Sar Lou Adventures

Lake Vyrnwy – Wales

I headed to Wales to do my first proper flight with our new DJI Air3S drone! Lake Vyrnwy is one of those stunning hidden gems in Wales that is always worth a visit, though the reservoir dam area is home to an RSPB nature reserve and has restrictions on drone flights to protect the resident birds.

The tower on the northern shore of the lake, is a Victorian gothic style Straining tower built to extract water designed by George Frederick Deacon , with construction being completed in 1892.

Having some test flights to get the hang of the controls at home, I was excited to see what the Air3S could do. I’ve only scratched the surface so far but it’s clear that it’s capable of getting truly amazing footage.

With a love for hills and mountains, I needed a drone that could deal with unpredictable winds. The Air3S and Mavic drones were the only ones capable of handling big gusts and sustained winds of up to 35mph, but with the heftier price tag and weight of the Mavic the Air3S was the right choice for me and I’m loving every minute of learning what it can do.

Visiting Lake Vyrnwy

There’s a café and accommodation on main tourist site for anyone wishing to stay longer and explore the area
You can park right near the base of the dam/RSPB reserve at the (chargeable) car park, but there are a free public laybys further around the reservoir roads
There are numerous hiking trails around the reservoir and surrounding hills
The dam is particularly impressive and best visited after a heavy rainfall
Wild swimming in Lake Vyrnwy is prohibited as it is a drinking water reservoir
DRONE NOTES – Lake Vyrnwy Dam is managed by the RSPB and has restrictions on drones. and the surrounding hills are in an SSSI area. Flying drones over Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the UK is heavily restricted to protect wildlife and habitats. While not always legally prohibited to fly overhead, you generally need permission from Natural England to take off, land, or fly at low levels within an SSSI. Disturbing wildlife can lead to prosecution under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The free laybys are a public right of way outside the restricted areas, so with a C0/C1 drone as long as you take off/land and fly around so long as you stay out of the SSSI areas.