Rendlesham forest area on Google Street View

[Admin]

Rendlesham forest area on Google Street View

Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8hjetr



Thought this might be useful for someone who has not visited the area before. In the link above, RAF Woodbridge's 'East Gate' is directly on your left and Folly House/Cottage is visible in front. Rendlesham forest, and the area where the UFO incident reportedly took place, is on your right.

As close as I can get to RAF Bentwaters: http://tinyurl.com/y87t2y3

[IanR]

Well spotted, Admin.

In addition, by going to the other road further to the east, everyone can now see the famous "farmhouse that wasn't on fire" from the front, the second farmer's field (as it was called by Halt) on the opposite side of the road from it, and can spend many a happy hour looking for signs of those "barnyard animals".

Ian

[IanR]

It might be worth noting that the little track between the trees taken by Burroughs, Penniston and Cabansag in their vehicle on the first night is now obscured from the road by new growth, although it's obvious enough on the satellite view. Back in 1980 it led into an area of young trees from where it was easier for them to see the lights to the east than it would be today.
http://www.ianridpath.com/ufo/rendlesham2d.htm

Ian

[IanR]

What's really needed is an aerial photo of the forest from 1980. Can you post one?

I don't have an aerial view from that era, but Robert McLean cleverly came up with a Forestry Commission planting map which gives us the info we need
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ianridpath/R ... %20Map.pdf
Vince instructed me how to read it. The big figures are the plot numbers (with subdivisions marked a, b, c etc) and the numbers below are the sizes in acres. Hence we can see that the area where B, P and C had to stop their vehicle and walk was Plot 150e. The labelling CP 75 tells us it was planted with Corsican pine in 1975, i.e. they would still have been only 5-6 years old at the time of the UFO event. The area to the east, Plot 145, would have contained fully grown trees back in 1980 -- it was felled not long after the UFO event and replanted in 1984 and 1991, if I read the map aright,

Maybe if Robert McL is still reading this Forum he can post a better quality scan than the one I have.

Ian

[IanR]

Robert McLean cleverly came up with a Forestry Commission planting map which gives us the info we need
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ianridpath/R ... %20Map.pdf
Ian

Correction: it wasn't him, it was Adrian Frearson. But on seeing it everything finally fell into place regarding B, P and C's expedition into the forest, and we can see how surprisingly accurate Penniston's contemporary sketch was.

Ian

[AdrianF]

Correction: it wasn't him, it was Adrian Frearson. But on seeing it everything finally fell into place regarding B, P and C's expedition into the forest, and we can see how surprisingly accurate Penniston's contemporary sketch was.

I posted a modified version of this last summer, after I had revisited the forest and tried to retrace the route from the first night. The entry into the forest from the East Gate access road is actually still doable ( is that a word? ) and what I think is the old track can be followed for a 100 yards or so, before the new forest becomes too thick to carry on.

What's really needed is an aerial photo of the forest from 1980. Can you post one?

I would love to find one. Robert McLean showed me an aerial photo from about 1975, which does give some idea of the difference in the forest between then and now, but doesn't really show how it looked in 1980.