Most people who camp at the Frisco Campground at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore are completely unaware that a trail leading from the campground goes straight to a little-known piece of British soil in North Carolina. The easy trail (although it’s nearly nine miles long) leads to a forgotten secret of the Second World War that’s both sad and fascinating.

Frisco Campground, in case you’re not familiar, is perched right on the dunes and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Google local/Adam Holt The campground is open seasonally from April to November and its hilly dunes even offer some campsites a full view of the Atlantic for both a sunrise and a sunset. Most of the campground trails lead to the shore, however, the 8.9-mile Open Ponds Trail leads eastward all the way to the sandy Lighthouse Road where the Cape Hatteras Light is located.

The campground and trails are maintained by the National Park Service and the Open Ponds Trail provides campers with access to the lighthouse without having to get in the car to drive.

alltrails/Zand Balhtiari It’s along this mostly shady trail that you’ll find the long forgotten secret from WWII.

The trail begins at Frisco Campground and extends to Lighthouse Road, as seen here.

alltrails.com In times when temperatures soar and even the ocean breeze doesn’t cool you down enough to consider hiking 18 miles in one day, you can simply drive over to the other end of the trail on Lighthouse Road to explore the hidden secret along this trail.

At about 150 feet from the end of the trail on Lighthouse Road is a small piece of land that’s been leased for, perhaps, infinity to the British government.

findagrave/OBXr It’s here along the trail that two British soldiers lay at rest in a small two-man British Cemetery.

As history tells the story, during WWII, a German u-boat sank two British vessels just off the coast of Cape Hatteras and later (much later) two of the bodies washed ashore.

findagrave/Jim Hayes One of them was believed to be from a British merchant ship. His identity was never determined and his grave is now marked with an “unknown” marker.

The other was one of the many soldiers aboard the HMS Bedfordshire.

Google local/Jan Černín Both ships were repeatedly torpedoed by an underwater vessel (a u-boat) from Germany. There were no known survivors from either vessel.

The cemetery is leased in perpetuity to the British government for as long as the two men are interred on US soil.

Google local/Steven Kutz The cemetery and surrounding area (including the trail) are maintained by the National Park Service.

Did you know about this forgotten secret of World War II in North Carolina? Or that a small piece of US soil is leased to the British government for the foreseeable future? We’d love to know the answers to both!

Google local/Adam Holt

The campground is open seasonally from April to November and its hilly dunes even offer some campsites a full view of the Atlantic for both a sunrise and a sunset. Most of the campground trails lead to the shore, however, the 8.9-mile Open Ponds Trail leads eastward all the way to the sandy Lighthouse Road where the Cape Hatteras Light is located.

alltrails/Zand Balhtiari

It’s along this mostly shady trail that you’ll find the long forgotten secret from WWII.

alltrails.com

In times when temperatures soar and even the ocean breeze doesn’t cool you down enough to consider hiking 18 miles in one day, you can simply drive over to the other end of the trail on Lighthouse Road to explore the hidden secret along this trail.

findagrave/OBXr

It’s here along the trail that two British soldiers lay at rest in a small two-man British Cemetery.

findagrave/Jim Hayes

One of them was believed to be from a British merchant ship. His identity was never determined and his grave is now marked with an “unknown” marker.

Google local/Jan Černín

Both ships were repeatedly torpedoed by an underwater vessel (a u-boat) from Germany. There were no known survivors from either vessel.

Google local/Steven Kutz

The cemetery and surrounding area (including the trail) are maintained by the National Park Service.

The Open Ponds Trail is open year-round. You can find more information about the trail at this link on alltrails.com. More information about Frisco Campground can be found at this link.

Forgotten British Cemetery Address: Lighthouse Road, Buxton, NC, 27920

For more reasons to visit the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, keep reading here!

 

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