Unearthing the mystery of the island of secrets
Watch Tanya Mercer's report here
Orford Ness is one of the most mysterious parts of our region.
The long spit of sand off the Suffolk coast has been called the island of secrets and has long been associated with military testing and espionage.
Until recently not much has been known about what went on there.
But slowly the stories are unravelling and it is becoming a popular place to visit offering an abundance of wildlife, rich habitats and fascinating stories.
David Warren worked for the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, which was based here during the height of the cold war.
Employed under the official Secrets Act, he still can’t give more than the very basics about what he did.
“The job was to test components of atomic weapons,” he explains. “You never spoke about work. You knew when they were getting ready that there were bombs to be droppedbut you never knew what they were seeking to do in dropping that bomb”.
The Ness has long been associated with a military past ranging back to at least the naval wars of the 17th century.
During the First World War it was used for flight testing, before being used for bomb ballistics and radar development leading up to and through the Second World War.
As the Cold War took hold, the Atomic Weapons research began – the remnants of which can still be seen in the buildings, including the famous so-called pagodas, and finally the top-secret Anglo-American radar project Cobra Mist.
Its mysterious grey box still stands today, which until recently broadcast the World Service.
Mike Hawes’ family has lived in Orford village, just across from the ness, for generations.
His grandfather worked for the Air Ministry in the early 20th century and his mother was there during the 60s.
As a young boy he remembers some of the strange operations.
Mike says people came from all over to work on the secret missions turning the small fishing village into an international community.
“Orford was multicultural" he said. "We had professors on the Ness, we have people from all over the world coming to build Cobra Mist. Orford was multicultural.”
As the secret operations declined, the wildlife began to reconquer the Ness.
Runways were restored to wetlands, birds soar where aircraft once flew, hares and deer graze in craters and derelict buildings are now alive with insects and birds.
Today it’s run by the National Trust and Andrew Capell is one of the rangers caring for the habitats and wildlife.
“There are Chinese Water Deer, Hare, lapwings, avocet, redshank. We’ve seen spoonbill and marsh harrier numbers go up over recent years”, he says.
The Ness is on one of the most volatile coastlines in Europe, 3-4 meters of the land is eroding every year.
The famous lighthouse, that guarded this shore for centuries, was razed last year to prevent it falling into the sea. But what does remain are the extraordinary structures and buildings of its military past.
“There’s still lots we don’t know and I think that’s part of the appeal of the site,” says Site Manager Glen Pearce.
There is an unnerving feeling about this place and yet its beauty and isolation provides a striking and unique environment to contemplate the brutality of the past and the future when, in the end, nature will reclaim it all.