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Rendlesham Forest

taras

Least Haunted
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
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1,622
Location
Edinburgh
I visited Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk a couple of weeks ago, and would recommend it as a nice, eerie evening's walk, if you have a car to get there.

I found that popping the postcode IP12 3NF into my satnav took me right into the forest, and to a convenient free car park at the edge of RAF Woodbridge and about half a mile's walk from the paid car park.

I understand the UFO trail is largely made up, but does take you to some of the 'famous sights' if you've read about the case. The trail actually starts in earnest near the free car park I mentioned above - not at the visitor centre. However, you'll need to go to the visitor centre to pick up a free UFO trail map, which also features a fairly good summary of the case.

It's then a nice, easy and flat walk of around 3 miles, all along forest tracks. Here's some pics (resized to tiny so I could upload them with the shiny new attachment feature).

rf002.jpg

Looking into the forest from near the East Gate, where the 'object' was first sighted.

rf004.jpg


Peering through the fencing into RAF Woodbridge. Pictured: a very tiny lamp post.

rf013.jpg

A view across the field to the 'barnhouse' where Lt Col Halt + his men thought they heard the animals going crazy (in reality, there were no animals and they were probably hearing foxes or other animals in the forest). This is the field they walked across trying to get to the mysterious light. It is also the direction of the now-decommissioned lighthouse at Orford Ness.

rf014.jpg

But wait... what's that in the trees?! Could it be?....

rf019.jpg


Yes, it's a large, hollow metal 'UFO' sculpture, sitting in a clearing.

In summary, worth a visit, more enjoyable in the evening as there's nobody else about and you get some idea of what the 1980 'witnesses' would have experienced. Read up on the case first to get the most out of it, and if you're feeling particularly brave, take a copy of the original Halt dictaphone recording to listen to on your MP3 player (available on Ian Ridpath's site)......
 
How sure are you that's a sculpture? If you placed a palm on it, would you feel it thrum?
 
Thank you for posting the pictures, Taras. Very interesting. It doesn't look anything like I'd imagined it. And that sculpture is a hoot, too! :D
 
Where was the sculpture? I was there last summer and there were just three wooden posts in the ground to mark the spot.
 
I wish there were close-ups to see the designs on the side of this "sculpture".
 
When i was much younger we'd go and visit my maternal grandmother who lived in Woodbridge a few times a year, staying a couple of days each time, one time, aged about 9 or 10 during the summer holidays we visited Rendlesham for a mornings walk and picnic lunch and i got separated from my family - i was missing for about 7-8 hours and have very little memory of what happened, my family had friends and family out out looking for me and were just short of calling the police (this was the 80's - nowadays i suspect thats the first thing that would happen) as night was beginning to fall . To me only three or so hours had passed when i was found, still walking along the main track near the 3/4 mark of the trail.

I hadnt deviated from the main path at all as far as i was concerned and was completely fine, not even thirsty or tired and had met no-one in passing in either direction for the entire time, a fact that the people searching for me claimed was impossible. I'm not sure about now, but back then there were different trails ive since been told, a green, yellow and (probably) red one (most of the people who would remember have since died, so i cant fact check) and i remember we started out following the medium length one (probably the yellow) and sticking with that decision even when i was lost reasoning i would soon catch up with my family or end up back at the carpark.

As a nice little addendum: for years afterwards i was reminded of this with my parents telling me that they *had* contacted the police to help search, (as a "see, this is how worried we were, the police were looking for you while they could have been helping people, never wander off again!" thing. ) and this was reinforced by the fact that shortly before being found a low flying unmarked dark helicopter was seen overhead.
 
Nice one taras and I too like the pictures. I wish I lived in that part of the UK as I love country walks and forests and that area is now legendary.
 
I just bought a cheapy DVD called 'The Rendlesham UFO Incident'.
I'll let you know what I think when I've seen it.
It's a found footage-type film, a la Blair Witch, so it's off to a bad start.
 
I dug out the pics from when I was there in 2013.

Here's a pic of the information sign at the (East Gate IIRC) to Woodbridge Airfield
IMG_2953_zpsbhykf4mi.jpg


And here's two from the "landing site" marked by three wooden posts.
IMG_2955_zpsuexgdspn.jpg

IMG_2954_zpsxe0zmspo.jpg
 
I dug out the pics from when I was there in 2013.

Here's a pic of the information sign at the (East Gate IIRC) to Woodbridge Airfield
IMG_2953_zpsbhykf4mi.jpg


And here's two from the "landing site" marked by three wooden posts.
IMG_2955_zpsuexgdspn.jpg

IMG_2954_zpsxe0zmspo.jpg

I wonder if anyone has ever dowsed the area with a pendulum?
 
I just noticed that the symbols on the sculpture have been rotated 180 degrees to the ones that were on the wooden posts. It also looks like they've chopped down trees and placed wood chippings all over the "landing site". What was wrong with leaving it like it was? IIRC, back then in 2013, it had been already "modified" and a few tress had been cleared away but this now looks like there should be a gift shop and a Ye Olde "I've been to Rendlesham" wooden stocks!
 
I doubt if the forest is where it was back then. It's not a natural forest but a plantation, and it's regularly harvested for timber.

Some conspiracy theorists put this down to concealing the evidence... :rolleyes:

(I think I posted about this before on another Rendlesham thread.)
 
I doubt if the forest is where it was back then. It's not a natural forest but a plantation, and it's regularly harvested for timber.

Some conspiracy theorists put this down to concealing the evidence... :rolleyes:

(I think I posted about this before on another Rendlesham thread.)
Not that you say it, Runner, that does ring a bell. And the supposed "landing site" was always an estimate anyway AFAIK.
 
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