Arlington Reservoir

A quietly beautiful inland option: a South East Water reservoir ringed by a popular circular walk, with the South Downs as a backdrop and mirror-calm dawns that make the whole basin glow. For a drone it's all about the reflection — flat water at first light with mist lifting off it is the money shot. But be honest with yourself about two constraints. First, it's an SSSI for overwintering wildfowl; from roughly October to March the reservoir holds large numbers of ducks, geese and gulls, and a drone over the water at that time is genuine disturbance — fly here in the summer months and keep well away from any rafts of birds. Second, land: the lakeside permissive path is on the water company's ground and drone TOAL there isn't sanctioned, so set up on the public footpath/lane on the approach rather than on the reservoir's own land, and keep operations respectful and brief. Airspace is easy — no nearby FRZ, with Gatwick around 35km north and Shoreham about 18km west. The Cuckmere valley and Downs are close for wider compositions. A calm, birdless summer morning is the window.