Island of Secrets

A new exhibition launches this week on a remote National Trust property off the coast of Suffolk. Orford Ness is now a National Nature Reserve, but for most of the 20th Century it was used as a Top Secret, military, test site.

The Island of Secrets Exhibition

Ugly Studios have been working with National Trust for the last few years, slowly updating the interpretation across the site. This new exhibition, ‘Island of Secrets’, gives the visitor an overview of the military occupation, from experiments with early flying machines during World War One, through to testing Britain’s Cold War Nuclear Bombs.

The Island of Secrets exhibition, with a model of Laboratory 2 in the foreground

Alongside printed panels there are large objects, a model of one of the former laboratories and a section about the early Radar experiments that took place there. In keeping with the site’s experimental past visitors can also use their mobile phones to log onto a secret, local website. Once connected they can watch and listen to interviews conducted with former staff members that add another intriguing layer to the story.

The Radar interactive

This remote place is only accessible by ferry from the mainland with a limited number of visitors allowed across each day. It is a truly unique place with a unique story and an atmosphere all of its own. For more information about visiting Orford Ness go to National Trust’s webpages.