• Descent 305 - Pre-order is open!!

    Our August/September issue has a publication date of 2 August, and it is a special summer bumper issue full of stories of exploration and wonder from the underground world.

    Click here for details of this edition

Bit of drone footage, mainly Castleton area

Pitlamp

Well-known member
Came across this by accident - a few nice clips of Cavedale, Peveril Castle & the Winnats with a light covering of snow. May be useful for vein spotting, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntlIRSd3OKg

 
I'm pleased to see none of my upcoming projects were featured! ;)

Let's hope the National Trust don't see the Winnats Pass section though - drones are expressly forbidden from being used over their land. We had to get special permission, including presentation of pilot licenses and insurance before they'd let us do a drone survey of Long Cliff. Admittedly they did have more than a passing interest in the results. But I was chatting to the Head Ranger near Speedwell last year after they helped us clean up all the digging junk, when we were interrupted by the sound of a drone taking off from the knoll above Suicide Cave - he gave me a weary look and ran up the road. Five minutes later the drone floated limply back down to earth. I don't think they prosecute, but they're really not keen on it, more likely for safety reasons than IP protection - but then realistically how many rangers are there around to enforce it?

Maybe now we'll get dogfights ensuing with police drones - that would make things more interesting  :lol:
 
I turned the volume down, I must admit. I guess the actual sound recording would be a bit weird for most - whirring blades and roaring wind! But I'd prefer something more tranquil for flying around, if there must be a soundtrack. Some nice footage though. I'll bet English Heritage don't allow drones over their property either ;)

There is one aspect to this that bothers me though - if I am digging a surface site in future how do I know some plonker isn't shooting video of me doing it from afar? And given my right to privacy would be infringed by that, could I sue the maker of any eventual video? I'll ask my team of lawyers  :halo:
 
Agreed. Drones do my head in when I'm climbing. Sometimes I'll be up on an isolated welsh crag somewhere enjoying the quiet and some selfish plonker will have a drone buzzing around 30 feet away, probably to upload it to youtube with some stupid clickbait 'EXTREME MOUNTAIN CLIMBER' title.
 
I have to agree, drones can certainly detract from the ambience in the wrong circumstances.

I had one buzzing me whilst out fell running a while ago, on an otherwise peaceful hill. I can see why the Americans sometimes take pleasure in shooting them down!
 
Ah - so that's how they dealt with them in medieval times?

Mind you, there are loads of folk using drones entirely legitimately; they're only bad when controlled by the wrong hands.
 
Fabulous. Just wait until Amazon start trialling home deliveries to posh folks, whilst flying them over housing estates from their delivery warehouses. "Paw! Oi just bagged me a brace! Tinned salmon...and...caviar!"  ;)

Even more of an issue will be places like Sheffield, which have rather a lot of tree cover, despite what you may have heard recently. Most streets near where I live are invisible from the air as they're effectively inside an urban forest, so lord knows where the drones are supposed to actually land. I think I'd rather have an actual person bring it to me, given the choice.
 
Pitlamp said:
I have to agree, drones can certainly detract from the ambience in the wrong circumstances.

I had one buzzing me whilst out fell running a while ago, on an otherwise peaceful hill. I can see why the Americans sometimes take pleasure in shooting them down!

I'm reminded of a Sir Henry Rawlinson quote now: "Pass m'pistol and I'll see if I can bring the blighter down in the lake"
 
Over the past couple of years I've seen quite a few 'high-level' objects over Sheffield - usually static, but occasionally moving, and usually quite bright/reflective - one almost looked like a tea-tray. One day a few of us were working on a roof and saw an object hovering over the centre of Rotherham, and it must have been in one position for over two hours before very slowly moving off toward Doncaster - it appeared to be very high, rather than very small, but it's difficult to tell with a cloudless sky. After lunch we went back up and within half an hour it was back again - roughly the same spot in the sky, and about the same duration. I dunno if all drone batteries have the same lifetime, but that seemed quite a long time in the air - if it was a drone of course. If it was an advanced civilisation then fair enough.

The Tinsley area was famous for 'lights in the sky' long before drones were invented  :-\
 
Back
Top