I last visited Orford Ness back in June 2016. It’s a unique Suffolk landscape that made an impression on me. On this particular visit, the lighthouse was still standing. In 2020, the lighthouse, which stood for more than 200 years, was demolished due to coastal erosion. All that remains now is just a pile of rubble. My original blog, ‘ Orford Ness: A Startling Island of Secrets‘, documents much of this trip.

Old exploded concrete bunker at Orford Ness

Fast forward six years, and I am back on the shingle. My eye for framing a photograph has significantly changed since 2016, so it was nice to be back with a new perspective. The pagodas were out of bounds on this particular visit due to health and safety concerns. At first, I was disappointed, as, during my visit back in 2016, these were highlights of the trip. One couldn’t help but wonder what those concrete walls once heard or witnessed before when the military used the site.

These abandoned buildings bring to life this feeling of desolation, and weirdly, with the lighthouse no longer, it changes how everything looks, in that everything feels all on one level. I think that these images echo the feeling that one has when landing on the shingle.

Abstract detail of brick, stone and nature combined

These abandoned buildings bring to life this feeling of desolation, and weirdly, with the lighthouse no longer, it changes how everything looks, in that everything feels all on one level. I feel that these images echo the feeling that one has when landing on the shingle.