Denbigh Asylum, August 2010

[Revelation_Space]

Visited as part of my week long road trip. I'm going to be posting my reports completely out of order. This was the 4th place I visited out of 7.

Planning this particular visit was a good exercise in how a plan purely based on a map and no real idea of what the surrounding ground looks like can go a bit wrong. After about half an hour of traipsing through a small jungle, we made it to Denbigh. Didn't see The Beard all day long, thankfully. Must have been having a day off. :D

I'd been warned by Wherever I May Roam that the floors above ground were a bit of a death trap, and he wasn't wrong. The building is really falling apart internally. Practically every single floor we walked across sagged under our weight, with some sections having 4 floors collapsed onto each other. Probably took far too many stupid risks at this site, but it was worth it. Weather was fantastic too, which was nice.

I'd love to post more than 24 pictures of this site, but I try to limit myself to that many.

Front view for those who don't know how it looks in the sunshine!
http://j.imagehost.org/0255/DSC3051_2_3_4_5_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0255/DSC3051_2_3_4_5_tonemapped)

Found this old thing, it's in remarkably good condition considering the surroundings.
http://j.imagehost.org/0638/DSC2846.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0638/DSC2846)

http://j.imagehost.org/0826/DSC2873.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0826/DSC2873)

http://j.imagehost.org/0225/DSC2886.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0225/DSC2886)

http://j.imagehost.org/0537/DSC2907.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0537/DSC2907)

http://j.imagehost.org/0929/DSC2909_10_11_12_13_14_15_tonemapped2.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0929/DSC2909_10_11_12_13_14_15_tonemapped2)

Stairs like this are what causes Denbigh to be a bit of a maze to navigate. Several times we found we had to retrace our steps quite far because sections of floor had collapsed.
http://j.imagehost.org/0737/DSC2923.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0737/DSC2923)

I loved this view. The sink sticking out of the wall made it great.
http://j.imagehost.org/0536/DSC2937.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0536/DSC2937)

http://j.imagehost.org/0435/DSC2939_40_41_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0435/DSC2939_40_41_tonemapped)

http://j.imagehost.org/0238/DSC2943.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0238/DSC2943)

http://j.imagehost.org/0641/DSC2950_1_2_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0641/DSC2950_1_2_tonemapped)

http://j.imagehost.org/0043/DSC2960_1_2_3_4_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0043/DSC2960_1_2_3_4_tonemapped)

[Revelation_Space]

We found one corridor that had absolutely loads of these locks lying around. Bit strange.
http://j.imagehost.org/0342/DSC2970.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0342/DSC2970)

This was probably my favourite view of the day. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate well into a photograph at all. It just looks like a completely tangled mess here (and, to be fair, that's exactly what it is), you can't really see properly how it looks.
http://j.imagehost.org/0145/DSC2977_78_79_80_81_82_83_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0145/DSC2977_78_79_80_81_82_83_tonemapped)

Turning on the spot, this is the other half of the corridor. Right in front of me the floor was collapsed on this side too. I'm amazed that one small section of flooring is still standing.
http://j.imagehost.org/0038/DSC3005_06_07_08_09_10_11_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0038/DSC3005_06_07_08_09_10_11_tonemapped)

http://j.imagehost.org/0950/DSC3047.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0950/DSC3047)

http://j.imagehost.org/0748/DSC3076.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0748/DSC3076)

Probably the only intact thing I found all day.
http://j.imagehost.org/0453/DSC3075.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0453/DSC3075)

http://j.imagehost.org/0863/DSC3084_85_86_87_88_89_90_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0863/DSC3084_85_86_87_88_89_90_tonemapped)

http://j.imagehost.org/0163/DSC3091.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0163/DSC3091)

http://j.imagehost.org/0065/DSC3097_098_099_100_101_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0065/DSC3097_098_099_100_101_tonemapped)

Much nicer than the modern NHS fire escapes...
http://j.imagehost.org/0365/DSC3105_06_07_08_09_10_11_tonemapped.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0365/DSC3105_06_07_08_09_10_11_tonemapped)

http://j.imagehost.org/0267/DSC3128.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0267/DSC3128)

I take it there used to be other buildings in the middle here?
http://j.imagehost.org/0568/pano.jpg (http://j.imagehost.org/view/0568/pano)

So there we go. I visited Talgarth and Denbigh in one day, and as a result didn't see anywhere near all of either of them, which is quite a shame.

[lost]

It's been a long-running confusion, sorry.

Yes, those stairs...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4888112316_851f43bbc7.jpg