Flying drones

The New Forest is a beautiful place, part of what makes this National Park special is its wildlife, free roaming ponies and tranquillity. 

With such a beautiful place it is understandably tempting to come here to fly your drone. However, flying an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), or Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), commonly known as a Drone, is not permitted in much of the National Park. 

The land within the New Forest National Park is owned or managed by several organisations and private landowners. Much of the New Forest National Park is designated land such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), there are also Byelaws, which restrict the flying of drones.

Whenever you fly, for whatever reason, you should adhere to the Civil Aviation Authority’s Drone and Model Aircraft Code. You may also need appropriate insurance. 

The NPA is not able to grant permissions for drone use. On this page we have pulled together some details from a range of landowners across the New Forest regarding drone flying in the National Park. Visit their websites for further information and contact details.  

Forestry England

Forestry England manages the Crown Lands in the New Forest National Park.

You must have a permit from Forestry England to fly a drone in the nation’s forests for any reason – recreational or commercial. Permission to operate a drone on New Forest Crown Lands managed by Forestry England can only be permitted in very limited circumstances – for the purposes of documentary filming, operational and scientific/research.  

Drone flying is not permitted for any purpose during the Ground Nesting Bird season (February – August)

Forestry Commission byelaws. 

Byelaws, set out in the Forestry Act 1967 and subsequent updates, apply to the land managed by Forestry England. These byelaws specifically mention (Section 5 “Prohibited Acts Within Byelaws”, paragraph xxiii) that you cannot ‘operate any aircraft, glider, hot air balloon, boat, raft or craft of any kind, or any model aircraft, boat or car.’ 

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (The Drone and Model Aircraft Code) is clear that byelaws can restrict drone flying that might not usually need landowner permission and this includes flying from public rights of way in the nation’s forests. 

Forestry England links:

Drone flying in the New Forest

Filming, photography and drones

National Trust

The National Trust does not usually authorise personal drone flying on its land and or properties in order to preserve the special nature of these places. The National Trust Byelaws (Section 11), clearly express that an unauthorised person shall not operate an airborne vehicle or machine over National Trust property. 

In addition, any unauthorised use of a drone (either flown ‘over’ or ‘from’ relevant land) may constitute a trespass, nuisance or harassment depending on how it is flown and the impact of the use. 

National Trust: Flying drones at our places

New Forest District Council

Flying recreational drones in our Public Open Space Areas is not permitted as it can be dangerous and annoying to other visitors. If you wish to fly a drone for commercial, film or survey purposes within any of our public open spaces, you must contact us to attain permission before your flight.  

Flying on private land

Subject to gaining the landowner’s permission, flying a drone on private land within the National Park is allowed. Note: even if you take off from private land you may not fly over public land (e.g. Crown land) without permission. 

Useful links

Drone safety map

Civil Aviation Authority: The Drone and Model Aircraft Code

Civil Aviation Authority: Introduction to drone flying and the UK rules

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary: Drones

Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside (MAGIC) Map