Friday 14 November 2014

Urbex Cycling; Abandoned Hospital - East Fortune


Some of my back door trails are around an old Hospital that closed down in the early 1990`s...
I was never going to post this place on the blog as when i moved near to here the buildings were in pristine condition- except for the Asbestos...

28 Days Later; Where did all the people go?;
I had a whole photo shoot inside the buildings which had just had the doors shut and windows boarded.
9 years ago the whole place had a very eerie 28 Days later feel about it when you walked around and looked inside the buildings and wards. Rows of beds with sheets made up, Tea stained cups and saucers sat on tables,  clocks stopped on the wall, shift rotas and calenders from the 1990`s... all layered in a coat of dust,

Here is the trailer to the film 28 Days later- Zombie Apoclypse classic!...



I ended up dumping those photo files of the Hospital rather than publish them on line which would eventually lead to the place being discovered and put on the web,  and then as always happens with old places like this you get car loads of Neds turning up to smash the place up...
Wish i had kept those pics now after seeing the deterioration of the place in the last 4-5 years......

Public Exposure;
Around 5 years ago a film appeared on Youtube exploring through the buildings, the maker saying the place was haunted etc..

The Internet doors were opened to this place...

Overnight the place turned into a fun fare for Urbex explorers, for a few months it was genuine Urbex folks turning up in cars with their cameras...

Ned culture arrived;
Then sadly the inevitable car loads of Ned's who then systematically destroyed the place.
In the process probably spreading Asbestos dust everywhere-probably including on themselves...

Haunted, really???;
The place is not haunted!, but you will get a good dose of Asbestos to take home as a souvenir of your visit if you go raking about in here...

Spoiled forever...
So it does not matter about keeping it`s location quiet anymore, it`s ruined now...
Owned by a property developer who`s planning application to develop it into houses i think has lapsed now... not sure what will happen to the place long term...

Some history;
East Fortune Hospital was opened as a Tuberculosis Sanatorium for the South East of Scotland in 1922, previously to being  a World War 1 Naval Airship Station...




WW2;
During WW2 The Hospital patients were moved to Bangour Hospital while RAF East Fortune became a training base for young pilots of Bristol Beaufort's, then  Beaufighters in No17 Coastal Command,
Nearly 4000  personnel were based here at the end of WW2...

Many were from New Zealand, and Australia as these Aircrew are below in 1943..



Deaths;
There were many flying accidents here as young airmen were quickly trained in low level flying...
Funeral of two airmen who were killed when they crashed nearby at Kingston...



Those that completed training went on to fight with Coastal Command taking the fight to the Axis shipping in the North Sea and Norway...


Live Fire Ranges here in East Lothian;
They trained on local live fire ranges here on the coast, one of which i continue to reguarly go metal detecting at...



WAAF ground crew at work...



After WW2;
The base returned to a Hospital in 1948...



In 1956 as Tuberculosis patients began to decrease in numbers, mentally handicap children were admitted to East Fortune and later elderly patients.  Finally closing in 1997 after shutting down in sections and patients transferred to Roodlands in Haddington it fell into decay and eventually sold...

Today;
The buildings remain, and it`s still riddled with Asbestos- touch nothing in the place...




























































Wee film from a cycle around one late afternoon...
Song is `Angel`   by Massive Attack, mixed into another song i have no idea who it is!,
Usual Youtube-click on the cog icon to view in HD




or click to go straight to HD and no pop up adverts on Vimeo





More soon...

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