RAF Menwith Hill

The base sits on open land in North Yorkshire, where tall white domes shaped like giant golf balls stand out against the green countryside and protect sensitive satellite equipment from the weather all year round.

Built in the 1950s during the Cold War, this site began as a small listening post and grew over the decades into one of the largest intelligence stations outside the United States, expanding its role in global communications monitoring.

The white domes have become a local landmark and a symbol of secrecy, often appearing in debates about privacy and surveillance, while nearby residents continue to organize peaceful protests questioning the station's activities and lack of transparency.

The base operates around the clock with hundreds of British and American staff who work behind secure fences, and the site includes its own small community with a bowling alley, general store, and fast-food restaurant for personnel living there.

This station is part of the ECHELON network that intercepts communications from space, and its 33 radomes create a surreal contrast between the quiet rural landscape and the high-tech intelligence work happening just out of public view.

Location: North Yorkshire

Operator: Royal Air Force

Part of: ECHELON

Address: 2884+5R, Menwith Hill, Harrogate HG3 2RF, UK

GPS coordinates: 54.00792,-1.68559

Latest update: December 12, 2025 17:44