Eagle's Nest, Wyndcliff

The Eagle's Nest is a giddy limestone viewpoint high on the Wyndcliff, looking down on the great looping meander of the Wye as it snakes past the Lancaut peninsula towards Chepstow. It is a classic Wye Valley composition, with steep wooded slopes, a silver river horseshoe, and the patchwork of the Forest of Dean beyond, and it rewards a drone that can gain a little height to clear the trees. You park in the upper car park on the B4293 and it is a short walk to the railed viewpoint. Two practical points shape the flying. First, this is a confined, heavily wooded launch: there is not much open ground at the platform, and thermals and eddies come off the cliff face, so give yourself margin. Second, the England to Wales border runs right down the middle of the river here, and the far bank is Gloucestershire, so keep the aircraft over the Welsh side and out over your own airspace. It is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with no specific byelaw, and there is no flight-restriction zone nearby. It gets busy with walkers on fine weekends. Autumn, on a weekday with low sun lighting the valley, is when it truly sings.