Can you fly a drone in a UK national park?
Usually, yes. But there is no single rule for all 15 parks. What matters is where you take off, who owns that land, any local byelaws and the wildlife around you. Here’s how it works, park by park.
A national park isn’t a no-fly zone
National park status doesn’t ban drones. The park is a protected landscape, not a single piece of land, and most of it belongs to farmers, estates, charities and other private owners.
That means the national park authority usually can’t give you permission to fly, and usually can’t refuse it either, except on the land it owns. What you need instead is permission from whoever owns the spot where you take off and land, plus the normal CAA rules: a Flyer ID and Operator ID, staying below 120 m, keeping the drone in sight and keeping your distance from people.
On top of that, some parks and landowners have their own rules. The National Trust doesn’t allow personal drone flying. Forestry England needs a permit for any flight on its land. Dartmoor has a byelaw that covers drones on its commons. And many of the best views in a national park are on Sites of Special Scientific Interest, where disturbing protected wildlife is an offence.
I’ve filmed in national parks for ITV, the BBC and ITN, from Malham Cove to the top of Helvellyn. This guide covers what each park says, what the law actually lets landowners control, and how to film in a park for work. If you want the bigger picture on permissions in general, read our guide Do you need permission to film with a drone in the UK?
A note: this is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. Always check the current rules before you fly.
Six things to check in any national park
Run through these before every flight in a park, whether you’re out for the day or on a paid job.
What each national park says about drones
A summary of each park authority’s own guidance, with its film office contact and a link to the official page. Guidance changes, so always check the link before you fly.
- 1Dartmoor
- 2Exmoor
- 3Lake District
- 4New Forest
- 5Northumberland
- 6North York Moors
- 7Peak District
- 8South Downs
- 9The Broads
- 10Yorkshire Dales
- 11Eryri
- 12Bannau Brycheiniog
- 13Pembrokeshire Coast
- 14Cairngorms
- 15Loch Lomond & the Trossachs
Markers show the approximate centre of each park. Tap a park to jump to its rules and film office contact.
England
10 parksFilm officefilming@dartmoor.gov.ukFilming page
Official guidance →Film officeThe Authority’s estate department, via its drone page
Official guidance →Film officeProperty@lakedistrict.gov.uk01539 724555Filming page
Official guidance →Drone permits (Forestry England)southern.permissions@forestryengland.uk
Forestry England permits →Film officefilming@nnpa.org.uk01434 605555
Official guidance →Film officepress@northyorkmoors.org.uk01439 772700
Official guidance →Film officefilming@peakdistrict.gov.uk01629 816200Filming page
Official guidance →Film location enquiriespress@southdowns.gov.uk
Film officeContact form01603 610734
Official guidance →Film officemark.sadler@yorkshiredales.org.uk01969 652394Filming page
Official guidance →Wales
3 parksFilm office (Property Officer)Edward.Jones@eryri.llyw.cymru01766 770274
Official guidance →Film officeContact page
Filming in the park →Film officecommunications@pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk01646 624800
Official guidance →Scotland
2 parksGeneral enquiriesenquiries@cairngorms.co.uk01479 873535
Official guidance →Film officeinfo@lochlomond-trossachs.org01389 722600Filming page
Filming in the park →Checked against each park’s published guidance in October 2026. Galloway was proposed as Scotland’s third national park, but the Scottish Government decided not to go ahead in May 2025.
Flying over the land is not the same as flying from it
Landowners, including the National Trust and the park authorities, can always refuse permission for you to take off, land or operate from their property. What they don’t own is the sky. Since Bernstein v Skyviews, a landowner’s rights in the airspace only go as high as they need to use and enjoy the land. Section 76 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 says there is no action in trespass or nuisance just because an aircraft flies over at a reasonable height within the regulations, and in 2025 the High Court applied the same principle to drones flying at least 50 m above a site.
So if you take off from land where you’re allowed to be, stay within the legal height, keep the drone in sight and follow the rest of the rules, passing over someone’s land is not trespass. You may see guidance from landowners suggesting otherwise. Hovering low over people or filming them in private is a different matter, and can still lead to nuisance, harassment or privacy complaints.
Byelaws are different. A byelaw is made under an Act of Parliament, and some are worded to cover flying over land, not just from it. Dartmoor’s byelaw covers model aircraft flown “on or over” its access land, and the National Trust’s byelaws say an unauthorised person shall not operate an airborne vehicle over its property. On the Dartmoor commons in particular, we’d get the Authority’s permission rather than argue the point.
Scotland is different again. Scotland has its own land law and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. A legal opinion published for NatureScot and the National Access Forum in April 2026 says flying a drone isn’t covered by Scottish access rights, so ask the landowner before you take off.
Sources: Dartmoor byelaws, National Trust, legal opinion on drones and access rights and Civil Aviation Act 1982, section 76.
SSSIs: the exception we take seriously
Many of the best spots in a national park are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, often protected for the birds that nest and roost there. A drone overhead can easily stress or flush them.
Sources: Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 28P, NatureScot and Defra MAGIC map.
- In England and Wales it is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb the wildlife an SSSI is protected for, with an unlimited fine if you knew it was an SSSI.
- Disturbing certain rare birds at or near their nest is a separate offence under the same Act, wherever the nest is.
- Some species, such as golden eagles, are protected from disturbance all year round in Scotland.
- On moorland and fells the nesting season usually runs from March to July or August, so take extra care then.
- Check whether you’re on or near an SSSI using Defra’s MAGIC map before you fly.
- Our own rule: we don’t fly over an SSSI without the right consent from Natural England, NatureScot or Natural Resources Wales, and we’d advise every pilot to do the same.
Filming in a national park for TV or a client
Commercial filming in a park usually means more people to speak to, and sometimes a fee.
For a professional pilot, the first call is usually the film office. Most national parks have a filming or locations office, and so do the big landowners in and around them, such as the National Trust, Forestry England and the Canal & River Trust. Enquire there first to get permission to fly from their land, and ask the owner directly for any spot they don’t cover. Some charge a location fee, and they need time: Forestry England asks for at least eight weeks, and the North York Moors asks for 21 days.
A professional drone operator sorts all of this for the production, including any airspace permissions, and builds any fees into the plan from the start.
Landowner film offices
ContactsFilm officeFilming and locations
Contactenquiries@forestryengland.uk0300 067 4000Local offices
Filming managercassie.clarke@canalrivertrust.org.ukApply online
Film officefilming.enquiries@english-heritage.org.uk0300 020 0017
SSSI consentProtectedSites@naturalengland.org.uk0300 060 3900
ApplyApplication page
ContactPermissions and permits
We’ve filmed in national parks for years: at Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales and on Helvellyn and Catbells in the Lake District for ITV’s Britain’s Favourite 100 Walks, in the Dales for ITN News, and in the Peak District for the BBC Travel Show’s episode on the park’s 75th anniversary. Every one of those jobs started with the same question: where can we take off, and who do we need to ask? Read more about the Peak District shoot in our BBC Travel Show blog.
Phil at Malham Cove in the Yorkshire Dales, filming for ITV
The DJI Inspire 2 on the summit of Helvellyn, Lake District
Filming for ITN News in the Yorkshire Dales
Frequently asked questions
Can you fly a drone in a UK national park?
Usually, yes. National park status doesn’t ban drones. You need the landowner’s permission to take off and land, you must follow the CAA rules, and you need to respect any local byelaws and protected wildlife. A few places, such as the New Forest and the Dartmoor commons, are much stricter.
Do I need permission from the national park authority to fly a drone?
Only on land the authority owns. Most national park land is privately owned, so the permission you need is usually from the farmer, estate or organisation that owns your take-off spot. Some authorities, such as the North York Moors, don’t allow amateur pilots to take off from their land.
Can I take off from a car park in a national park?
Only with permission from whoever owns it. Many car parks belong to the park authority, the National Trust or the council, and several don’t allow drones to take off from them. Northumberland asks pilots not to fly within 150 m of its car parks.
Can you fly a drone in the Lake District?
Yes, with the landowner’s permission for your take-off spot. The park’s guidance says flying isn’t permitted on nature reserves, SSSIs or National Trust property, and asks pilots to avoid ground-nesting birds from March to July.
Can you fly a drone in the Peak District?
Yes, with permission from the owner of the land you take off and land on. On the Authority’s own access land its byelaws restrict certain aircraft, and some SSSIs and Special Protection Areas have extra restrictions.
Can you fly a drone in the Yorkshire Dales?
Yes. More than 95% of the Dales is privately owned, so ask the landowner where you take off. The National Trust doesn’t allow recreational flying on its land around Malham Tarn and upper Wharfedale.
Can you fly a drone on Dartmoor?
Not on the commons for fun. Dartmoor’s byelaws cover flying model aircraft, including drones, on or over its access land without the Authority’s permission, and it doesn’t give permission for recreational flying there. Commercial requests are considered case by case.
Can you fly a drone in the North York Moors?
Yes, with the landowner’s permission, but not from the park authority’s own land unless you’re a commercial pilot with its approval. It owns less than 1% of the park, and it says Sutton Bank and the Kilburn White Horse aren’t suitable because of nearby airfield restrictions.
Can you fly a drone in the New Forest?
Only with a Forestry England permit, and permits are only given for documentary, operational or scientific work. No drone flying is allowed for any purpose on its land from late February to 31 August, the ground-nesting season.
Can you fly a drone in Snowdonia (Eryri)?
Yes, with the landowner’s permission. The Authority owns less than 1% of the park, but using the Yr Wyddfa summit needs its permission and a licence, and byelaws may apply on SSSIs and nature reserves.
Can the National Trust stop me flying over its land?
It can refuse permission to take off, land or fly from its property, and its byelaws say unauthorised people shall not operate an airborne vehicle over its land. A landowner’s rights in the airspace are limited by law, but the safe course is to take off elsewhere, fly high, pass over rather than hover, and avoid filming people.
Do I need a permit to film commercially in a national park?
Usually, yes. Start with the film office: most national parks have one, as do the National Trust, Forestry England and the Canal & River Trust. They will need your drone licence, proof of insurance and a detailed risk assessment covering exactly where you wish to film, and some charge a location fee. A professional drone operator arranges all of this for a production.
Can I fly a drone over an SSSI in a national park?
Treat it as a no unless you have the right consent. It is an offence to intentionally or recklessly disturb the wildlife an SSSI is protected for. Check the site on Defra’s MAGIC map and speak to Natural England, NatureScot or Natural Resources Wales first.
Do Scottish access rights let me fly a drone?
Probably not. The Cairngorms National Park says recreational drone flying isn’t directly covered by access rights, and a legal opinion published for NatureScot in 2026 says flying a drone isn’t covered at all. Ask the landowner before you take off.
Always check the rules yourself before you fly
This article is general information, written in October 2026 to help people understand how drone flying works in UK national parks. It is not legal advice and it is not a substitute for the official guidance.
Park guidance, byelaws and landowner policies change, and every location and every flight is different. Before you fly, every pilot is responsible for checking the facts for themselves: the current CAA Drone and Model Aircraft Code, the airspace at the location, the park’s own guidance, any local byelaws, the landowner’s permission, protected sites and wildlife, and that they are registered, qualified and insured for what they plan to do.
Halo Vue accepts no responsibility for any flight planned on the basis of this article.
Let us sort the permissions
Send me the park, the locations, the dates and the shots you need, and I’ll tell you who we need to ask and how long it takes. Halo Vue holds a CAA PDRA-01 operational authorisation, £5m public liability cover and broadcast credits with the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Netflix and Disney+.
New to drones? Start with our guide Do you need permission to film with a drone in the UK?
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