Wrynose Pass

Wrynose Pass is one of Lakeland's wildest road passes, climbing steeply from Little Langdale to the Three Shire Stone at its 393-metre summit before dropping to meet Hardknott. The scenery is stark and grand, with bare fells, tumbling becks and the pale ribbon of a single-track road threading between Wetherlam and the Coniston fells. Rough parking pull-offs sit near the top of the pass. Be honest about the constraints: this is deep inside the Lake District National Park, where the authority asks for voluntary restraint on drone use, and much of the surrounding fell is National Trust land where take-off and landing are not allowed, so choose your launch ground carefully and fly high, brief and considerately. There is no Flight Restriction Zone, but low-flying military jets, mountain rescue and fierce, funnelled winds are all real hazards at this altitude, so keep the aircraft in sight and below 120 metres. The single-track road is busy and nerve-wracking for drivers in summer, so avoid distracting them. A calm, clear morning outside the holiday season gives the safest air, the emptiest road and the finest light raking across the fells.