Orford Ness is a remote spit of marsh and shingle covered land that sticks out into the North Sea. Part of the chilly, windswept Suffolk coast of East England it became the secret location for a place where boffins could work on the latest experiments in aviation and nuclear weapons. It was also the place where one of the very last pilots to die in WW I would meet his end.

In ancient times, Orford Ness was home to smugglers!

Orford Ness in modern times, not far from Bungay!

The village of Orford with its medieval castle and Norman church.

The RFC version of interrupter gear.

A Martello tower.

A Heath Robinson cartoon.

The Bristol Fighter.

Beacon tower.

The Blue Plaque.

The Orford Ness Pagodas.

The experimental Over The Horizon radar codenamed Cobra.

The grave of Lieutenant Oliver Byerley Walters Wills, R.F.C. who was killed at Orford Ness a few hours before the end of WW1.

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Ananias Appleton, Google Maps, the RAF, Alesey Komarov, Andrew Helme, Peter Norman, George Wolfe and Chris Gunns.