announced that the lighthouse was to be decommissioned as an aid to navigation and marked on UKHO charts as disused. It was demolished in summer 2020. Geography Orford Ness is Europe's largest vegetated shingle spit. It is approximately long, and the site covers a total area of approximately . Forty percent of this (890 acres) is shingle, 25 percent (556 acres) tidal rivers, mud flats, sand flats, and lagoons, eighteen percent (400 acres) grassland, and fifteen percent (330 acres) salt marsh. The spit formed almost entirely of flint deposited by waves through the process of long-shore drift. The main influence on its formation has been storm waves throwing shingle over the top of the beach crest, where it is protected from ordinary wave action. Over time, this process leads to the formation of stable ridges of fine particles, and swails of coarser shingle. The size and shape of the spit fluctuate over time (see map). Estimated growth rates range from 64 m per year in 1962 to 1967, to 183 m per year in 1804 to 1812. Between 1812 and 1821, the total length fluctuated by . As a result of the dynamically changing nature of the spit, the true age of its formation is unknown. However, before about 1200, Orford is thought to have been a port facing the open sea. See also Wartime events at Shingle Street, Suffolk, are explored in more detail in two books by James Hayward. Orford Castle Norman keep overlooking Orfordness and Orford Island Night Invisible Varnish Orfordness, a type of British military aircraft paint Havergate Island – RSPB Reserve Seaplane Experimental Station, another research station at Felixstowe Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, yet another nearby experimental station at Martlesham Heath Airfield Notes References External links LIFE+ project; Alde-Ore future for wildlife Orford Ness National Nature Reserve information at the National Trust Orfordness and Orford Island Boat Trips – Lady Florence, Orford Quay, Suffolk My Orford by Charlie Underwood – An interesting insight into village life in Orford English Heritage survey report on AWRE Orford Ness includes history from First World War onwards (2009). Landforms of Suffolk National Trust properties in Suffolk Nature Conservation Review sites Tourist attractions in Suffolk Spits of England Orford, Suffolk Beaches of Suffolk