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Orford Ness is a disturbing place to those who know its history. It can truly be described as unique, both in its particular kind of beauty, in its wildlife, and in its history. It's a long shingle spit of land separated from the mainland by the river Ore, and is now quiet save for the many wheeling seabirds and the sound of the waves on the long, empty shingle beaches. But apart from the wildlife you'll also see some of the strange structures and buildings left by previous inhabitants. Said by some to be a haunt of smugglers back in the 1800s, in 1915 it gained a mysterious group of inhabitants. A large part of the Ness was bought by the War Department (now the Ministry of Defence) as their Experimental Flying Research Station. The Ness's fliers were also joined by several high-security areas over the years, including a prisoner of war camp and a rocket range. After World War 2, the already tight security was stepped up when the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment moved onto the site. While the details of what exactly went on are still highly classified, you can now tour and visit some of the strange buildings such as the "Pagodas", designed to contain high explosives and prevent debris being hurled into the air in the event of a blast. While the last Ministry of Defence personnel moved out in 1985, and the base is officially safe to explore, the whole stark, somewhat post-apocalyptic landscape holds an air of mystery - even without some of the peculiar tales of electrical disturbances, ghosts and UFOs that circulate. Compasses don't work anywhere on the island and computers and camera monitors go haywire and can stubbornly refuse to function. The base wardens have no idea what causes this - the only electrical fields still known to be active on the base are World Service transmitters, where the strange effects are actually weakest. They'd actually quite welcome finding out what's happening, so if you're a cycling Mulder and Scully type then try a visit. Today the land is the responsibility of The National Trust and is the largest vegetated shingle spit in Europe. There are many things to see at Orford Ness other than its national defence history, and it's now recognised as having great nature conservation importance and designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The National Trust Information The National Trust |
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