“In December 1980, several sightings of a UFO were reported in Rendlesham Forest. Many think these mysterious events are the most significant UFO incident to have occurred in the UK.”
So begins the leaflet for the Rendlesham Forest UFO Trail: a three-mile circular walk through parts of the 1,500-hectare forest. Forestry England owns this mixed woodland site, which features camping facilities and various trails for cyclists and walkers.
The Rendlesham Forest UFO Trail is one such trail. Beginning at the Rendlesham Forest Visitor Centre, there’s a large car park that is free for Forestry England members, and £3.15 for two hours, £5.25 for 5 hours or £7.80 all day for non-members.
Beside the car park, there is a small play area, a trailer serving up hot and cold drinks, snacks and some more substantial hot dishes, and a little toilet block. These are the only toilets on the UFO Trail, so I’d advise making use of them before setting off!
On the external wall of the toilet block, you’ll find a leaflet rack – be sure to pick up a UFO Trail leaflet while you’re there. Purple trail markers designate the trail route. However, you’ll only be able to enjoy the story of the events of December 1980 if you pick up a leaflet to follow while en route.
Disappointingly, there appeared to be nowhere to refill water bottles, so ensure you’re stocked up with enough fluids, especially if visiting on a hot day.
Glimpse through the trees to your right just after the start of the trail, and you’ll spot a second, more substantial play area. With a zip wire, swings and a wooden obstacle course, we stopped here to eat our picnic before continuing on our walk.
Rendlesham Forest itself is beautiful. With its sandy floor and towering pines, it reminds me in places of the beaches of North Norfolk. It sits adjacent to Woodbridge Airfield, where the UFO story begins – but despite this, it’s a serene place with plenty of trails for walkers, cyclists and horse riders alike.
It’s a great place for nature spotting, too. As well as various birds and insects (and, of course, squirrels), we stumbled across our first slow worm of the year.
Without a trail map, it’s still possible to follow the purple markers round the designated UFO Trail. However, with the trail map in hand (which you can download here, if you can’t pick up a copy at the Visitor Centre), you’ll be able to bring the full story to life, deciding for yourself whether you believe the described events are true.
At the heart of the trail you’ll find a replica flying saucer: a fun addition to the experience, and one that almost convinced the seven-year-old of its reality…
From reading online, I believe there used to be information boards dotted throughout the Rendlesham Forest UFO Trail in the past – however, there were no sign of them when we visited. Maybe bringing these back could add a little more intrigue and excitement to the trail, without the need to read from a piece of paper on the way round?
It was a decent enough way to spend a couple of hours, but I feel that those travelling some distance just for this experience may leave disappointed. As well as needing more information boards, some of the paths chosen for the trail could be better: many were wide gravel tracks clearly used mainly by logging vehicles, rather than beautiful forest paths. The facilities could be improved: while the car park and playgrounds are great, the lack of availability of drinking water and the very rundown toilet block somewhat mar the experience.
In all, I’d say the Rendlesham Forest UFO trail has great potential for an amazing day out, but a few tweaks and additions could make the experience far better. Maybe unfairly, I’m comparing the place with High Lodge (another Forestry England site close to us), which has far more to keep visitors on-site for an entire day out.