Orfordness Lighthouse.

Mr Gazza · 05-04-2019, 07:59 PM

I just received this email from The Orfordness Lighthouse Trust.
Looks like it might be the last year to visit the lighthouse in it's current state/position.
Any interest in any of the dates?

"Thank you for your patience in waiting for the us to announce this year's Visit Dates... we are confident the worst of the winter storms are now safely out the way and we are delighted to publish our visit dates, which are listed below.

How is the Lighthouse?

A question we Trustees of Orfordness Lighthouse are asked so frequently! The winter of 2018/2019 has thankfully not been quite as severe as last Winter, but it still had its moments. The beach in front of the lighthouse has retreated so much over the year that every high tide is in contact with the defences, and so has an effect. This effect is sometimes positive, bringing a bit more shingle up on the tide. But more often it is negative, taking shingle away and further undermining the Victorian water tanks and the bungalow cottage. The beach is now so narrow and steep in front of the lighthouse that we have not been able to add to the defences this year. There simply is not enough shingle to fill the rubble sacks, and no stable platform on which to place the "sausage rolls".

So it is the beginning of the end. This year while having the lighthouse open to visitors we will be planning its the dismantlement and the saving of the artifcacts. Sad yes, but through generous donations and hard work by volunteers we have kept her open to 100s of visitors when it was predicted it would be in a ruinous state by 2015/16 when decommissioned in 2013.

Orfordness Lighthouse Trust remains committed to keeping the Lighthouse standing where it is for as long as possible, and remaining alive to the constant threat of the sea. It remains our intention to dismantle the Lighthouse and rebuild a replica elsewhere on the Ness. If you want to hear more about this plan, we'd recommend coming on one of our Open Days and we'll be glad to tell you more about it.

How Do We Book to Visit?

To book your places on any of the visits please email us at orfordnesslighthouse@gmail.com with the number in your party and your preferred date. If you could include your name in the subject line, that would be very helpful, thank you. You can find a link to our email address at the bottom of this message.

Full details on how the visits run are listed on the Visits Page of our website here. We will also send a house keeping email the day before the visit with last minute house keeping (which will mainly be about the weather!)

2019 VISIT DATES:

14th April
5th May
2nd June
21st July
25th August
22nd September

*There may be a further visit in October, TBC subject to demand and volunteer availability*"

Ron1000 · 05-04-2019, 08:02 PM

Do you have an interest in lighthouses? By chance I work for the northern lighthouse board.

Mr Gazza · 05-04-2019, 08:08 PM

I don't really have a general interest in Lighthouses, but we visited Orfordness last year and I found the tour of the lighthouse very interesting. Apart from anything the location is very surreal and the plight of the lighthouse is somehow endearing.
Looks like they are about to start taking it down anyway before the Sea does... You have to admire their dedication.

I thought Trinity House looked after the lighthouses? Perhaps not in the North?

Ron1000 · 05-04-2019, 09:52 PM

Yeah they’re pretty cool in the inside.

All part of the tri-gla. Trinity house, northern lighthouse board and Irish lights.

Grumpy · 05-04-2019, 11:28 PM

Sounds like an interesting day out.
Why not go for the 5th of May, combining the visit with out monthly breakfast.
We could meet up, have breakfast then ride to Orford.
Depending on the times for visiting the lighthouse as to where we meet for breakie.

Mr Gazza · 06-04-2019, 10:30 AM

Ah. Thanks Ron, I can see a bigger picture now... Interesting job you have.

Good call Grumpy.
I have written to the Trust to reserve 8 places on the boat for 5th May. # Date changed to Sept 22nd. See post #16
We ate lunch in the pub opposite the car park last time as the boat sailed at 1pm I think, but breakfast elsewhere might be an option.
There is the issue of stashing bike kit to walk across the Ness a bit lighter. Last year Mrs Kingfisher kindly let us use her car as a cupboard, so someone coming in a car would be extremely handy again.

Please put your name on the list if you would like a place, so I can ask the Trust for more places if we get oversubscribed or surrender unwanted ones.

Grumpy
Mr Gazza
.
.
.
.
.
.

jakefh · 09-06-2019, 08:28 PM

Yes please.

Mr Gazza · 09-06-2019, 09:27 PM

Welcome aboard Jake... Will be nice to see another M900Sie.

Mr Gazza
Grumpy. + Mrs Grumpy.
Richard D
jakefh
.
.
.

Grumpy · 09-06-2019, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Welcome aboard Jake... Will be nice to see another M900Sie
.

They're becoming like red buses in london.......

maxxjod · 11-06-2019, 10:47 AM

I like to put my name down for the visit please 😊. Will have to park in the naughty corner if I bring my bike, if the weather looks pants I will bring my van in which case all will be welcome to use it for storage of bike kit.

Mr Gazza · 11-06-2019, 06:08 PM

It'll be good to meet you Jody.
Thank You, your offer of your van to stash gear will be very gratefully received, but lets hope you can make it on the bike.

Two places remaining on this trip...First come first served.. (So sorry to have to cap numbers!)

Mr Gazza
Grumpy. + Mrs Grumpy.
Richard D
jakefh
maxxjod
.
.

jakefh · 26-09-2019, 09:01 PM

Well I have no idea how to put pictures into a post...

It worked in the test area, honest!

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...ad.php?t=57814

Grumpy · 26-09-2019, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakefh

Well I have no idea how to put pictures into a post...

It worked in the test area, honest!

http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...ad.php?t=57814

The pictures capture the day a treat.

maxxjod · 27-09-2019, 08:20 PM

Re Newhaven Fort, I will look at dates and also see if there are any events on at all.

Mr Gazza · 01-10-2019, 05:48 PM

My pal Martyn from the NOC has sent me this news from the Lighthouse Trust.

https://i.postimg.cc/85ZbR9dL/half-bungalow.jpg (Oh dear! Doesn't seem to be possible to post photos on the Suffolk Forum?)

Following extremely High Tides and strong winds over the weekend of the 28th/29th September, the Bunglalow just below the Lighthouse has been seriously undermined and much of it has collapsed.

It is the current intention of Orfordness Lighthouse Trust to fence off the collapsed building and to demolish it as soon as can be arranged. This is to prevent the building being a danger to curious visitors and can also serve as an extra defence to the Lighthouse structure and the Oil Store.

The bungalow was built in the late 19th Century as outhouses to the cottages that stood either side of the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse was automated and the cottages were demolished in the 1960s and thereafter the Bungalow served as a bunk house for visiting engineers.

The Bungalow has been undermined in the past and the Orfordness Lighthouse Trust has carried out remedial work to shore up the shingle underneath it. Now with almost no beach in front of the Lighthouse this was no longer feasible.

The structure of the Lighthouse itself is still sturdy. Internal examinations of brickwork in the cellar (including a diamond drill through the 2m thick foundations) have proved that the bricks that make up its structure have not been infiltrated by damp and nor does the building show any cracks that would suggest the Lighthouse has been undermined. The temporary defences (The Geo-Textile "sausages") put down year after year by Orfordness Lighthouse Trust have worked well. The overall level of the beach is far lower and high-water mark far beyond the promontory the Lighthouse sits on.

What Next?

For several reasons, including the nature of the fabric of the Lighthouse itself and the protected land it stands on and the nature of the erosion, we have long known that preserving Orfordness Lighthouse where she stands was only a short term aim.

Because of the very mobile nature of the shingle we have always caveated that a bad storm with winds in a certain direction could threaten the structure. Every winter since 2013 this has been possible. We have in fact been quite lucky that big storms, like the Beast from the East, have actually deposited shingle on the beach. We don't know how long we'll continue to be so lucky! The collapse of the Bungalow is a timely reminder that the sea and weather can undermine our assumptions and expectations just as quickly as they have the Bungalow.

We have no intention of letting the Lighthouse “fall into the sea” and never have. It has always been the stated aim of Orfordness Lighthouse Trust to keep the building standing and open to visitors for as long as possible, then to preserve the artefacts after that. We communicated recently that the lack of beach in front of the Lighthouse means that we can add no more temporary defences and therefore that dismantling the Lighthouse would have to happen sooner rather than later.

We are very proud to have taken hundreds (if not thousands!) of visitors to Orfordness Lighthouse over the past 6 years and have been supported by kind donations by our visitors and supporters near and far.

We shall keep you up to date with our progress and plans over the coming months, as well as how the Lighthouse is doing over the winter.

05-04-2019, 08:08 PM	#3
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,980	I don't really have a general interest in Lighthouses, but we visited Orfordness last year and I found the tour of the lighthouse very interesting. Apart from anything the location is very surreal and the plight of the lighthouse is somehow endearing. Looks like they are about to start taking it down anyway before the Sea does... You have to admire their dedication. I thought Trinity House looked after the lighthouses? Perhaps not in the North? __________________

05-04-2019, 11:28 PM	#5
Grumpy record breaker!! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Peterborough Bike: M1200R Posts: 2,155	Sounds like an interesting day out. Why not go for the 5th of May, combining the visit with out monthly breakfast. We could meet up, have breakfast then ride to Orford. Depending on the times for visiting the lighthouse as to where we meet for breakie. __________________ It's not the destination, but the journey that matters Definition of a motorbike, a devise for overtaking cars!

06-04-2019, 10:30 AM	#6
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,980	Ah. Thanks Ron, I can see a bigger picture now... Interesting job you have. Good call Grumpy. I have written to the Trust to reserve 8 places on the boat for 5th May. # Date changed to Sept 22nd. See post #16 We ate lunch in the pub opposite the car park last time as the boat sailed at 1pm I think, but breakfast elsewhere might be an option. There is the issue of stashing bike kit to walk across the Ness a bit lighter. Last year Mrs Kingfisher kindly let us use her car as a cupboard, so someone coming in a car would be extremely handy again. Please put your name on the list if you would like a place, so I can ask the Trust for more places if we get oversubscribed or surrender unwanted ones. Grumpy Mr Gazza . . . . . . __________________ Last edited by Mr Gazza; 08-05-2019 at 09:47 PM..

09-06-2019, 09:27 PM	#8
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,980	Welcome aboard Jake... Will be nice to see another M900Sie. Mr Gazza Grumpy. + Mrs Grumpy. Richard D jakefh . . . __________________

11-06-2019, 06:08 PM	#11
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,980	It'll be good to meet you Jody. Thank You, your offer of your van to stash gear will be very gratefully received, but lets hope you can make it on the bike. Two places remaining on this trip...First come first served.. (So sorry to have to cap numbers!) Mr Gazza Grumpy. + Mrs Grumpy. Richard D jakefh maxxjod . . __________________

05-04-2019, 07:59 PM	#1
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,980	Orfordness Lighthouse. I just received this email from The Orfordness Lighthouse Trust. Looks like it might be the last year to visit the lighthouse in it's current state/position. Any interest in any of the dates? "Thank you for your patience in waiting for the us to announce this year's Visit Dates... we are confident the worst of the winter storms are now safely out the way and we are delighted to publish our visit dates, which are listed below. How is the Lighthouse? A question we Trustees of Orfordness Lighthouse are asked so frequently! The winter of 2018/2019 has thankfully not been quite as severe as last Winter, but it still had its moments. The beach in front of the lighthouse has retreated so much over the year that every high tide is in contact with the defences, and so has an effect. This effect is sometimes positive, bringing a bit more shingle up on the tide. But more often it is negative, taking shingle away and further undermining the Victorian water tanks and the bungalow cottage. The beach is now so narrow and steep in front of the lighthouse that we have not been able to add to the defences this year. There simply is not enough shingle to fill the rubble sacks, and no stable platform on which to place the "sausage rolls". So it is the beginning of the end. This year while having the lighthouse open to visitors we will be planning its the dismantlement and the saving of the artifcacts. Sad yes, but through generous donations and hard work by volunteers we have kept her open to 100s of visitors when it was predicted it would be in a ruinous state by 2015/16 when decommissioned in 2013. Orfordness Lighthouse Trust remains committed to keeping the Lighthouse standing where it is for as long as possible, and remaining alive to the constant threat of the sea. It remains our intention to dismantle the Lighthouse and rebuild a replica elsewhere on the Ness. If you want to hear more about this plan, we'd recommend coming on one of our Open Days and we'll be glad to tell you more about it. How Do We Book to Visit? To book your places on any of the visits please email us at orfordnesslighthouse@gmail.com with the number in your party and your preferred date. If you could include your name in the subject line, that would be very helpful, thank you. You can find a link to our email address at the bottom of this message. Full details on how the visits run are listed on the Visits Page of our website here. We will also send a house keeping email the day before the visit with last minute house keeping (which will mainly be about the weather!) 2019 VISIT DATES: 14th April 5th May 2nd June 21st July 25th August 22nd September There may be a further visit in October, TBC subject to demand and volunteer availability" __________________

05-04-2019, 08:02 PM	#2
Ron1000 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Livingston Bike: M1100evo Posts: 867	Do you have an interest in lighthouses? By chance I work for the northern lighthouse board.

05-04-2019, 09:52 PM	#4
Ron1000 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Livingston Bike: M1100evo Posts: 867	Yeah they’re pretty cool in the inside. All part of the tri-gla. Trinity house, northern lighthouse board and Irish lights.

09-06-2019, 08:28 PM	#7
jakefh Registered User Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: CHELMSFORD Bike: M900sie Posts: 23	Yes please.

11-06-2019, 10:47 AM	#10
maxxjod Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brighton Bike: M750 Posts: 146	I like to put my name down for the visit please 😊. Will have to park in the naughty corner if I bring my bike, if the weather looks pants I will bring my van in which case all will be welcome to use it for storage of bike kit.

26-09-2019, 09:01 PM	#12
jakefh Registered User Join Date: Apr 2017 Location: CHELMSFORD Bike: M900sie Posts: 23	Well I have no idea how to put pictures into a post... It worked in the test area, honest! http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...ad.php?t=57814

27-09-2019, 08:20 PM	#14
maxxjod Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brighton Bike: M750 Posts: 146	Re Newhaven Fort, I will look at dates and also see if there are any events on at all.

01-10-2019, 05:48 PM	#15
Mr Gazza Lord of the Rings Join Date: May 2013 Location: Norwich Bike: M900sie Posts: 5,980	I swear I left it safe and sound! My pal Martyn from the NOC has sent me this news from the Lighthouse Trust. https://i.postimg.cc/85ZbR9dL/half-bungalow.jpg (Oh dear! Doesn't seem to be possible to post photos on the Suffolk Forum?) Following extremely High Tides and strong winds over the weekend of the 28th/29th September, the Bunglalow just below the Lighthouse has been seriously undermined and much of it has collapsed. It is the current intention of Orfordness Lighthouse Trust to fence off the collapsed building and to demolish it as soon as can be arranged. This is to prevent the building being a danger to curious visitors and can also serve as an extra defence to the Lighthouse structure and the Oil Store. The bungalow was built in the late 19th Century as outhouses to the cottages that stood either side of the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse was automated and the cottages were demolished in the 1960s and thereafter the Bungalow served as a bunk house for visiting engineers. The Bungalow has been undermined in the past and the Orfordness Lighthouse Trust has carried out remedial work to shore up the shingle underneath it. Now with almost no beach in front of the Lighthouse this was no longer feasible. The structure of the Lighthouse itself is still sturdy. Internal examinations of brickwork in the cellar (including a diamond drill through the 2m thick foundations) have proved that the bricks that make up its structure have not been infiltrated by damp and nor does the building show any cracks that would suggest the Lighthouse has been undermined. The temporary defences (The Geo-Textile "sausages") put down year after year by Orfordness Lighthouse Trust have worked well. The overall level of the beach is far lower and high-water mark far beyond the promontory the Lighthouse sits on. What Next? For several reasons, including the nature of the fabric of the Lighthouse itself and the protected land it stands on and the nature of the erosion, we have long known that preserving Orfordness Lighthouse where she stands was only a short term aim. Because of the very mobile nature of the shingle we have always caveated that a bad storm with winds in a certain direction could threaten the structure. Every winter since 2013 this has been possible. We have in fact been quite lucky that big storms, like the Beast from the East, have actually deposited shingle on the beach. We don't know how long we'll continue to be so lucky! The collapse of the Bungalow is a timely reminder that the sea and weather can undermine our assumptions and expectations just as quickly as they have the Bungalow. We have no intention of letting the Lighthouse “fall into the sea” and never have. It has always been the stated aim of Orfordness Lighthouse Trust to keep the building standing and open to visitors for as long as possible, then to preserve the artefacts after that. We communicated recently that the lack of beach in front of the Lighthouse means that we can add no more temporary defences and therefore that dismantling the Lighthouse would have to happen sooner rather than later. We are very proud to have taken hundreds (if not thousands!) of visitors to Orfordness Lighthouse over the past 6 years and have been supported by kind donations by our visitors and supporters near and far. We shall keep you up to date with our progress and plans over the coming months, as well as how the Lighthouse is doing over the winter. __________________ Last edited by Mr Gazza; 01-10-2019 at 05:52 PM.. Reason: Photo problems.