The summer season never really began this year in the UK. The days have been grey, miserable, and often filled with rainfall. An exceptionally disappointing experience after what was one of the most brutal winters I have experienced here in this country. In attempt to counter this boredom of feeling stuck inside, I purchased a DJI Mini 2 about a month ago under the assumption that things would finally pick up and I'd have some sunny days to get out and explore the places more closer to home with a new perspective: from the sky.
While the weather has continued to be, well, pathetic, I have ensured I've taken to using the drone at any moment possible. The views and possibilities are seemingly endless for someone that's forever bored of his homeland and desperate for finding ways to lessen that depressive viewpoint of a place that can admittedly be rather beautiful at times. Outside of poor weather, I've been limited to issues with my Android having dropped it into a river -- which is a story for another time.
With strong winds and poor USB-C connectivity stemming from water damage, the options with the drone are currently quite limited: I can't take it too far into the sky, nor can I allow it to get too far away from me in the event that my phone disconnects and I lose my view of the surroundings, thus losing the drone itself.
Despite these limitations, I recently ventured into the countryside fields and woodlands of Essex: a place that doesn't hold much weight compared to the rest of the country's natural locations, but you can still find yourself appreciating the seemingly shoddily stitched-together farmland and the many animals that inhabit such fields.
One of rare sunny days, with a small thermos flask of water and large backpack containing not much else, I went in search for density. It's said that woodland accounts for just 13% of all land here in the UK, and it's often evident as you roam through the countryside, seeing small, very artificial parks and brief areas of growth and hedgerow that merely exist to display the endpoints of land ownership. There's no vast growths of trees in which you'll find yourself easily getting lost in, after all, as mentioned before such areas are controlled parks with blatant pathways and signs.
During my hunt for some density, I walked between fields of corn twice the height of myself under a summer's sun that produced a heat I could only describe as being that of which you could smell and taste in the air with each breath.
Upon reaching woodland, the immediate sound of life could be heard, and loosely quoting Werner Herzog: "It was if the birds were not singing, but screeching in pain." None of these sounds were recorded, however, due to the drone not having any microphone, and I didn't bring an additional camera with me.
It's said that this particular area of woodland is ancient, though one would assume more care would be placed into letting it thrive rather than be reduced to a small circle of trees; though roaming through it, it does feel more alive. More untouched as ferns take reign of pathways and the insects reclaim all possible space.
I walked through with no particular destination in mind, no matter the intensity of the sun above, or the insects that plagued the air. In that moment, it did feel rather ancient. It felt as if for once I was the outsider, thrown into an environment that is not my own, void of cobbled streets and concrete that reaches higher than the neck can angle.
Despite the feeling that I was being eaten alive by every possible living thing within the woodland, I found more open areas and decided to fly the drone around, relatively low to the ground to avoid catching branches and such. Finding unique ways to move the drone and capture this ancient emotion that captivates as you stand beneath trees that consume all light above.
I hope that soon, once my few issues are gone, as well as weather more adequate, I can roam free through the British countryside again and utilise this drone for the reasons I purchased it in the first place. I have the intentions of pursuing a more nomadic lifestyle and venturing out into the areas far from London. I guess this was just a minor teaser for what sits ahead.