Estate defends Glenfinnan Viaduct drone zone charge
Glenfinnan Estate has defended its policy to charge drone operators for the right to fly at one of the most popular tourist landmarks in Scotland.
Drone operators in search of the perfect aerial shot of Glenfinnan Viaduct have this week hit out at the estate, which owns the land surrounding the famous railway bridge, for charging visitors £10 to fly drones at the site.
Maureen Johnstone, from Dunoon, contacted the Lochaber Times after being put off visiting Glenfinnan due to the drone flying fee and called into question the legality of such a levy.
She said: ‘It is an outrage to charge the public and tourists for an aerial view of your land. There is no law supporting this.’
Glenfinnan Estate manager Alistair Gibson, however, said drone users must obtain permission from the landowner before flying and the £10 ‘administration charge’ was to cover the cost of checking that operators know the law and to help manage numbers – without which the area could descend into chaos.
‘I’m not trying to milk tourists,’ he said. ‘I’m trying to regulate it, especially for those who need to know the rules. For example, foreign visitors who have bought a drone may not know the law. I don’t mind them being there, so long as they’re responsible.’
Last year saw the annual number of visitors to Glenfinnan top 330,000 with many flocking to see the viaduct now immortalised in the Harry Potter movies.
Mr Gibson said the £10 fee, received in exchange for a Glenfinnan Estate headed receipt, is ‘reasonable’ and that ‘99 per cent of folk’ were agreeable to the charge. He added the estate welcomed drone users but fliers had to know the rules.
The Air Navigation Order 2016, commonly referred to as the Drone Code, stipulates that drones cannot be flown higher than 120m, kept at least 50m from people or buildings and at least 150m from crowds or built-up areas. It is also a criminal offence to fly a drone on, over or within 50 metres of the railway, which includes Glenfinnan Viaduct.
Although the law on whether landowners can restrict drone use remains ambiguous, Mr Gibson has been advised operators must obtain permission for takeoff and landing on private land. However, drone fliers claim they are subject to the same ‘right to roam’ laws as walkers, under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and therefore cannot be made to pay fees for access.
‘It’s a grey area because drones are so new,’ continued Mr Gibson. ‘But they need the landowner’s permission. I don’t like them flying over my house, which is on estate land and therefore illegal, so I warn them not to do that. But I don’t mind people enjoying the area and if that means flying a drone and doing it responsibly then so be it.’
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code does not cover drones and the National Access Forum is due to discuss the issue in May.
Emily Bryce, National Trust for Scotland operations manager for Glenfinnan, said: ‘More than 300,000 visitors are coming to Glenfinnan every year – many specifically for the area’s iconic views – and the use of drones is increasingly popular. This needs to be managed so that everyone can enjoy their visit in safety. Our neighbours and the main landowner in the area, Glenfinnan Estate, has a system in place for this.’