# Orford Ness, Suffolk



## stateless68 (Mar 31, 2013)

Two visits to a hugely interesting site owned by the National Trust - fair to say that it is not their usual type of property - it's a haven for rare flora and fauna, but that isn't my particular interest. The site is a very short boat trip across from the village of Orford, and there all resemblance to rural Suffolk ends. At one end of the peninsula lays the old Cold War listening post, at the other strange underground bunkers called the Pagodas, laboratories and testing stations for post WWII research into hydrogen and atomic weaponry mechanisms. The site was, up until the mid 80's, the most secret MoD location in the UK, or one of them. It is now accessible throughout spring and summer, however access to the underground bunkers and the laboratories is restricted to specific tours. I have visited the place on several occasions. It's a fantastic day out, excellent walking on some difficult terrain (shingle and stone) but mostly the paths are well trodden - amidst a wasteland of wire and steel, and unexploded ordinance that commonly, relatively commonly, wash up on the beaches. 

Here's some photos...




DSC_499300307 by stateless68, on Flickr

having made the Ness, walked past the WWI airfield gas pumps, across the bridge, and onto the shingle, this is the view from the Observation Deck




DSC_501300327a by stateless68, on Flickr

another view, showing the detritus over the area of the Ness




_DSC9033 by stateless68, on Flickr

the gas pump...




_DSC8545A_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

Orford Ness, resembling the Great Plains..




_DSC8678 by stateless68, on Flickr

bunker... and..




_DSC8669_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

inside the bunker..




_DSC8724_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

i think this was a laboratory...




_DSC8559A_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

laboratory




_DSC8731_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

as far as i could get... nice reflection...




_DSC8714_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

a mess of reinforced concrete and a Pagoda.. built to withstand massive forces, and, should there be an accident, the short pillars would collapse and the concrete roof would smother the blast.. that was the theory




_DSC8593_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

everyone likes a rusty bike..




_DSC8712A_edited-2 by stateless68, on Flickr

Pagoda No.1, so named by me as it was the first i came across.. it shall likely have a more scientific name.




_DSC8613 by stateless68, on Flickr

View to the north from a lab window




_DSC8863_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

outside a Pagoda...




_DSC8972_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

outside a Pagoda, again.. showing a little of the observation tunnels running in between them and the laboratory, and the reinforced concrete underground viewing posts..




_DSC8907_edited-1 by stateless68, on Flickr

a rare look inside Pagoda No.2, so named as it was further away from No.1... 




_DSC8934 by stateless68, on Flickr

inside Pagoda 2. from the other entrance




_DSC8877 by stateless68, on Flickr

inside Pagoda 2, looking up......




_DSC9024 by stateless68, on Flickr

a pipe. I love pipes.




DSC_506300377 (2) by stateless68, on Flickr

taken on a sunnier day... big blocks of stone..




_DSC8848 by stateless68, on Flickr

last one.. Suffolk, amazingly enough.


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## steve2109 (Mar 31, 2013)

Been on my list for a while and now I will have to go, thanks for sharing


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## UE-OMJ (Mar 31, 2013)

Good report that. Cheers.


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## chris (Mar 31, 2013)

Great pictures. Which visit is the one to go on to take a close look at the buildings?


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## stateless68 (Mar 31, 2013)

chris said:


> Great pictures. Which visit is the one to go on to take a close look at the buildings?



cheers Chris

there are only 2 or 3 visits a year, keep an eye on thee Orford Ness NT website, and look for the Photography tour. Each one has about 15 persons, so you need to get in sharpish. They're very good when you are there, you're not kettled into one place.. you can pretty much go at your own pace, a full 8 hours, if you wish..i really recommend it.


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## perjury saint (Mar 31, 2013)

*Interesting looking place this... Nice pix... *


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## Newage (Mar 31, 2013)

Hi guys and girls

I went on a tour a few years back, you need to book the "bombs and beasties" tour.
You will need to keep an eye on the NT web site as the tours book so fast it's unreal.
We had 99% free run of all the labs except lab 4, this was your first picture, the only problem
With lab 4 is the roof is falling in.

At the far end of The site is the cobra mist over the horizon radar, the array has gone but
The main building is still there, though it is owned by a private company, don't think even
Nick Catford has been in it.

If you have any interest in cold war buildings this is the place to go, kind of brings home
That we in the UK were major players at one stage.

Cheers newage


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## stateless68 (Mar 31, 2013)

Newage said:


> Hi guys and girls
> 
> I went on a tour a few years back, you need to book the "bombs and beasties" tour.
> You will need to keep an eye on the NT web site as the tours book so fast it's unreal.
> ...



that's the one.. bombs and beasties. Well worth it, and as the rest of the place is open to the public, you can pack up any time you're ready and head for the ferry


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## HughieD (Apr 1, 2013)

Fascinating stuff. Saw it from a distance year before last...wished I'd given it a closer look now!


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## flyboys90 (Apr 1, 2013)

Ace report,really enjoyed seeing this thanks for sharing.


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## Andymacg (Apr 1, 2013)

i know where im heading for a day in the summer thats if we get one 

cracking pics and write up too mate


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## MrGruffy (Jun 1, 2013)

Amazing .what a lonely place to be posted to during that period.


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## polarlemniscate (Aug 11, 2013)

Nick Catford has been to Cobra Mist - I was there with him, Robin Ware and lots of others - on a SubBrit trip a few years ago!

It was, at the time, the BBC World Service 648MW transmitter - this service has now gone, and I suspect the site is vacant. The guided tour was excellent.
Jim


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## Dirus_Strictus (Aug 11, 2013)

Just for those that don't know - The 'Pagodas' were built to test the initiation 'mechanism' of atomic and hydrogen weapons. These used conventional explosives to force the atomic components into a critical mass, and it was imperative that all the explosives went off at the same time.
The washed up ordnance comes from the WW2 and later bombing ranges that were situated along these parts of the East coast.


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## Derelict-UK (Aug 12, 2013)

Did this a couple of years back with a Talk Urbex official visit. One of the best places I have been to in the UK. We had excellent weather too. The National Trust were very helpful and let us in to virtually anywhere they had the keys too.

For a full read on what the A.W.R.E. is all about, view the following pdf...

http://services.english-heritage.org.uk/ResearchReportsPdfs/010_2009WEB.pdf


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