RAF Lakenheath SSSI

Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath (IATA: LKZ, ICAO: EGUL) is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, 4.7 miles (7.6 km) north-east of Mildenhall and 8.3 miles (13.4 km) west of Thetford. The base also sits close to Brandon. Despite being an RAF station, Lakenheath currently only hosts United States Air Force units and personnel. The host wing is the 48th Fighter Wing (48 FW), also known as the Liberty Wing, assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). The wing operates the F-15C/D Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle and F-35A Lightning II.

Wangford is a village and former civil parish in the West Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The RAF Lakenheath airbase is west of the former parish area with the main runway extending into it. Wangford is located around 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Lakenheath and 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of Brandon, close to the A1065 road. Before it was combined with Brandon in 2015, the parish consisted of only a few scattered buildings including a church and 16th century hall and had one of the lowest populations of any parish in Suffolk with only seven residents at the 2001 census. In 2015 the parish was formally combined with the town of Brandon.

Pashford Poor's Fen, Lakenheath is a 12.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Lakenheath in Suffolk.This diverse site has species rich meadow, hollows with fen and marshes, birch woodland, scrub and reedbeds. The invertebrate fauna is diverse, and includes the last known British site for a beetle listed on the Red Data Book of Threatened Species.The site is private land with no public access.

Maidscross Hill is a 44.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the eastern outskirts of Lakenheath in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and larger area of 49.8 hectares is a Local Nature Reserve.This very dry grassland has four nationally rare plants, Breckland wild thyme, Spanish catchfly, grape hyacinth and sickle medick. The site is not grazed, which has allowed invasion by bracken and scrub, but also increased the nesting sites for birds.There is access from Broom Road and Maids Cross Hill.

Wangford Warren and Carr is a 67.8 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Brandon and Lakenheath in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Breckland Special Area of Conservation, and Special Protection Area An area of 15 hectares is managed as a nature reserve by the Suffolk Wildlife TrustThe site includes the "best preserved system of active sand dunes in Breckland". This habitat is described by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee as Inland dunes with open Corynephorus and Agrostis grasslands and is the only site of this kind in the United Kingdom. There is a range of habitats, including bare sand, Breckland heath and grasslands, fen, damp grassland and carr. Colonising species such as the rare grey hair-grass Corynephorus canescens, which is found at only three inland sites in England, and the moss Polytrichum piliferum are found in areas at Wangford Warren. At least nine different lichen species are found on the heath as well as a number of grass and heather species and plants such as gorse and hawthorn. The fen and carr areas include species such as purple moor grass Molinia cerulean, willow, alder and silver birch. The site is an example of colonisation processes, showing the sequence from bare sand to heathland.The Suffolk Wildlife Trust site is alongside the A1065 road. It has no visitor facilities and access is not allowed between March and August each year.

Eriswell Low Warren is a 7.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-east of Eriswell in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.The site is mainly unimproved acidic grassland on sandy soils, which has a variety of typical Breckland flora, and there are also areas of lichens and bryophytes. Rare plants include purple-stem cat's-tail, spring speedwell, Spanish catchfly and perennial knawel.The site is private land with no public access.

Lordswell Field or Lord's Well Field is a 3.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Eriswell in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I.This area of calcareous Breckland heath has a rich variety of flora including two nationally rare plants, spanish catchfly and perennial knawel, the latter of which is protected under Section 13 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. There is also an area of lichen heath.There is access from the B1112 road.

Lakenheath Warren is a 588.3 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest south-east of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The RAF Lakenheath base is located nearby. This is the largest remaining area of heath in the Breckland, and it has a history of use for sheep grazing and as a rabbit warren from the thirteenth century, and continuing until the Second World War. There are several rare lichens and plants, and over fifty species of breeding birds.Part of the site is common land with a right of public access.

Lakenheath is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. It has a population of 4,691 according to the 2011 Census, and is situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of The Fens and the Breckland natural environments. Lakenheath is host to the largest USAF base in the United Kingdom, RAF Lakenheath. Lakenheath Fen Nature Reserve, created in 1996, restored wetlands from agricultural fields that were growing carrots. In May 2007, it was reported that cranes were nesting in the site for the first time since the fen lands were drained in the 16th century.The village has a single Victorian primary school, constructed in 1878, which was extended in 1969, again in 2004 and most recently in 2010/2011. There is a small shopping street on which a variety of multi-cultural shops, restaurants, and services are available. Horse-riding services are also present. The village has a modern library with various amenities. Along this main road there is a small hotel, skate park, and a children's play park. Lakenheath has two pubs though historically it had at least sixteen more. The Plough Inn (also known as the Wok n Rock) is a spacious flint faced 19th-century bar, Far Eastern restaurant and takeaway. It reopened at the end of 2013 after being closed for two years. The other pub is the Brewer's Tap. The Royal British Legion was a members only club, but closed in April 2012.Lakenheath is remarkable for its medieval church, built about 900 years ago in wood, eventually being rebuilt in the local flint construction style. The church on the exterior has an embattled parapet that has an array of gargoyles and other carved faces at the string course at the base. The interior includes medieval paintings and carvings on the pews. The faces of the church's wooden angels bear the scars of the English Civil War, as none of the angels retained their original facial detail, due to religiously motivated vandalism by puritan soldiers. In early 2009, the church received a large grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and local organisations to restore its rare medieval wall paintings. The wall paintings, depicting local saint St Edmund, angels, and birds amongst other subjects, are believed to date from the 13th century.As well as the Anglican parish church, Lakenheath has churches representing the Methodist, Strict Baptist and Pentecostal (AOG) denominations. All three of the non-Anglican church buildings are also primarily constructed of local flint, albeit with later modifications in brick. The village was struck by an F0/T1 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.The recently built pavilion now houses the local cricket club and hosts various events. Lakenheath also boasts a football club playing at ‘The PIt’ stadium in the village. The club, in 2021 won promotion to the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division, the highest they have ever been and, won the Suffolk Senior Cup for the second time in their history.

Lakenheath Football Club is a football club based in Lakenheath, Suffolk, England. They are currently members of the Eastern Counties League Premier Division and play at the Nest.

Foxhole Heath is an 85.2 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Eriswell in Suffolk. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I, and part of Breckland Special Area of Conservation and Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.The site is heathland and its vascular plant flora includes the following species: Slender Cudweed Filago minima, Shepherds Cress Teesdalia nudicaulis, Bird's-foot, Ornithopus perpusillus, Sand Sedge Carex arenaria, Purple Milk Vetch Astragalus danicus, Common Centaury Centaurium erythraea, Sheep's-bit Jasione montana and Larger Wild Thyme Thymus pulegioides. There are three nationally rare plants. It has a breeding population of the rare Stone-curlew, and this species also uses the site to gather prior to its autumn migration.The road verge along the south side is included in Suffolk County Council's protected road verges scheme.There is access from the B1112 road.

Breckland Farmland is a 13,392.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in many separate areas between Swaffham in Norfolk and Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. It is part of the Breckland Special Protection Area under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.The site is designated an SSSI for its internationally important population of stone curlews. These birds nest in March on bare ground in cultivated land with very short vegetation. Fields with sugar beet and vegetables and no recreational disturbance are preferred.The site is almost all farmland with no public access.