Llyn Ogwen & Ogwen Valley

The Ogwen Valley is arguably the most cinematic square mile in Eryri: Tryfan's serrated ridge rising straight off the lake, Pen yr Ole Wen's huge scree cone opposite, and the A5 threading between them. From a hover over the lake you can frame Tryfan reflected in still morning water — a genuinely world-class shot. The legal picture needs care, though. The National Trust owns the Carneddau and Glyderau estate that surrounds the lake and does not permit take-off or landing from its land, and the Eryri National Park Authority asks pilots to stay away from honeypot summits and the Cwm Idwal National Nature Reserve just above. The workable approach is to TOAL from the roadside laybys and verge along the A5, keep the flight over the lake and valley floor, and stay out of Cwm Idwal entirely. Wind is the other trap: this valley funnels westerlies viciously, and rotor off Tryfan can slam a small drone about even when the car park feels calm. Early weekday mornings are the time — by 9am on a fine Saturday the laybys are rammed with hillwalkers and you will struggle to maintain separation from people. Winter dawn with snow on Tryfan is the money shot.