are also a couple of small wooded carparks you could also use 
Where abouts are you chap?
I’m south of Canterbury and have permission to fly over several hundred acres of private farm land.
I’m sure the land owner wouldn’t mind you joining me on occasion?
Not that the weather’s been keeping Nd enough lately!!
Steve
I really do think you are over thinking it somewhat, as someone else suggested.
- If it’s public land with no specific bylaws or other legal restrictions in place you’re good to go.
- If it’s private land you can TOAL from a public space and fly over any land to your hearts content (CAA restrictions not withstanding)
3.If public land a sign on a gatepost, fence or anywhere else is meaningless unless it is backed up by a lawful regulation. FOI requests to your local county, borough and district will tell you all you need to know. - Homework is key. Check Dronescene. Check Ordinance Survey maps for footpaths and bridleways from which to TOAL
This from South East Water’s website who own Ardingly Reservoir in West Sussex…
“to protect the wildlife, we don’t allow ball games, BBQs, drone flying or cycling on public footpaths”
Can they prohibit TOAL from a PUBLIC footpath even if it is on their land 
? And is it enforceable? Thanks.
Public rights of way (PROW) only really give their users a basic right to pass and re-pass along them without hinderance. Nothing else.
But people out on a walk will also want to do other things on the way, like stopping for a rest, taking a photograph, having a sandwich etc.
And there have been landowners who have take exception to people doing such things on ‘their land’ and have declared them trespassers.
So a few cases have made it to court, mainly surrounding the use of prows for protests (think anti-hunting) and a few ‘harassment’ cases (e.g. someone constantly walking up and down a PROW right outside their targets house)
So there is some case law which explores what kind of ‘extra’ activity PROW users can do.
The results of these cases is that in general someone is not trespassing if they stop to rest, admire the view, take photos or take refreshment, providing they stay on the path and do not cause an obstruction.
The user may also take with them what is termed as a “natural accompaniment” like a pushchair or pram.
For me, if I stop to rest, admire the view, and take some photos with my drone - as long as I’m not taking the mick and there for hours, or preventing from others using the footpath, then I think that if it ever came to a civil court, I could argue that I was not trespassing.
However, if the landowner has made it explicitly clear that they don’t want people using their land for TOAL, that argument becomes a little more difficult.
I was initially wary of using places to hobby fly where I didn’t have permission from the landowner.
I’ve got over that now, and as long as it’s a public footpath, or other public access area, and there are no explicit signs saying no drones (or published bylaws, rules etc) then I’m comfortable with my Mini 2.
If I was approached in a ‘get orrf my land’ kind of way by a landowner, I would just be polite and move on.
With regards to your reservoir - I wonder how much of the land South East Water actually own around the lake. The actual PROWs seem to be limited to the north/east shore … which would make the footpaths on the south/west shore technically private.
