Orford Ness

Orford Ness is a long shingle spit on the Suffolk coast of eastern England, holding about a fifth of Europe's vegetated shingle. For much of the 20th century it was a secret military test site: early radar research took place there in the 1930s, and the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment later tested components of nuclear weapons in its laboratory buildings. It is now a National Trust nature reserve reached by ferry from Orford Quay.

The Orford Ness lighthouse was built in 1792 and stood on the spit until it was decommissioned in 2013 and later demolished as the sea eroded the shore.

In the Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980, US Air Force personnel described a flashing light through the trees. The astronomy writer Ian Ridpath argued that the light matched the lighthouse beam, about eight kilometres away, seen across the forest. Believers in the incident dispute this; the UK Ministry of Defence concluded the events were of no defence significance.