# RAF Echo Location



## mrdystopia (Jul 27, 2013)

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Nestled in the Norfolk countryside lies this Royal Air Force base. At the end of our weekend urbex road-trip (which included battling midnight eviction from a posh village green we camped in) we decided to pay this place a visit, not expecting half of the amazing site we found ourselves exploring. Spread over a sizeable area with buildings large, varied and plentiful, we were far from disappointed.

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The control tower looked very interesting indeed. Top of the list for the revisit.

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Many of the structures are typical of military airfields; barracks, offices, stores, hangers. But, there is one building in particular with extremely interesting properties.

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This large dome must be one of the strangest rooms I have ever stood in – and that really is saying something once you have been urban exploring for a couple of years. The perfect symmetry of the dome together with the perfectly smooth walls and empty interior make this a perfect echo chamber. 
When you clap your hands inside a tunnel, the sound waves going directly up and to the sides are bounced back at you and you hear this as an echo. This room however, forces every part of the sound wave back at you in an echo like I have never before experienced. Tiny, almost-inaudible sounds are hurled back at you amplified a hundred-fold. The tiny click from my camera’s adjustment wheel becomes a hammer-fall, your breathing becomes almost voice-like and any actual words spoken become unintelligible. Very strange indeed.   I believe the original purpose was to act as a 360-degree cinema for training on weapons systems in immersive simulations. That would have been something to see, I'm sure!

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Sadly, time being short, we were resigned to treating this visit as a relatively quick*reconnaissance mission. As such we lacked the time to find our way into the large hanger buildings, settling instead for their attached offices and auxiliary buildings.

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Climbing too would have to wait for the next visit if I was to make it to the station in time for my train home.

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Nature is slowly taking the buildings back – I suspect the gardener is no longer being employed here.

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Like many military bases, this site was a village in its own right and largely self-contained. I would gladly spend an entire day or two exploring the various buildings and sights on offer.

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No time to check out the Airmen’s Restaurant other than passing exterior shots unfortunately.

Sorry that I could not get more internal shots - if I have my way, this will not be the final word from this fascinating place. In the meantime however, I hope you enjoyed this fleeting tour.

MrD


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## krela (Jul 27, 2013)

Havent seen anything from here for aaaaaages! Nice one.


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## outkast (Jul 27, 2013)

Raf west Raynham, did this last year, kinda spooky wandering around with absolutely no one around, did you do the BHQ ?


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## UEP-Wales (Jul 27, 2013)

Awesome stuff as per dude!


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## alex76 (Jul 27, 2013)

Very nice looks fairly mint defo on the to-do list


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## Judderman62 (Jul 27, 2013)

liking that lots


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## outkast (Jul 27, 2013)

I believe there are only about 5 dome trainers left in the country.


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## mookster (Jul 27, 2013)

Best set of shots I've seen from here for ages!


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## Ace5150 (Jul 27, 2013)

Top drawer pics and report!


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## UrbanX (Jul 27, 2013)

Not seen this one for ages! Awesome pics mate!


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## night crawler (Jul 27, 2013)

Very nice though what a waste


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## dmundy01 (Jul 28, 2013)

Smashing pics, really enjoyed these.


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## Romford Reject (Jul 28, 2013)

Looks a great place indeed


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## flyboys90 (Jul 28, 2013)

Great photos.


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## TeeJF (Jul 28, 2013)

Nice find, what a weird place!!!


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## Lucky Pants (Jul 29, 2013)

Superb shots, great looking location


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## losttom (Jul 30, 2013)

I was there 2 weeks ago on a 3rd revisit as hadnt been for a few years....sadly it was with the mrs and dog and so i didnt get another set of pics....
Great pics though, mine of the dome always turned out rubbish!


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## freemanmarc (Aug 4, 2013)

I'm new to this urbexin and have only been out to a few sites. This is definitely going on my to do list. Thanks for this... Time for me to dosome research


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## vegnomeat (Aug 7, 2013)

Found this http://www.hlf.org.uk/news/Pages/LotteryboosttobringLanghamDomeTrainerbacktolife.aspx#.UgJDrW1XnxM

regards

veggie


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