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    Drone mapping orthomosaic of an allotment site laid over a satellite map, with plot boundaries outlined

    Drone Mapping Services UK

    Orthomosaic maps and surface models of your site, delivered as files your team can actually open.

    Aerial Mapping of Your Whole Site

    Our drone mapping service photographs a site from above in a planned, overlapping grid, then stitches those photographs into a single aerial map. The result is an orthomosaic: a corrected, to-scale image of the whole site that you can measure from, share with the team and lay over Google Maps or your own drawings. The same flight can produce a point cloud and a 3D model, so heights and indicative volumes come from one visit.

    It is the quickest way to get a current, accurate picture of a large or awkward site without walking every metre of it. We are a CAA-registered, GVC-licensed and fully insured drone mapping company based in Cumbria, flying a DJI Matrice 4E, and we cover the whole of the UK. We are also a Constructionline Gold Member.

    Flown in RTK with an on-site base station, positional accuracy is typically 3 cm or better. Survey-grade work with ground control points is quoted separately, and if you need design-grade levels and contours, you want a drone topographic survey. Plenty of jobs need both, and we will tell you which yours is.

    What You Get

    A georeferenced orthomosaic of the whole site: one corrected, to-scale aerial image
    Coordinates in British National Grid (EPSG:27700), ready to line up with your drawings
    A layered georeferenced PDF where you need overlays such as a site plan
    GeoTIFF, JPEG or PNG, and KMZ for viewing in Google Earth
    LAS and XYZ point clouds and a textured OBJ 3D model where heights or 3D matter
    Distances, areas and indicative stockpile volumes where you need them
    Drone mapping deliverable: an orthomosaic of an allotment site divided into lettered zones for plot-by-plot assessment
    An anonymised orthomosaic, zoned for plot-by-plot assessment.

    Who It's For

    Contractors and civil engineers who need a current plan of a live site
    Developers and architects working up a scheme on unfamiliar land
    Surveyors who want aerial context alongside their own measured work
    Councils and land managers recording parks, allotments, verges and boundaries
    Quarries and earthworks sites keeping an eye on stockpiles
    Estates and farms mapping fields, drainage and access

    Mapping the same site again later? Repeat flights flown the same way are the basis of construction progress monitoring, and the imagery can go on to AI drone image analysis when you want findings rather than pictures.

    How a Drone Mapping Job Works

    1
    Enquiry

    Send us the site boundary, what the map is for and when you need it. We come back with a scope and a price.

    2
    Site check and permissions

    We check the airspace, the landowner's permission and anything on or near the site that affects the flight, and plan the ground sample distance for the detail you need.

    3
    Flight

    The drone flies an automated grid with plenty of overlap, so every part of the site is photographed several times from a consistent height.

    4
    Processing

    We process the photographs into the orthomosaic and surface model, and take any measurements or volumes you have asked for.

    5
    Delivery

    You get the files digitally, ready to open in your GIS or CAD software or to share with the rest of the team.

    Typical turnaround: Deliverables typically within 7 to 10 working days of the flight.

    Example Job

    Bishop Auckland allotment orthophoto survey

    Six allotment sites mapped across Bishop Auckland, each at 1.3 cm resolution and laid on an interactive map with the site plan overlaid, opacity controls, and tools to measure distances and areas on the ground.

    Drone Mapping FAQs

    A single, to-scale aerial image of your site, stitched from hundreds of overlapping drone photographs with the lens and perspective distortion corrected. Because it is to scale, you can measure distances and areas straight from it.

    The georeferenced orthomosaic comes as a GeoTIFF in British National Grid (EPSG:27700), which opens in QGIS, ArcGIS and most CAD software. We can also supply JPEG or PNG, KMZ for Google Earth, LAS and XYZ point clouds and a textured OBJ 3D model, plus a layered georeferenced PDF where overlays are needed.

    When we fly in RTK with an on-site base station, positional accuracy is typically 3 cm or better. If you need survey-grade accuracy, we add ground control points, quoted separately. For design-grade levels and contours, see our topographic surveys.

    Yes, as indicative volume estimates taken from the point cloud. They are useful for tracking a stockpile or checking progress on earthworks. They are not a substitute for a measured survey where money changes hands on the figure.

    Anything from a single plot to many hectares. Bigger sites take more flights and more processing, so the price follows the area and the level of detail you need. Send us a boundary and we will scope it.

    Deliverables typically within 7 to 10 working days of the flight.

    Further Reading

    Areas We Cover

    Based in Cumbria, we travel across the UK for survey and inspection work. We regularly operate throughout Cumbria and the Lake District, across the North West and North East, and up to the Scottish border, and take on projects nationwide.

    CumbriaLake DistrictNorth West EnglandNorth East EnglandScottish BorderUK-wide

    Get a Quote for Drone Mapping

    Send us the site and what the map is for, and we will come back with a scope and a price. We are CAA-registered, GVC-licensed, fully insured and a Constructionline Gold Member. Prefer to talk it through first? Contact us.

    Related guides

    How accurate is drone photogrammetry?

    What accuracy means in drone photogrammetry, what controls it, and when a survey from the air is enough or you need a ground survey instead.

    Read the guide