Orford Ness is a 10 mile long shingle spit, curving around the Suffolk coastline just south of Aldeburgh.  Shortly before the First World War it was acquired by the UK military and, having served initially as an airfield, it was dedicated to the development of new defence technologies and rapidly became a closely guarded, secretive location shrouded in mystery.  The hardware and techniques developed here shaped human history and were critical to the outcome of the Battle of Britain, among other turning points during Europe’s darkest hours.

After the Second World War, the site was handed over to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, and so began the construction of some of the more enigmatic structures on the site – huge concrete edifices in which the components of Blue Danube, Britain’s first atomic bomb, were subjected to extreme vibration and pressure testing.  These haunting buildings dominate the otherwise flat landscape, conjuring the sense of a post-apocalyptic dystopia.

About 20 years ago, after military activities had been wound down, the site was handed over to the National Trust, who now act as its custodian.  The site is being returned to nature, and is one of the world’s largest expanses of vegetated shingle, housing some of the world’s rarest flora and now home to an impressive seal colony.  But the site remains very closely controlled, in part due to the fragile ecosystem that’s re-establishing itself and also due to the fact that the MOD believes it has only cleared about a third of the unexploded ordinance from the site since its use for military testing.

So to have the opportunity to spend a whole night there, with a member of the National Trust on standby to keep us safe, really was something I couldn’t turn down.  We were joined by around 10 photographers of varying experience and, whilst conditions weren’t ideal, we did have two to three hours of broken cloud and the occasional clear spell before thick cloud moved in shortly after 1am.

Whilst I wasn’t able to take a lot of images, given the main purpose was to give some guidance to the others, I did manage to capture a few shots and I made a Nightscape Journal video of the whole experience as well.  What I wouldn’t give to be able to spend a whole night exploring the site solo!!