Lakenheath [late evening on Lakenheath Warren/Maids Cross Hill, end of August 2009]

Lakenheath Village

There's so much to Lakenheath that you'd miss as you drive through... From fascinating history, to nature to UFO sightings! Ofcourse, there's the well known RAF base for US military but there's a wealth of other things working checking out.

Medieval England had the village penned as Lyking-Hythe 'landing place of the fen dwellers'. The name often results in questions of 'where's the lake' and 'where's the heath' and one can only assume that the medieval version of todays Lakenheath looked quiet different.

Beauty Behind the Street

As a village we are proud to have within our boundaries two fantastic reserves: Maids Cross Hill, an expansive sandy Warren and on the out skirts of the village, the RSPB Lakenheath Fen (giving us an idea of how much of the land around here once looked).

Beauty Behind the Face of Lakenheath

The pictures you see here have been taken all over the village to show a broad range of all you'll find here. Browse Lakenheath History to scratch the surface of a village 'deeper' than it looks.

Lakenheath Village

Lakenheath is a village of around 8200 residents situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, England.

The village is close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of the The Fens and the Breckland natural environments. 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 sixteenth century.

Lakenheath has a single Victorian primary school, constructed in 1878, which was extended in 1969 and again in 2004. There is a small shopping street, with a grocery store, a newsagents, a garden centre (possibly to become another Tesco's location), an opticians shop, a Chinese restaurant, fish and chip shop, Kebab house and Filipino restaurant. The village has a nice modern little library with internet and good disabled access. Along this stretch of road a small skate park, a playing field and a children's play park can also be found.

Lakenheath has four pubs; The Half Moon, The Brewers Tap, The Cromwell Inn and The Plough. The Royal British Legion is a members only club. Two different Lions International clubs are based in the village, one of which is a Bikers & Friends club that organise a bike run across East Anglia every year for charity.

Lakenheath is remarkable for its medieval church, built in the local flint construction style. The church contains medieval paintings and medieval carving on the pews. The faces of the church's stone angels bear the scars of the English Civil War, as none of the angels retain their original facial detail, due to religiously motivated vandalism by puritan soldiers. 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.

see more nostalgic photos

RAF Lakenheath

Groups & Clubs

For more on the USAFE visit here

Enjoy a bunch of good things in Lakenheath

Lakenheath is host to the largest USAF base in the United Kingdom: RAF Lakenheath. The social impact of the United States Air Force fighter airbase and its nearby sister, RAF Mildenhall, on the economy of Lakenheath and on the nearby towns and villages is important.

The United States has maintained a presence in the community since bombers were stationed there during WWII conducting raids on Europe. The base has a population of around 7000 service personnel. This does not account for non-combatant personnel and families.

During the mid-eighties there was a peace camp outside RAF Lakenheath.

There are three squadrons of F-15 fighters and their support and maintenance personnel stationed at RAF Lakenheath. The 492nd and 494th Fighter Squadrons fly the multi-role F-15E Strike Eagle and the 493rd Fighter Squadron flies the air-to-air F-15C Eagle variant. The 48th Fighter Wing, "Liberty Wing", is the parent unit exercising command of the base in conjunction with the RAF.

Contact VM here if you would like to get listed in this section

Lakenheath War Games Club (The Hive)

Warhaller, Lord of the Rings, 40k and more are played by the club every Thursday from 7-9pm. Get advice, technical instruction, War Game rules, model painting, conversions and so on. Weekly entry is £1.50, under 13s to be accompanied by an adult.

Find us at Lakenheath Methodist Church Hall,

walk-ins are welcomed.

1st Lakenheath Brownies

Make friends, earn badges, learn about arts, crafts, cooking and lots more. Putting Lakenheath girls aged between 7-10 'in the lead' so they can learn and grow with confidence.

Call Emma on 01638 718991or Cheryl on 01842 861473 to get your girls on the waiting list.

Lakenheath Camera Club

Regular meetings held at the hall of the Royal British legion every other Monday from 7.30pm. We welcome guests and the bar is open for drinks and refreshments. Share your work, learn new techniques, enjoy the art and science of photgraphy!

Lakenheath Amateur Gardening Club

To find out about our meetings and events please contact Mrs. Val Little, Secretary. Everyone is welcome to our meetings, all you need is an interest in plants Annual membership is just £1.

Call Val on 01842 862766 to get involved.

Lakenheath Village Fete

and Dog Show 2007

Over 60s Club

Every other Thursday afternoon from 2.15 brings over 60s the opportunity to meet and enjoy an afternoon in decent company. Chat, enjoy games, a cuppa and occassional jaunts. Find out more by contacting Chairperson, Joan Carrott on 01842 862076

"Fantastic!". "Amazing!". "Not seen anything like it!". A few of the things heard as we walked the length of a crowded Lakenheath High Street, following the parade of carnival floats toward the fete.

Originally organised by the Lakenheath Playing Fields Association as a means of funding the the fields the community uses. The side effect of this was bringing different elements of the village together: the Carnival Parade organisers got on board, various businesses offered their support, many villagers threw in time and resources and the community came together to enjoy a great day out.

The success of the 2007 fete has resulted in subsequent events of equal quality and it looks as though the Lakenheath Village Fete is once again an annual event. Check here for details on LVF 2010!