Orford Ness - Atomic Weapons Research Establishment
Orford Ness lays off the coast of Suffolk. For years it was used as a secret Atomic Weapons research facility. It’s famous for its strange concrete pagodas, which are visible from the mainland:
The peninsula was formerly administered by the Ministry of Defence, which conducted secret military tests during both world wars and the Cold War. The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment had a base on the site, using the site for 'environmental testing' of the detonators and outer casings of nuclear weapons.
It is Europe's largest vegetated shingle spit. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long and the site covers a total area of approximately 2,230 acres (900 ha). Which when you’re walking around on your own, or in a pair feels huge.
Due to its island status, it is only accessable by boat.
Arriving on the island, it definitely still has a military feel to it. All of the original fence posts are still up, however the oppressive fencing has been removed:
Walking across the barren wasteland, alone with no other humans for miles around feels apocalyptic to say the least, but in a calming, peaceful way. The wind is fierce, and carries the song of unusual birds for miles.
In the 1930s Orford Ness was the site of the first purpose built experiments on the defence system that would later be known as radar.
Between 1953 and 1966 the six large test cells and most of the other buildings on the shingle around them were built to carry out the environmental tests on the Atomic Bomb. These tests were designed to mimic the rigours to which a weapon might be subjected before detonation, and included vibration, extremes of temperature, shocks and G forces.
Although no nuclear material was said to be involved the high explosive initiator was present and a test failure might have resulted in a catastrophic explosion. For this reason the tests were controlled remotely and the huge labs were designed to absorb and dissipate an explosion in the event of an accident:
Laboratory 4 contains a pit (seen below, now flooded) into which very large weapons such as Britain's first atomic bomb, Blue Danube, could be lowered by a 10-ton crane, prior to vibration units being attached. The cell was then sealed to allow the manipulation of the internal environment by an array of air conditioning units.
Despite some of the brutality of the military architecture and hardware, the island has a beauty unlike any other landscape.
Military Police tower in the distance:
Orfordness Lighthouse:
The peninsula was formerly administered by the Ministry of Defence, which conducted secret military tests during both world wars and the Cold War. The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment had a base on the site, using the site for 'environmental testing' of the detonators and outer casings of nuclear weapons.
It is Europe's largest vegetated shingle spit. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) long and the site covers a total area of approximately 2,230 acres (900 ha). Which when you’re walking around on your own, or in a pair feels huge.
Due to its island status, it is only accessable by boat.
Arriving on the island, it definitely still has a military feel to it. All of the original fence posts are still up, however the oppressive fencing has been removed:
Walking across the barren wasteland, alone with no other humans for miles around feels apocalyptic to say the least, but in a calming, peaceful way. The wind is fierce, and carries the song of unusual birds for miles.
In the 1930s Orford Ness was the site of the first purpose built experiments on the defence system that would later be known as radar.
Between 1953 and 1966 the six large test cells and most of the other buildings on the shingle around them were built to carry out the environmental tests on the Atomic Bomb. These tests were designed to mimic the rigours to which a weapon might be subjected before detonation, and included vibration, extremes of temperature, shocks and G forces.
Although no nuclear material was said to be involved the high explosive initiator was present and a test failure might have resulted in a catastrophic explosion. For this reason the tests were controlled remotely and the huge labs were designed to absorb and dissipate an explosion in the event of an accident:
Laboratory 4 contains a pit (seen below, now flooded) into which very large weapons such as Britain's first atomic bomb, Blue Danube, could be lowered by a 10-ton crane, prior to vibration units being attached. The cell was then sealed to allow the manipulation of the internal environment by an array of air conditioning units.
Despite some of the brutality of the military architecture and hardware, the island has a beauty unlike any other landscape.
Military Police tower in the distance:
Orfordness Lighthouse:
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