Rendlesham Forest UFO Trail

Often dubbed as the Roswell of the UK, the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident refers to several nights of strange UFO sightings and events in Rendlesham Forest in December 1980.

Witnessed by United States Air Force personnel based at RAF Woodbridge there have been many books and documentaries made on this spooky event which took place just 40 miles from Bury St Edmunds.

There was a series of reported UFO sightings that took place over several nights in December 1980 in Rendlesham Forest, near the twin U.S. Air Force bases of RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters. The bases were operated by the United States Air Force at the time.

On the first night, 26 December 1980, security personnel reported seeing unusual lights descending into the forest. A small team was sent to investigate and claimed to have encountered a metallic, triangular craft emitting coloured lights. In the following nights, further strange lights were observed in the sky and reportedly tracked on radar. One of the most widely cited accounts comes from Deputy Base Commander Charles Halt, who recorded audio while investigating the area during the incident and who later wrote an official memo describing the sightings.

There have been lots of theories over the years - aliens, secret military technology, lights from a lighthouse - but the Rendlesham Forest incident remains one of the most famous and controversial UFO cases in British history.

You can learn more about this incident on the Rendlesham UFO Trail produced by Forestry England. A three mile trail that will stimulate your imagination, taking you through forest, heathland and wetlands and some of the areas connected to the UFO event and see a model of the UFO that some witnesses say they encountered.

Rendlesham is a delight to discover on bike, and provides a fantastic opportunity for natural cycling. Set within the beautiful Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has plenty to offer visitors.

The forest also boasts a wide range of scenic walking and cycling routes suitable for all ages and abilities. As you explore, you’ll discover a rich mix of landscapes, from towering conifer plantations to native broadleaf woodland, open spaces, and areas of tranquil heathland.

Whether you're looking for an adventurous bike ride, a peaceful woodland stroll, wildlife spotting opportunities, or simply a breath of fresh air, Rendlesham Forest provides something for everyone in a truly unique natural setting.

You can now scare yourselves silly at The Rendlesham Room in Bury St Edmunds, a brand new escape room inspired by on Suffolk's famous UFO "incident".

You find yourselves in an empty house, deep in the forest, but you are far from alone. Armed with nothing but a disturbing diary and your best guesses, you need to find a way out before you get taken…

A deeply scary escape game, The Rendlesham Room gives you and your team an hour to escape, or become subjects of another one of the stories they tell about this place.

If you love a challenge, you’ll find this a scream.

Book now at The Evidence Room in Bury St Edmunds.

On Saturday 29 November 2008 if you'd have looked up into the winter's sky in Bury St Edmunds you may be forgiven for thinking Santa was on his way, or perhaps the lights that were spotted in the sky above St Edmundsbury Cathedral were something out of this world.

Around 10pm, a man reported to the police that he had seen an unusual object, grey in colour and spinning in the sky hovering above the cathedral. He claimed that it had been seen by four or five other people for around 10 minutes before it travelled round the cathedral and then disappeared.

The flying orange ball was then seen in the sky above Churchgate Street towards the churchyard! He then saw a bright orange ball flying through the sky from Churchgate Street towards the churchyard.

A Bury St Edmunds resident, who lives in the shadow of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, also said she and a group of friends watched unexplained lights on Saturday 29 November at around 10.30pm as they travelled low in the sky from Northgate Street, over the cathedral and neighbouring St Mary's Church and out of sight towards Southgate Street. She said the lights were low in the sky, very bright and seemed to be revolving and was totally noiseless. She told the East Anglian Daily Times that for 45 seconds it lit up the sky.

Suffolk Police confirmed they received a report at 10.43 pm on Saturday from a gentleman who said he'd seen a large object spinning in the sky for around 10 to 12 minutes, which looked like a UFO.