Orford Ness
Reclaimed by nature
Orford Ness, a remote shingle spit on the Suffolk coast, boasts a unique and eerie history. For most of the 20th century, it was a top-secret military testing site, housing projects ranging from radar experiments to atomic bomb research. This legacy has left behind an unusual landscape of structures.
Orford Ness served as a testing ground for over 70 years, with its top-secret military history spanning World War I and II. Early weapons research included testing parachutes, machine guns, and bomb sights. Pioneering radar experiments by Robert Watson-Watt also took place before the development of the Chain Home system.
Between 1953 and 1971, the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) utilised the site for testing nuclear bomb components, although no fissile material was involved. In the late 1960s, a top-secret Anglo-American radar project known as Cobra Mist operated from the site.
The distinctive, fortified testing cells known as “the Pagodas” remain a prominent feature on the shingle.
Nature is gradually reclaiming this rare and fragile site, supporting a diverse range of wildlife, coastal grazing marshes, brackish lagoons, and mud flats.
Accessible only by ferry, the site offers public access through the National Trust. Since we were attending a workshop, we had the place to ourselves and after crossing the River Ore we were transported to the furthest point on the site, the usually off-limits Pagodas, by trailer.
The landscape felt alien, with remnants of its previous occupants work scattered and rusting all around. We were warned not to walk on the shingle, as unexploded ordnance was still a possibility, despite extensive clean-ups.
Determined to capture the site’s essence, I sought compositions using the harsh sunlight to create high-contrast shots. We walked from one building to another, each in a state of dangerous disrepair. Broken windows, falling ceiling tiles, and discarded rusting equipment lined our path, presenting new challenges at every turn.
Although I barely scratched the surface of Orford Ness, its vastness left me yearning to return.
