Join Nick Pope on a global investigation into some of the world’s biggest extraterrestrial mysteries, from shocking objects falling from the sky to secret research facilities and the hidden secrets surrounding Area 51.
0:00 - Nick Pope Goes UFO Hunting 7:08 - "It fell from the sky!" 13:43 - Investigating Secret Research Facility 19:18 - Area 51 Secrets
HISTORY® is the leading destination for award-winning original series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive, and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network’s all-original programming slate features a roster of hit series, premium documentaries, and scripted event programming.
AI Generated·May contain errors
Video Summary
AI Generated
Former intelligence officer Nick Pope investigates unexplained aerial phenomena and government secrecy. The exploration spans from remote viewing experiments at Yseti Ranch in the US to the mysterious 1974 Berwyn Mountains incident and the heavily fortified secret installations of Rudlow Manor, the CCC, and Area 51, highlighting the gap between official narratives and eyewitness accounts.
In May 2019, former British intelligence officer Nick Pope
visited the Yseti Ranch in the Pacific Northwest.
Yseti is home to the Enlightened Contact
with Extraterrestrial Intelligence Organization.
UFO hunters consider it a major hotspot
for unexplained aerial phenomena.
Over the past 33 years, scientists
from Boeing, NASA, and Lockheed Skunk Works
have come to Yseti to research the activity in the sky.
But what sets Yseti apart from other UFO watch organizations
is that their most powerful observational tool
is not a telescope.
It's remote viewers.
Remote viewing is essentially taking
people who have or believe they have the ability to see things
not with their eyes but with their mind
and putting them to work gathering intelligence.
My first exposure to remote viewing
came when I ran the UK government's UFO program.
We looked at UFOs, crop circles, alien abductions,
anything mysterious and unexplained, I did it.
Remote viewing might be tapping into unknown dimensions.
I know this sounds like science fiction,
but actually it isn't.
Some of the work being done at places
like the Large Hadron Collider are now
quite seriously looking at the concept of other dimensions.
At Yseti, ex-government remote viewing expert John Vivanco
and UFO sky watcher Peter Slattery
lead a team of remote viewers.
Today, they are working on an experiment that
will combine human observation and remote viewing in an attempt
to better understand what has become
a recent increase in UFO sightings over Washington
State's Mount Adams.
So let me know, please, what are your respective backgrounds
with this?
I am a remote viewer.
I've been doing this professionally for 20 years,
over 20 years now.
And I run a team of remote viewers
and we work operational type projects for clients.
And we look at different types of phenomena
that can't be explained through conventional means.
I'm known as an experiencer slash contactee,
but also a whole sky watch event.
So we're going to do a sky watch and just see what happens.
Where are we going to do that?
Just going to go to the sky watch field here.
So let's go and check it out.
OK, great.
As Nick joins Peter to conduct field surveillance,
John has stationed two remote viewers in a windowless room,
armed with nothing more than a pencil and a drawing pad.
The way it works is that a remote viewer is given
a random eight-digit number connected to what they're
supposed to remote view.
Now, they don't get what they're supposed to remote view,
only the number.
That's it.
They're going to be at the location of whatever
it is through the mind, describing exactly what that
is.
So what are these remote viewers actually
going to be doing in there?
It's not so much viewing.
We get visual snippets and a lot of body sensations.
Basically, they're going to be drawing and writing
a lot on papers.
Afterwards, once we've got the data,
how are we actually going to analyze it?
So I will collect that information from them
when they're done.
And then in the morning, we can meet up,
see if we can come up with some explanation for what went on.
Well, great.
That sounds good.
I hope that we're going to have some interesting
and meaningful results.
After discussing the details of the evening's plans,
Peter and Nick part ways with John
and join the rest of the Skywatch team in the field.
Pete, I see the team has grown somewhat.
We've got Adam here with us.
He's going to be helping out the satellite tracker
and monitoring the gear.
Just very important to be very quick off the mark,
knowing what's what.
Sometimes we could have two things in the sky
at the same time,
and one of them could be a satellite the other night.
People can mix it up.
So when we're focused on the sky,
it's great that somebody's focused on the satellite tracker.
Great.
So we're essentially making sure we don't miss anything.
Oh, definitely.
We don't want to muddle things up.
The team gets to work setting up the watch station
before the sun goes down for the evening.
They will be using various technology,
including infrared cameras,
in order to capture any anomalies in the sky.
The location for their watch overlooks Mount Adams,
the largest active volcano in Washington State,
and a hotspot for UFO sightings.
As night sets in,
the team has all eyes glued to the sky
and on the lookout for any objects
that might cross their path.
Utilizing real-time satellite tracking data,
they can anticipate the arrival of all man-made traffic
passing over their airspace.
Hey, is that a satellite?
Yep.
Including the International Space Station, or ISS.
Adam, how are we on the timing with the ISS?
One more minute.
And which direction, west?
It's going to be coming from the west, moving to the east.
Look at how bright this thing is.
Whoa!
Oh, there it is there.
See?
That's the space station.
That is the ISS, yep.
Okay.
While the field team watches the sky,
the remote viewers are sketching visual representations
of whatever comes to them.
Incredibly, as the International Space Station
passes overhead,
both women begin to draw
virtually identical rectangular objects.
Well, it's not a UFO,
but it's still a pretty spectacular thing.
Yeah, it's pretty epic to see.
After spotting a few other satellites in the sky,
Nick and Peter notice a mysterious, fast-moving object,
one that does not appear to be a satellite.
One right there, right now.
Look how quick it is.
Is that a satellite?
I've got it on camera.
Where are you at?
East, southeast.
I see nothing on the tracker.
Can you see it up here, guys?
Okay, I definitely saw it up in that section of the sky
with my naked eye.
It just caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.
I turned around, saw it for a few seconds,
and then it faded.
That's exactly what I saw.
And there was nothing on the monitor at all?
Nope, nothing at all.
That section of the sky was clear.
And that's satellites.
What about aircraft and flight plans?
Nope, everything was clear.
Okay.
Well, it was something.
Did Nick Pope and the ESETI team
spot an extraterrestrial object in the night sky,
one that inexplicably disappeared?
San Drislo, Wales, January 23rd, 1974.
Late in the evening, this quiet rural village
in the Berwyn Mountains is rocked by an enormous explosion.
14-year-old Hugh Lloyd is in his home watching television
when he feels the impact
and then receives call after call from his neighbors,
most claiming to have seen an incredibly bright light
falling from the sky and then glowing on the mountainside.
Today, Hugh Lloyd still works on his father's ranch
in San Drislo.
Are you Hugh?
Yeah.
Ancient astronaut theorist Giorgio Tsoukalos
and Nick Pope, a former UFO investigator
for the British Ministry of Defense,
met up with Hugh to get his take
on what really happened that night.
Can you tell us your experience?
Well, I was home with my two sisters and my neighbor,
basically watching television,
and there was this, like, a thud.
And next thing, the whole place
started shaking quite violently.
You know, this, like, earth tremor.
And then we were all a bit stunned,
and the phone started ringing.
We saw neighbors and things, you know,
saying, what the hell was that?
Are you okay?
You put the phone down,
and then another neighbor with the phone.
Your neighbors called you to ask you if you're okay,
so they pretty much had similar experiences?
Oh, yes, yeah.
So you're not the only one?
No.
And what time of evening was this?
It was roughly 20 to nine.
So, you know, some people have suggested that,
well, it was nothing else but an earthquake,
which I don't subscribe to this idea,
but have you had any earthquakes around here?
Nothing like that, no.
But at the time, they were trying to say
the lights people had seen were people with,
what do you call them, lamping,
you know, after foxes and rabbits.
But you saw that light,
and it was much, much brighter than people lamping.
I mean, it was something almost blinding?
Well, I've never seen a light like it before,
and I've never seen anything like it since.
Wow.
The community of Sandrisla
was shaken by the mysterious event,
which became known as the Berwyn Mountains Incident.
That night, dozens of residents
called the region's emergency line
to report a bright light followed by a mysterious object
seen streaking across the night sky.
Curiously, approximately 30 minutes
after the reports were made,
a police officer arrived at the home
of eyewitness Hugh Lloyd.
There was a knock on the door,
and it was a police officer there.
And he said, there's been a report of a plane crash.
And I remember our neighbor saying,
oh, he's quite important.
He's got pips on his shoulder.
Right, so a senior officer, not one of the local?
No, because the police turned up.
I just assumed it was a plane crash, you know?
A plane crash?
For Nick Pope, who worked at the Ministry of Defense,
and has seen the file on this incident,
this is a surprising new detail.
The official report only mentions a meteor
and nothing about a plane.
The theory initially that this was a plane crash
and that this police and military operation
was a search and rescue or search and recovery,
that's fine, but I mean, you know,
we know where our planes are.
There is 24-7 radar coverage, civilian aircraft.
Even back then?
Yeah, absolutely.
Planes don't just drop out of the sky,
and if they do, immediately everyone knows
which aircraft it is, so it seems odd.
Yes, and I remember the inspector saying,
I don't remember the exact words.
I'd like to commandeer your Land Rover,
if you can, to take us up there.
The officer commandeered the family's truck
and drove with Hugh to the crash site.
Nick and Giorgio were taken on the exact same journey
that was made that night.
How high is the mountain?
At the very top, about 2,800 feet.
You know, one thing that struck me
is this is a pretty difficult drive,
so you've got to be pretty determined
to get a whole bunch of people up here.
Yes, and for what purpose,
unless it's really something of importance?
Yeah, this is not to be undertaken lightly, is it?
No.
According to Hugh, the police inspector
directed him to stop at this spot,
although the inspector was allegedly not familiar
with the area and seemed to have no reason for doing so.
It was at this location that Hugh witnessed
an incredibly bright light in the distance.
So down there?
Yeah, more to the left there.
Okay.
Just over there, there's a little clump of trees
to the left of the valley.
That's where the light's from.
When this light appeared, did it seem to you
as if it was an explosion?
No.
This was definitely a very strong white light
from the ground.
And how long was it shining for?
No more than 15 seconds.
According to Hugh, the inspector wanted to get a closer look
at the mysterious light,
but then received a curious command from his superiors.
He asked me,
can you take the vehicle where the source of light is?
So we went back down that way a quarter of a mile
and turned left on the track.
And then this radio message came
and said, come back for this light.
So it sounds like it was a stand down call.
Yes.
That bugs me to this day.
If they were looking for a crash site,
why, when you were half a mile away
from where we wanted to go, they were called down?
Yes.
It doesn't make sense.
In the days following the incident,
Royal Air Force personnel, scientists, journalists,
and UFO enthusiasts combed the surrounding land
and interviewed locals at length.
Curiously, the official explanation for these events
provided by the Ministry of Defense
did not include either fox hunters or a plane crash,
as was told to Hugh that night.
Shortly before the Ministry of Defense
released their UFO files in 2007,
they announced that Rudlow Manor
was no longer in use by the military.
But if that's true,
why are the grounds surrounded by chain-link fences,
monitored by security cameras,
and even protected by guard dogs?
To find the answers, in January of 2017,
ancient astronaut theorist Giorgio Tsoukalos
traveled to the protected boundaries of Rudlow Manor.
It is.
Joining him in his search for the truth
was Nick Pope, who in the early 1990s
worked for the Ministry of Defense investigating UFOs.
We're here.
During your time at the MOD,
what did you learn about this place
or any type of UFO cases
that may have happened around this area?
Well, this whole area is rich in UFO sightings.
Rudlow Manor was the headquarters of a unit
known as Provost and Security Services.
Now, this is all tied up
with Air Force security and intelligence.
UFO sightings were investigated by staff
based here at Rudlow Manor,
but for years, we denied it.
We told Parliament, the media, and the public
that these things were of no interest,
that Rudlow Manor had no involvement in this,
and yet when the files were declassified,
it turned out that people were right.
Right here.
And so this building really was at the heart
of Britain's secret UFO research,
and particularly the underground facilities below us.
All sorts of secrets and research
and investigation projects
went on from this particular facility.
While the Manor House was the face of Rudlow Manor
and the headquarters for Britain's UFO investigations,
access to the underground facilities
is found two miles away
at the equally secretive installation known as the CCC.
It's close to where we are.
It's all part of the underground facility,
so there are tunnels which start
right underneath the Manor House here
and go to the CCC.
No one knows exactly how many people work down there,
but it's thousands.
Nobody knows exactly what they do,
and I worked for the government,
for the Ministry of Defence for 21 years,
and I don't know.
So, and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to tell you.
Of course.
Are the UFO files withheld by the Ministry of Defence
being kept at Rudlow Manor
as ancient astronaut theorists believe?
And could even greater secrets be hidden
at the mysterious site known as the CCC?
Officially, it's called the Corsium Computer Centre,
and you can't get in there.
It's absolutely off-limits.
Whatever's going on down there, it's big.
Despite the fact that it is not open to the public,
ancient astronaut theorist Giorgio Tsoukalos
asked Nick Pope to take him to the CCC
for a firsthand look at the installation.
All right.
Good luck.
Thank you very much.
As a former employee of the Ministry of Defence,
Nick did not feel it was appropriate
for him to approach the facility himself without clearance.
I'll see you later, Nick.
Yes.
Take care.
Here we are, the CCC.
The lights are on,
and just like Nick explained,
it's got barbed wire, it is fenced down, impenetrable.
According to the British Ministry of Defence,
the CCC is simply a data processing centre
for the Royal Navy.
But if true, why is it so heavily guarded?
Clearly, it's an access
to what seems to be an underground system,
and if the stories that Nick told me are true,
then underneath our feet is a vast system
of tunnels and underground facilities.
Within minutes of Giorgio's arrival at the security gate,
the crew is met by a military police unit.
I'm asked the million dollar question.
What are you doing down here?
Can you tell me anything about this place?
This is private property.
It is well signposted.
As you come down the road, it's private property.
Unfortunately, the situation ends
with filming being halted.
Well, we're only trying to find out the truth.
But why?
What is it that's so top secret
that Giorgio and his camera crew
are not even allowed to film the entrance
from public property?
So it was exactly how you said,
fortification, barbed wire fence.
I had about five minutes,
and then a police car showed up and said,
well, I think it's time for you to leave.
So I think you did exactly the right thing
to get out there while you could,
but you know that A, it is operational,
and B, it's obviously important.
They send the security people out.
I guarantee you, they had eyes on you
from the moment you started.
Rachel, Nevada.
September, 2019.
To further investigate what might be hidden
at the secret Area 51 base,
former British Ministry of Defense officer, Nick Pope,
and filmmaker, Jeremy Corbell,
have enlisted the help of local resident, Jorg Arnu.
Jorg, who has lived in nearby Rachel, Nevada for 15 years,
has been a firsthand witness to Area 51's recent history.
What's the strangest interaction you've seen
of people coming in or out of the base?
Heavy construction equipment going into the base
when they were doing construction,
and also sometimes you see military vehicles
being dragged into the base.
They set them up inside the bombing ranges
for shooting targets.
Just pull over here.
There's a sheriff's vehicle coming our way.
We don't want any trouble.
We don't want to block them.
We don't want to go any further.
This is extra security.
I don't think we've ever seen quite this much.
In light of the tension
surrounding the Storm Area 51 event,
the military has implemented a zero-tolerance lockdown
at the gate of the secret base.
So, here we are.
I think this is about as far as we can go.
The point of no return, right?
Yes, we cannot go any further.
All this barbed wire here, all these security measures,
this is the point at which, if you take one step further,
the full force of security will come down on us, right?
Make no mistake, we step one step into their territory
and everything is going to change.
If I came up here, is anybody going to talk to me?
Are they going to say anything to me?
No.
These are signs that spell out in plain English,
bad things are going to happen to you
if you cross this line.
It's very clear.
So now look, if we walked past that barrier, up that road,
what would we see?
What would we find?
We would be walking down about 20 miles,
a paved road into the valley that Area 51 is located in.
In between here and the base,
there's more security checkpoints,
there's more road sensors.
If you were to get to Area 51,
you're standing there and you look around
and it looks like any other military air force base.
But the good stuff is all in hangars.
It is not out in the open.
It's not like, you know,
they got the saucer right there on the runway.
So there are hangars, obviously,
but there are even rumors of huge underground facilities,
facilities carved into the sides of the mountains.
There are people that talk about underground facilities.
They keep tabs on people that watch the base.
They know exactly when somebody's up on Tikabu Peak
for instance, one of the view spots of the base.
Located 26 miles from the Area 51 base,
Tikabu Peak is the only public land
where people can actually see
the Groom Lake runway and hangars.
And they know exactly, okay,
right now is a good moment to fly our good stuff.
And that's when they bring out the good stuff.
I've actually been on Tikabu Peak
when they did a test flight
and it was the most amazing thing.
We look at the base
and all of a sudden in the middle of the night,
all the runway lights come on.
I mean, it's the most amazing thing to watch.
All of a sudden the desert in front of you,
below you, becomes alive.
You see a light taxiing to the runway.
The light takes off.
The runway lights go out.
That light goes out.
And that was the end of that.
I mean, literally feet above the runway,
the lights just went on.
That's ultra high security.
I mean, whatever that thing was,
clearly they were really trying to protect it
and minimizing that anyone could get eyes on it.
Correct.