Harrold-Odell Country Park

Harrold-Odell Country Park sits in the gentle Great Ouse valley in north Bedfordshire - two former gravel lakes, riverside meadows, and the pretty medieval village of Harrold with its round market house and long stone bridge just next door. It is a calm, green inland spot that offers something different from the region's coasts. On the legal side, Bedford Borough Council's policy is workable for a light flyer: sub-250g drones are tolerated and 'monitored', but anything from 250g up - including a C1 machine - needs written permission from the council's events team before you fly on or over council land, so plan ahead if that is your kit. The lakes are an SSSI and an important wildfowl refuge, so the responsible approach is to fly the River Great Ouse and the open meadow side rather than over the birds, keeping height and never pushing rafts of ducks off the water. There is no controlled airspace overhead; Cranfield's airfield lies about 13km south. Weekday mornings are quietest. Frame the medieval bridge, the round lock-up and the river bends, and this modest country park turns in surprisingly graceful aerial shots, especially with autumn colour or a low winter sun catching the water.