Whitlingham Country Park

Whitlingham Country Park, tucked into the Yare valley just south-east of Norwich, is the closest slice of Broads scenery to the city. A long ornamental broad, restored from gravel workings, sits beside the river with grazing meadows, reedbeds and mature woodland - flat, photogenic, and framed by big Norfolk skies. It is a working country park with a sailing and watersports centre, so drone flying is discretionary rather than a right: the sensible approach is to speak to the rangers, avoid busy summer weekends, and stay away from the watersports zone and moored boats. The site lies within the Broads Authority executive area, which does not welcome recreational drones over the wider Broads, so keep flights low, brief and courteous. On airspace, you are roughly eight kilometres south-west of Norwich Airport and outside its flight restriction zone, but the runway has an extended zone reaching south-west, so always check the map before launching. Wildfowl use the broad, particularly in winter, and you should never push toward roosting or nesting birds. Come on a still winter weekday morning and you will often have the meadows to yourself, with mist lifting off the water. Park in the pay-and-display car park near the visitor barns and give other users plenty of room.