Visit to the forest - be prepared

[Gordy]

We thought visitors to the forest on 28 December especially those who have never been there, need to be prepared to avoid any possible glitches.

Dec 28 2009 was about -5deg C (23deg F) with 8 inches of snow!. Cars were getting stuck on hills. Rendlesham Forest is in a very rural part of East Suffolk and with the public spending cuts Suffolk County Council have already said they will cut back on road salting. The roads leading out there will not be treated with salt. If a cold snap is forecast and the winds come in off the north sea in an east or north easterly direction we can get very heavy snow. Last year I witnessed thunder snow for the first time where a storm dumped 6in of snow in 2 hours with no warning. I have a Jeep that will pull a car or small van up an icy hill, in case we need to. It can of coarse be the complete opposite with temps upto 12deg C.

Accommodation...........Does anyone need help with finding accomodation?. There are plenty of hotels/guest houses in the Ipswich area. Premier Inn has 4 hotels, there is a Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Ipswich and several more in the town centre itself.

This link http://www.bentwatersparks.com/accommodation/bandb.html is very useful if you are looking for accomodation in the Woodbridge area itself.

Being over the Xmas period public transport will be almost non-existent I would imagine, especially after 6pm on Dec 28. Do not expect to be able to get a bus or train from Ipswich to Woodbridge, let alone from Woodbridge, the 6 miles or so to the forest. There won't be any. Vehicles are essential. We need to ensure those who need to hitch a ride are catered for. There is plenty of parking in front of the Community Hall and surrounding streets and at that time parking attendants should have gone home to finish off the turkey!.

I have not contacted the Forestry Commission about this event however I will be visiting this weekend to put up some posters. Public access on foot is available 24/7 and permmission is not needed. However there is no vehicular access to the forest.

I have not contacted Woodbridge Base (now called Rock Barracks). Public access is available on part of this base anytime, where the bungalows and barracks for the boys and girls of the 81st are still standing, but no public access is available to the military part so there is no way we would be allowed on there.
If you want to visit Bentwaters Technical site you can drive straight through the main gate and take a look around the western side without needing permission. You need to contact Bentwaters Parks http://www.bentwatersparks.com/ if you want to cross the runway. It is worth a visit if you can. All the original buildings are still there, as is perimeter post 18 where Larry was posted, right by commie corner.

Flashlights, waterproof clothing and mobile phones are essential. Maybe we could nominate some tour guides and issue their phone numbers to visitors in case they need help. Although this part of the forest is quite small, all the trails look the same at night and it's easy to get lost if you have never been there before.

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So that it isn't buried, this topic is now an 'Announcement' topic - Admin.

[puddlepirate]

I've no idea what anyone else is doing but today I posted my cheque for £6 for admission to the event in Woodbridge.....I sincerely hope it's not going to end up with me standing alone like a spare one at a wedding. Going by what's occurring on the forum at the moment that could well be the case!! Or worse still, it ends up a slanging match between those who believe ET woz 'ere and those who say nothing happened. So much for moving the investigation forward......

[AdrianF]

Hi Gordy
I've got 2 questions..

1. Could I put a mic/recorder up on the desk/table at the hall? I'll upload the audio and make it available to all. Unless you've already got that covered or somebody else has?
2. Anyway of making a Paypal button for admission?

p.s thanks for all the useful info, I'm not sure if people who don't know the area are aware how isolated the forest is from Woodbridge.

[Gordy]

Hi Gordy
I've got 2 questions..

1. Could I put a mic/recorder up on the desk/table at the hall? I'll upload the audio and make it available to all. Unless you've already got that covered or somebody else has?
2. Anyway of making a Paypal button for admission?

p.s thanks for all the useful info, I'm not sure if people who don't know the area are aware how isolated the forest is from Woodbridge.

Hi there, I have no objection to you putting a microphone up on the desk. Run it by John and the other guests though so they are happy with it.

If you want to pay with paypal, PM me and I will send you my paypal account email address. If you pay with paypal, I would prefer not to mail the tickets out because of the additional costs of stamps etc. Let me know if you want me to mail you the ticket(s) but preferably, as soon as I receive payment I can email you receipt for payment with confirmation of your ticket number(s) and you can collect them at the door on the night. Obviously include a reqular email address and a phone number in case I need to call you.

[IanR]

I'm not sure if people who don't know the area are aware how isolated the forest is from Woodbridge.

Well, they've made it easier by choosing Penniston's 'alternative' landing site rather than the acknowledged one. Note he terms it 'landing site one', as though it was the prime site, when even Halt hadn't heard about it until a few years ago. If that's where the 'craft' was, why did they drive a mile or so into the forest first? People will be confused.
Ian

[AdrianF]

Hi there, I have no objection to you putting a microphone up on the desk. Run it by John and the other guests though so they are happy with it.

If you want to pay with paypal, PM me and I will send you my paypal account email address. If you pay with paypal, I would prefer not to mail the tickets out because of the additional costs of stamps etc. Let me know if you want me to mail you the ticket(s) but preferably, as soon as I receive payment I can email you receipt for payment with confirmation of your ticket number(s) and you can collect them at the door on the night. Obviously include a reqular email address and a phone number in case I need to call you.

Thanks Gordy, will do and PMing you now.

Well, they've made it easier by choosing Penniston's 'alternative' landing site rather than the acknowledged one.

Well I'm as interested as everyone else to found out exactly where this is.

[IanR]

Well, they've made it easier by choosing Penniston's 'alternative' landing site rather than the acknowledged one.

Well I'm as interested as everyone else to found out exactly where this is.

We know the lighthouse can't be seen from Penniston's site, so that's why they've chosen it.

Ian

[larry warren]

Ian, come on out im going, i will take you to my site, see what you think then we can all have a nice drink ! hope you come along sir. cheers

[IanR]

Ian, come on out im going, i will take you to my site, see what you think then we can all have a nice drink ! hope you come along sir. cheers

Thanks for the invitation. I'd be happy to have a drink one day and maybe we can go horseback riding in the forest to prove I'm a real space cowboy.

Of course, your site is out in the field on the east of the forest too, nowhere near Jim's site, so maybe you can show them where they should be.

Ian

[larry warren]

Ya know ian is right about the weather ! remember when we were stationed there how damp and cold it was ! in 2000 me and some crazy fellas from hull, couldent get a room in the area so we sleped in a car when we marked the 20th anaversary, it was snow up to the knees and the same at the 25th !
is a hotel now on Bentwaters ? lots of BnBs ect, well i hope we all find a shack to crash in ! one thing i know for sure, well see
brenda butler out there and she will be waving a finger at us as if we are naughty boys ! LOL

[Gordy]

As everyone who is in the UK now is aware, we have had heavy snow falls across the eastern side already, I heard on the radio that the freeze up could last weeks, so be prepared for the 28th.

[arvd]

Just got back from Rendlesham. 0 degrees and a sprinkling of snow on the more exposed paths. Very quiet, very nice.

[Wolf]

Just got back from Rendlesham. 0 degrees and a sprinkling of snow on the more exposed paths. Very quiet, very nice.

That aint cold.....

Wolf

[IanR]

Piers Corbyn has now put an outline of his winter forecast online, and it ain't going to get any better:
http://www.weatheraction.com/docs/WANews10No37.pdf

Read 'em and weep. Or shiver.

Also a video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHPooN0DZ5Y

Ian

[John Burroughs]

Does that mean the Lighthouse will be grounded by Ice forming on it????

[arvd]

Dont worry if it snows and you cant make it. I can tell you now the lighthouse cant be seen from Jims landing sight.

[arvd]

Piers Corbyn has now put an outline of his winter forecast online, and it ain't going to get any better:
http://www.weatheraction.com/docs/WANews10No37.pdf

Read 'em and weep. Or shiver.

Also a video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHPooN0DZ5Y

Ian

Thanks for the heads up Ian. Have not come across Piers Corbyn before. He seems very sound.

[ncf1]

I wouldn't make fun of the lighthouse's capabilities, just quietly. I heard it has relocative abilities. Some locals say that they have indeed seen it at times lift up ever so slightly and what appeared to be small legs running frantically at the bottom as it moved from one location discreetly to another, some 20 to 30 feet away at a time, sometimes more. Local schoolchildren have also reported that they often see what appears to be some kind of "camouflage uniform" seemingly draped over or even worn by the lighthouse itself, and this in direct sunlight. One child in particular even reported that he had seen what he believed to be a "huge walktie talkie pressed to one side of it as it seemed to be communicating somehow with other local lighthouses and control towers".

Local crackpot speculation? Old wives tales? Who knows. But I for one do not dismiss nor take lightly the powers of the lighthouse. To do so, I believe, would be folly and unwise.

[John Burroughs]

The Light House is just like the Energizer Bunny it keeps going and going. Or maybe Superman able to leap tall buildings in a single bond! Look its a star no a planet no its Superman!! Or a partridge in a pear tree!!!

[ncf1]

its funny you should mention that John as one reported relocative lighthouse sighting by an elderly gentleman specifically states, ".. and I saw what appeared to be what seemed like a huge, red cape draped down by the back of it... [..] and, although some may call me daft, what also looked to be yellow underwear with a belt worn around the middle. My wife thought I was nuts so I got out my camera to take a shot but by the time I looked again, it was gone!".