Reports - Suffolk
Ditchingham Maltings
Where? Bungay, Suffolk. Large photos 9. Comments 0. Posted 10 September 2008.
Various forums and websites mistakenly name this as "Wainford Maltings", presumably because of a nearby roadsign. The real Wainford maltings is about a mile further down the road though. This one is Ditchingham maltings.
And sadly it's one that's always taken for granted. I've passed it many times and thought "I'll have a look in there one day". I even stopped once for a very quick look (this report) but didn't have enough time to look round properly. My most recent visit in May 2008 was depressing - the maltings were half demolished with guys picking away at it with huge machines. Uh.
HMS Ganges
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 84. Comments 101. Posted 11 August 2006.
HMS Ganges is situated on the Shotley Peninsula in Suffolk. It used to be a training camp for the Navy until 1976, and in later years it was a police training school. It closed in 1998 or something.
At the start of 2006 the site was subject to a controversial planning war - some developers want to build a ton of homes etc on the site, but locals don't want that. In July the Secretary of State intervened and rejected all plans!
HMS Ganges revisited
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 50. Comments 29. Posted 17 October 2006.
Since my visit in February, it has been decided not to turn the site into houses. But there are now rumours that the whole place will be demolished in November. With this in mind, a return trip was planned (with Abo and Speed).
Our main aim was to look the fort and try and get into the swimming pool. Annoyingly we didn't manage to do either. That said, we still had a fantastic little explore of the place.
Ipswich Autovon Exchange
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 32. Comments 12. Posted 27 January 2007.
The Autovon Exchange at Ipswich was one of the first places I visited when I started this hobby. Annoyingly I was thwarted and couldn't get in. Visit two and three were the same. But with the help of Abo, today we finally got in.
Put simply, Autovon was an (initially American) telephone system for it's defence. It allowed priority calling etc. I can't even begin to describe what the place was used for, but SubBrit has a pretty damn good piece.
The exchange at Ipswich closed in the 1990s and has suffered at the hands of vandals ever since. In the last year or so, Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum have been working on site to restore it - judging by what we saw today, they have quite a job ahead of them.
Ipswich Lido / Broomhill Pool
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 19. Comments 15. Posted 27 January 2007.
The lido in Ipswich, aka Broomhill Pool was opened in 1938. It was thought to be one of the best pools of the time. It closed in 2002 to the disdain of many. There is a campaign to save and restore it though.
Ipswich Odeon Cinema
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Large photos 17. Comments 0. Posted 31 August 2008.
The Odeon cinema in Ipswich was the town's first multiplex when it opened in 1991. A huge rival Multiplex opened on the edge of Ipswich in 1998. The popularity of the new cinema led to the demise of the Odeon, and it closed its doors for the final time in August 2005.
The day after our visit, work was due to begin on converting it into a nightclub, bowling alley and restaurant complex - the lobby was full of new bar equipment and fittings. Over a year later, the conversion hasn't happened - developers pulled the plug on the conversion. The cinema, again, remains empty awaiting a buyer..
Ipswich Sugar Factory
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 105. Comments 10. Posted 22 August 2006.
The sugar factory in Ipswich was built in 1925. It was closed by British Sugar 76 years later. There are plans to turn the entire site into a housing with nature reserve.
I visited the factory with Speed and we spent around six hours exploring the place. A lot of the doors were bolted up and ladders were cut off. This meant that we couldn't climb the huge silos 
Undeterred, we did find our way into some of the buildings and tried to get to the top of what we could.. 
Ipswich Sugar Factory revisited
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 41. Comments 2. Posted 15 April 2007.
Met up with a large group of local regulars for a revisit to the sugar factory.
There were two real personal goals for this trip - see new stuff and get to the top of the silos. I think I done that!
R&W Paul Ltd Mill
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 22. Comments 0. Posted 27 January 2007.
Visited here again today with Abo. Nothing much to say about it, other than how different it looks in the daylight.
It still stinks of pigeons though.
A few photos from today - not many though, as most of the sights were covered last time.
RAF Shepherds Grove
Where? Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Photos 69. Comments 32. Posted 12 August 2006.
RAF Shepherds Grove is located on the outskirts of the sleepy Suffolk village of Stanton. It was built during WW2 as an airfield for bombers. During the Cold War in the 1950's the USAF took over and based jet fighters there. When the jet fighters left, part of the base was used as a launch site for Thor nuclear missles.
The site closed in 1966 and some of the base is now an industrial estate.
ROC posts - Beaconsfield, Mundford, Sandy & Kentford
Photos 14. Comments 3. Posted 9 September 2007.
A few more ROC posts visited in August. Most were locked, but are included for completeness.
Read full ROC posts - Beaconsfield, Mundford, Sandy & Kentford article here
ROC posts - Burgh-on-Bain, Westleton & Beyton
Where? Suffolk and Lincolnshire. Photos 6. Comments 3. Posted 15 June 2007.
One weekend, three ROC posts. Two of them were locked but I'm including them anyway...
Read full ROC posts - Burgh-on-Bain, Westleton & Beyton article here
ROC posts - Linton, Arrington, Botesdale
Where? Cambridgeshire & Suffolk. Large photos 6. Comments 0. Posted 8 September 2008.
Another quick round up ROC posts that I've recently visited.
ROC posts were small underground observation posts to monitor nuclear fallout during the Cold War. Around 1600 were built, but many have since been demolished/filled in/flooded. Some remain intact, but welded shut. And some are open..
You can find out more about the ROC here.
Read full ROC posts - Linton, Arrington, Botesdale article here
ROC posts - Stradbroke & Garboldisham
Where? Suffolk. Photos 29. Comments 2. Posted 7 July 2007.
Another day, and two more ROC posts.
Read full ROC posts - Stradbroke & Garboldisham article here
Rougham Airfield
Where? Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Photos 19. Comments 8. Posted 24 December 2006.
A few months ago I had a look around Rougham Hall. Whilst in the forest, we also saw some old WWII bomb stores. They weren't really very interesting - more like a little brick shed.
A lot of Rougham Airfield has been converted to an industrial estate. One of the hangars is now a warehouse. The control tower has been restored and is now a museum.
The interesting thing that remains is an underground battle HQ.
Rougham Hall
Where? Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Photos 44. Comments 40. Posted 19 September 2006.
I recently went for a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon explore with my mum and nan. They've lived in the area for years and guided me through a thick forest to see this place. We could've gone the easy way, but that passes the ground-keeper's house - that wouldn't have been fun
The hall was owned by the Agnew family. I don't know much else, other than the army took it over during WW2 when they built an air base a short distance away which sealed the fate of the Hall. It was the victim of a stray German bomb intended for the base.
The apparently 2000lb bomb exploded (landed?) in the courtyard - this destroyed the foundations of the building. Chimneys fell through the rooves. Walls fell down. And the place was in ruins.
60 years later, nature is quickly taking over. Huge trees are growing in the middle of rooms. Ivy engulfing the walls. And so on...
Tolly Cobbold - Cliff Brewery
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 67. Comments 9. Posted 4 February 2007.
Thomas Cobbold opened his first brewery in Harwich in 1723. The water there was rather salty, which didn't make for a good ale. So he shipped it in from Ipswich - just up ther river. In 1746 he left Harwich and built a brewery in Ipswich.
In 1894 he (well, his descendants) rebuilt the brewery to meet increased demands - there were over 300 public houses in Ipswich at the time.
After a few name changes/mergers, it closed in 1989, only to re-open in 1990 after a successful management buyout. The brewery started brewing again, and in 1996 celebrated it's 250th anniversary - quite an acheivement! After the buyout, it was also opened up as a working museum to try and improve it's profitability. In 2002 it finally closed (again) and the wonderful machinery inside has succumbed to pigeon droppings There are rumours of re-opening it though...
Tolly Cobbold - Cliff Brewery revisited
Where? Ipswich, Suffolk. Photos 22. Comments 5. Posted 25 February 2007.
Last time I visited I found a little book about the place as we were leaving. Upon reading it, there were I saw pictures of a huge steam engine used to pump water. So a return visit was in order just to see it. I also wanted to take some better pics in the blue fermentation room.
Read full Tolly Cobbold - Cliff Brewery revisited article here
