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Another Scottish hospital report, so here we go.
"East Fortune is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, located 2 miles (3 km) north west of East Linton. The area is known for its airfield which was constructed in 1915 to help protect Britain from attack by German Zeppelin airships during the First World War.[...]
In 1922 several buildings and an area of land were used to create East Fortune Hospital. This served as a tuberculosis sanatorium for the south east region of Scotland until the onset of World War II. The airfield was then brought back into service as RAF East Fortune, initially a training airfield, and the hospital patients were transferred to Bangour Hospital in West Lothian. The hospital re-opened after the war, but by 1956, as the number of tuberculosis patients began to fall, the hospital changed its function to house the mentally handicapped. In 1997, the hospital closed down, and its patients were transferred to Roodlands Hospital in Haddington."
[source: wikipedia]
East Fortune is one of those typical old hospitals that look more like a collection of barracks at an army camp, rather than an actual hospital. The site is comprised of a main "street" along which all the wards and buildings are lined up.
Access is as straightforward as can be, so we parked along the main road and got into site easy.
As the hospital has been closed down now for almost 2 decades the place has been properly stripped and decay has set in well, though from a structural point of view it doesn't feel risky. Biggest problem is asbestos and dusts as most buildings are still quite boarded up and even if you do get in, you end up in backrooms where the air is thick and there is no light whatsoever. Still that, to me, is always quite an experience as you torchlight your way from one room to the next (no door handle left unturned, that's what I always say).
For lovers of peeling and decay a visit to East Fortune is definitely worth it, plus there are still quite enough things left behind to give one a really good idea of life in EF while it was open. The kitchen is still there with all its machinery, lots of bed skeletons lying around, and mattresses, tons of them.
At the time of our visit several buildings were accessible and it didn't feel as if someone would care to board the place up anytime soon.
Throughout our time there, of course there was not even a hint of security, all we saw was an old lady walking her dog. The distant sound of some farmer shooting his rifle(?) was also a nice addition to our visit, as well as the sight of the Scottish Museum of Flight at the other end of a field at the back of the complex, where I believe a Concorde is stationed and is quite a beast even from that distance.
The machinery and pipes at the first building we entered was also a lovely thing to see up close and generally, and while searching for a way up the tower I found another fitness bicycle (a week after a similar discovery at Rosslylnee).
All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed East Fortune and as it is so easy to get in with lots of buildings to explore it is definitely worth the visit.
PS. It always surprises me when I look at what metal thieves etc. leave behind after they had stripped down a place. To my eyes their work seems quite random so I don't know if to anyone who is more familiar with their work and purpose, maybe it's not, but to me it feels like people looking randomly for a buried treasure as there is no real pattern to their stripping. There. I said it out loud now.
And here are the photos:
Loved this one.
I can say that if I get so excited by something this small in terms of industrial machinery, I can only imagine how much drooling there's going to be if and when I get to places like BPS.
I could really use one of these while working.
I had seen this in other reports and I was glad I caught it myself as well.
Lovely peeling. So...organized.
Watch your step!
Plenty of lockers with names of employees still on them.
Nice little corner.
Loved the simplicity of this.
Probably not sharp.
Chimney!
One of the various random pieces of paper left behind that are always interesting to read.
Maybe it's just me but these things always catch my attention.
Sure is! [1994]
I thought about going out there but the roof was quite rotten so I decided to stay in with all the pigeon poo.
Kitchen.
This one has been really hit hard recently as a previous report from 2013 showed it in a much better state. A$$holes.
The mattress graveyard.
More from the kitchen.
Love the broken glass shots.
So there it is.
Thank you for reading!
"East Fortune is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, located 2 miles (3 km) north west of East Linton. The area is known for its airfield which was constructed in 1915 to help protect Britain from attack by German Zeppelin airships during the First World War.[...]
In 1922 several buildings and an area of land were used to create East Fortune Hospital. This served as a tuberculosis sanatorium for the south east region of Scotland until the onset of World War II. The airfield was then brought back into service as RAF East Fortune, initially a training airfield, and the hospital patients were transferred to Bangour Hospital in West Lothian. The hospital re-opened after the war, but by 1956, as the number of tuberculosis patients began to fall, the hospital changed its function to house the mentally handicapped. In 1997, the hospital closed down, and its patients were transferred to Roodlands Hospital in Haddington."
[source: wikipedia]
East Fortune is one of those typical old hospitals that look more like a collection of barracks at an army camp, rather than an actual hospital. The site is comprised of a main "street" along which all the wards and buildings are lined up.
Access is as straightforward as can be, so we parked along the main road and got into site easy.
As the hospital has been closed down now for almost 2 decades the place has been properly stripped and decay has set in well, though from a structural point of view it doesn't feel risky. Biggest problem is asbestos and dusts as most buildings are still quite boarded up and even if you do get in, you end up in backrooms where the air is thick and there is no light whatsoever. Still that, to me, is always quite an experience as you torchlight your way from one room to the next (no door handle left unturned, that's what I always say).
For lovers of peeling and decay a visit to East Fortune is definitely worth it, plus there are still quite enough things left behind to give one a really good idea of life in EF while it was open. The kitchen is still there with all its machinery, lots of bed skeletons lying around, and mattresses, tons of them.
At the time of our visit several buildings were accessible and it didn't feel as if someone would care to board the place up anytime soon.
Throughout our time there, of course there was not even a hint of security, all we saw was an old lady walking her dog. The distant sound of some farmer shooting his rifle(?) was also a nice addition to our visit, as well as the sight of the Scottish Museum of Flight at the other end of a field at the back of the complex, where I believe a Concorde is stationed and is quite a beast even from that distance.
The machinery and pipes at the first building we entered was also a lovely thing to see up close and generally, and while searching for a way up the tower I found another fitness bicycle (a week after a similar discovery at Rosslylnee).
All in all, I have to say that I really enjoyed East Fortune and as it is so easy to get in with lots of buildings to explore it is definitely worth the visit.
PS. It always surprises me when I look at what metal thieves etc. leave behind after they had stripped down a place. To my eyes their work seems quite random so I don't know if to anyone who is more familiar with their work and purpose, maybe it's not, but to me it feels like people looking randomly for a buried treasure as there is no real pattern to their stripping. There. I said it out loud now.
And here are the photos:
Loved this one.
I can say that if I get so excited by something this small in terms of industrial machinery, I can only imagine how much drooling there's going to be if and when I get to places like BPS.
I could really use one of these while working.
I had seen this in other reports and I was glad I caught it myself as well.
Lovely peeling. So...organized.
Watch your step!
Plenty of lockers with names of employees still on them.
Nice little corner.
Loved the simplicity of this.
Probably not sharp.
Chimney!
One of the various random pieces of paper left behind that are always interesting to read.
Maybe it's just me but these things always catch my attention.
Sure is! [1994]
I thought about going out there but the roof was quite rotten so I decided to stay in with all the pigeon poo.
Kitchen.
This one has been really hit hard recently as a previous report from 2013 showed it in a much better state. A$$holes.
The mattress graveyard.
More from the kitchen.
Love the broken glass shots.
So there it is.
Thank you for reading!
