Drone boat hire on the River Mole
The Mole winds north from Dorking through the Surrey Hills, under the slopes of Box Hill and past the stepping stones near Burford Bridge, through the Mole Gap to Leatherhead, and on to meet the Thames at East Molesey, opposite Hampton Court. Filmed low over the water, it is chalk downland, woods and meadows close to London.
The Mole is small, shallow and non-tidal, so the boat is a light inflatable we can carry to the bank, steady enough on the deeper, slower stretches to launch and land the drone. Where it is too shallow or overhung by trees, the drone flies from the bank and the boat carries the camera low along the surface.
Permission. The Mole is not a navigation, so there is no harbour master to ask. The banks and the riverbed belong to the landowners along it, and every launch spot is agreed with them first. Box Hill and much of the land around it belong to the National Trust, which asks for permission before any drone flight from its land.
Water levels. The river rises fast after heavy rain, and in a dry summer stretches below Box Hill can drain away through swallow holes in the chalk, so we check the levels in the days before.
People. The stepping stones and the riverside paths are busy with walkers, so flights are planned away from them and timed for quieter hours.
Drones. Dorking, Box Hill and Leatherhead are clear of restricted airspace, with no zone within 4 km, so the planning is about landowners and people, not NATS.
Filming somewhere else? See all our film boat hire locations, or tell us where and we will find the right boat.
The Mole is not a navigation, so there is no harbour master to ask. The banks and the riverbed belong to the landowners along it, and every launch spot is agreed with them first.
The airspace is clear, but Box Hill and much of the land around it belong to the National Trust, which asks for permission before any drone flight from its land.
It is small and shallow, so we use a light inflatable on the deeper, slower stretches. The river rises fast after heavy rain, and in a dry summer stretches below Box Hill can drain away through swallow holes.
