The UK is filled with many beautiful beaches but some of them can also be spooky and a little scary.
One of those is Orford Ness, which is a 10-mile (16km) stretch of shingle on the Suffolk coast.
It was once a highly classified Ministry of Defence site and used for secret military experiments for nearly 100 years.
It is now open to the public and offers a glimpse into Britain’s wartime and Cold War past.
The area was hidden under the Official Secrets Act until the 1980s, with its true purpose only revealed decades later.
During World War 1 and World War 2, Orford Ness was used for testing parachutes, aerial photography, and bomb ballistics.
In the 1930s, radar technology was developed here, a breakthrough that played an important role in Britain’s air defence.
By the Cold War, it became a testing site for atomic weapon components.
The site is now owned by the National Trust but still remains full of secrets, especially because of the top secret Cold War-era projects .
Visitors can see the “pagodas,” which can only be descsribed as strange concrete buildings used by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment in the 1950s for nuclear testing.
These structures were designed to contain explosions and are a reminder of the dangerous work that took place.
Orford Ness is only accessible by boat, with ferries running from Orford Quay.
Once there, visitors can follow trails past crumbling military buildings and explore exhibitions that tell the site’s story.
The Island of Secrets exhibit in the Radar Receiver Building covers its history from World War 1 to the Cold War.
Other notable structures include the Bomb Ballistics Building, which was at the forefront of testing for over 40 years, and the Black Beacon, used as a homing device for military aircraft.
The site’s secrecy has sparked many rumors over the years. Some believed German forces landed there during World War II, while others linked it to UFO sightings in nearby Rendlesham Forest.
Today, Orford Ness is also a haven for wildlife with rare birds and plants thriving in its untouched environment.
