The first phase of the Rauceby Virtual Asylum is now complete with the publication of the remainder of my pictures of the hospital. Major sections added in this update include the Adminstration Courtyard, Former Nurses' Rooms and Laundry.

(The Laundry was woefully documented and its section includes an explanation of why that is).

Exta pictures have been added to the existing photosets, but worthy of mention are the new corridor shots outside the bakery, additional pictures of the tunnel system and more images of the the mortuary.

The second phase of the Rauceby Virtual Asylum is to rebuild the main asylum building digitally using modern 3D gaming technology. This should be possible with all the maps, plans and photographs now published on the site. I've already had interest from two game designers about the possibility of including an asylum as a level for a game, but they were more interested in Cane Hill rather than Rauceby. Due to the security level at Cane Hill, a thorough recording of its buildings is impossible using urban exploration techniques and attempts to gain permission from the deaf ears of English Partnerships is equally futile.

(Whilst the relaxed security at Rauceby made the photographing of the buildings much easier, the majority of the interior shots were obtained through permission of David Wilson Homes and to them I'm extremely grateful).

Whilst it was always my aim to preserve and document Rauceby in this unique way, there were several interesting additional outcomes of the first phase of this project. Firstly, it forced me to consider Hine's architectural decisions when he designed the hospital and, secondly, it allowed a comparison between his original Victorian visions for the institution and the outcome after just under hundred years of use. Not only did new technology and treatments changed the architecture, but social changes also forced change in the fabric of the buildings.

This work will continue as I've become interested in the design changes Hine made between his asylums. This will involve a reappraisal of Hellingly and trips to Cherry Knowle and St. Mary's.

Whilst on the subject of Hellingly, Ian Richards (of Save Severalls fame) sent me this picture. He grabbed it from the Antiques Roadshow 40th Anniverary programme during which they showed a brief comedy sketch from Alas Smith And Jones where the commedians poked fun at the Roadshow. Their location appears to be the main hall of Hellingly. (Apologies for the quality).

There has been a renaissance within the urban exploration communities and websites recently. Of particular personal interest for me as been the signs of activity at The Shrine (one of my favourite websites) and the return of Offkilter (see my earliest tours) with the launch of his new website A Warning To The Curious.

There's also a site devoted to the Three Counties Asylum at Stotfold which is part of the admirable growing trend of websites which concentrate on the history of individual institutions.

A friend recently sent me a documentary about the impending closure of Kingsway Hospital in Derby. However, all the archival footage used in the film appeared to be everyone's favourite: Cane Hill.

In addition, a section of the tunnel network between Rowan and Cedar wards is now documented, three new corridor pictures have been added to Hazel Ward and forty five pictures document the ballroom, new chapel, quarters and conservatory.

Updates to Aquila: More demolition pictures.

The British Library is a founding member of the UK Web Archiving Consortium consisting of The British Library, JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee), the National Archives, the National Library of Scotland, the National Library of Wales and the Wellcome Library. The Consortium is the national effort to archive selective representative websites from UK web space in advance of the introduction of legal deposit for digital materials. The Archive can be seen at www.webarchive.org.uk."

"The British Library would like to invite you to participate in this work by allowing us to archive your web site under the terms of the appended licence. We select sites to represent aspects of UK documentary heritage and as a result, they will remain available to researchers in the future. We aim to subsequently include the archived copy of your web site in our permanent collections."

"There are benefits to you as a web site owner in having your publication archived by the Consortium such as having a historical record of your web site. The Consortium aims to develop preservation mechanisms to keep your publication accessible as hardware and software changes over time."

urbex|uk has been selected by the British Library for inclusion in the Web Archiving Consortium. These means the site will be archived in a permanent collection and will be available for future researchers. The Web Archiving Consortium will take copies of the site from time-to-time to ensure the additions I make in the future will be added to the archive.

One of the reasons some urban explorers give for their activities is to create a historical record by photographing buildings and places that are at risk and will otherwise be forgotten. By being archived in a national collection, urbex|uk has achieved that aim.

Last year saw a significant, and depressing change in the media's view of urban exploration. This downturn was marked by angry reports of "daredevils", "arrogant thrill seekers" and "idiots" all participating in a worthless and dangerous activity.

Therefore it was extremely surprising, and gratifying, that a positive, thoughtful and definitive piece recently appeared in the noted architectural publication Blueprint. Not only had author Mark Chalmers done his homework and offered a superb potted history of the UK scene, but he put forward the notion that urban exploration can be a worthy activity.

The "thoughtful urban explorers" will enjoy his article and realise its importance. Its impact, both on the media and for the professional architectural community remains to be seen. This article should be cited regularly, as it’s a shining beacon in a sea of negative, poor and unimaginative reporting which shows no sign of diminishing.

The asylum list has been completely updated. It was first compiled in 2002 and was beginning to show its age so a thorough reassessment was definitely required. With the wealth of Internet resources now on-line, it has been possible to now pinpoint the location of each asylum accurately.

Additions to the contents of the list include the asylum's building type (e.g. corridor, pavilion, echelon) and links to the four most popular mapping websites: Multimap, Google Earth, Live Search and Flash Earth. As the satellite images taken for these websites can differ by several years, it's possible to view a complete asylum complex in one, demolition in another, and a new housing estate in a third.

Those with Google Earth can now download the asylum list as a KMZ package. You can load this file and view all the asylums, and descriptions of each, as a dynamic map. Its ease of use makes it a worthwhile endeavour in itself, but it also allows the geographic placement of the asylums, and various clusters, to be fully appreciated.

(This isn't new as an uncontrolled copy of my first asylum list has already been packaged in this manner. However it should be treated with some caution: the locations of several asylums are incorrect, the descriptions are out-of-date (as it's based on a copy of my first asylum list) and ad-hoc additions (workhouses and general hospitals) have diluted its original concept. However it was a good idea and provided the inspiration for my own version.)

Click here for the asylum list, its history, and most importantly the people whose original research made it possible.

For those who missed its inclusion on my Pyestock site, my piece for the Construction History Society about urban exploration has now been added to the Portfolio section.

Although Cane Hill finally closed its doors in 1991, the final ceremony in the Chapel didn't take place until the following year. A service of thanksgiving has been discovered, which probably indicates the last time the Chapel was used for a service.

The Virutal Asylum continues to grow with Heather Ward now photographed and commented.

Our second trip to Pyestock has now been added to this site - although it's been published on my main Pyestock site for a while. The Pyestock site has also been updated with new information about the Admiralty Test House, a full write-up of the Main Stores and more. Check out the news section for all the information.

Most of the buildings at the former Napsbury Hospital site have now been converted into housing - and the developers have done a wonderful job. However, slap bang in the centre of the new estate is a huge derelict reminder of the former hospital.

The Long Grove section has now been updated with better quality photographs.

Updates to Aquila: 1 and 2.

"My name is Steven and I am writing to you from my college library in Victoria, British Columbia. I am not a native of this wonderful place I now call home, and was for a long time not actually worthy of the life I now have. In any case, I am an ex-con who did spend some time in Aldington Prison in 1993/4 if I remember correctly. It was all a haze of drugs and ... more drugs."

"I've had your site bookmarked since the spring and have been using the pictures as my wallpaper on my laptop, and I'm not sure why? I spent most of my adult life from 14 until 28 going in and out of prisons in Scotland, I am from Glasgow, but found myself in Aldington by way of Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey and by way of Maidstone Crown Court. I was one of the Welling rioters who were used in that whole political cause of getting the Criminal justice Bill through Parliament. I have no complaints, I was as guilty as all hell and deserved everything that I got. However, Aldington has a weird hold on me now, I have a longing to know how the guys I was in there with are doing now. We were all, or for the most part anyway, drug addicts and I know at least one of them is dead. I am clean and have been for over 10 years now, but I still wonder how these guys are. The pictures stirred up emotions for me that are still hard to fathom. I had a great time in there, we ate like kings and were stoned all the time. I had a laugh. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't go back for all the tea in China, my life is amazing now, but I'm feeling nostalgic and have you to "thank?", for that."

"I did my whole time in that education block, in a cookery class and in the art room, and had a ball. The cookery teachers name was Pauline, I can't remember the art teachers name. I had some artwork out for my son the other night that I did right in that room."

"I don't know man, I have no idea why I'm telling you this. There was need in me to let you know this. You are a connection to an old life and its fuckin' quite weird. I tell you Simon Cornwell, it's just as well I'm doing a psychology degree, perhaps I'll find out what drives me with this e-mail" - Steven

It feels as if these pictures (dating from May 2006) were taken just in time, but they only show a small portion of the site.

Updates to Cane Hill: 1.

Updates to Rauceby: 1.

• Full description and walk through of the Battle Test House.
• The third entry of the Pyestock Diaries.

• Full description and walk through of the Admirality Test House.
• The second entry of the Pyestock Diaries.
• A piece I wrote last year for the Construction History Society about urban exploration.
• A links section.

I’ve now launched the site. It includes a virtual tour of Pyestock, brief descriptions of the major buildings on the site, a full write-up and tour of the Power Station, and an account of my first recce. Now the Pyestock site is up and running, it’ll be easier to add to it, and so I’ll get it updated much more often.

If you worked at Pyestock, or knew someone who did, then please get in touch.

urbex|uk disappeared for around ten days in early June. It would appear that my ISP moved servers and renamed some of my top level directories rendering the site invisible. As it happened, I was also on holiday, so the first I knew about it was a flood of worried e-mails waiting when I returned.

Service is now fully restored!

The destruction of Beedingwood House was reported extensively through the local press, even making the front page of the County Times. I spoke to the reporter telling him of the interest in the property from urban explorers far and wide. It's sad to know it's now gone.

Updates to Aquila: 1 and 2.

Updates to Severalls: 1 and 2.

Updates to Cane Hill (the story behind the train mural!): 1.

I recently became an exhibited artist, with my pictures of West Park appearing at the Testimony Exhibition in Epsom. For a picture of the flyer, and information about Testimony then check out the Portfolio section.

And yet more of Rauceby gradually appears. Pictures of Sycamore ward are now online.

Of course, I now wish I could go back and take some better photographs. But it's too late now.

My original tour of Beedingwood can be found here - all this has been reduced to a pile of rubble. Nothing appears to have been salvaged. Those interested in Beedingwood can also check out the excellent Beedingwood website.

Updates to RAF Wyton: 1, 2 and 3.

Only a short update I'm afraid - I wanted to get the Beedingwood news online.

So far I have taken 932 pictures of this one location. And I need at least two or three more trips to finish it properly.

The site itself is like Aquila on steriods. If you enjoyed that, then you'll love this.

But, don't worry about this site! I've still got the first phase of the Rauceby work to complete, several reports from 2006 to write up, and the publication of my pictures of Warley (the infamous 'Asylum Of Mystery').

Five years ago, I visited Cane Hill for the third time. I was equipped with a poor digital camera and it was bucketing down with rain. The result was Walking The Perimeter, the tour which launched this site and revealed a methodical approach to the subject.

That sodden trudge around the buildings was the beginning of a far longer journey, and one that's taken me to all sorts of unexpected locations. But, it also feels fitting to honour Cane Hill in some way; it is rightfully one of the most popular buildings on this website and my association with it and future plans for it ended far too soon.

In 2006, an attempt was made to grant Cane Hill listing status. After deliberation and a site inspection, English Heritage turned down the application. Lillimouse, a fellow urban explorer, unearthed the rejection letters and forwarded them on to me; she rightfully pointed out that there were several inaccuracies in the application, inaccuracies which were large enough to perhaps sway the final decision.

After talking with English Heritage, she gained the buildings a short reprieve in which a new application would be considered. And I pulled up my sleeves and wrote this:

Normally, urban explorers are transient visitors to buildings in transistion. I think this is the first time an urban explorer has attempted to change the status, and therefore (perhaps) the future history of a location.

Corrections and additions to the Rauceby Virtual Asylum include Steve's comments about Hazel Ward, corrections to the naming of Maple Ground Floor and Maple Upper Floor (there was no ward called Oak) and some newly published pictures of the Maple Courtyard. My exterior pictures of the chapel have also been collected in one place.

Update to the Aquila tour: 1 (which is a rather frightening account.)

Updates to Wheal Jane: 1, 2 and 3.

Update to Uplands: 1.

Update to St. Crispin: 1 (a former nurse returns to the hospital).

Update to RAF Wyton: 1.

And if that wasn't enough, the Kitchens are now online.

All the pictures are annotated with descriptions and locations so everything is put in context. Plus it allows me to further examine Hine's provisions for different patient types, how these affected the design of the hospital, and how these designs fared over the years.

And the second of the Cornish Tin Mines, Wheal Jane, concludes my trip to Cornwall.

Family History Monthly recently used a picture of Warley to illustrate a piece on asylums for their December 2006 issue. A scan of the magazine can be found in the Portfolio section (scroll to the bottom of the page).

Steve's added various comments to my notes about Rauceby's Cedar Ward. It was one of the last wards open in the hospital and the one he last worked in.

And Laura's written in with some memories of working at St. Margaret's Hospital (which has just now been completely demolished - although Great Barr Hall is still standing).

Apart from having a backlog of six 2006 explorations to write up, and the ongoing Rauceby coverage, I've just explored three new locations for 2007. So much for getting everything up-to-date.

I guess the best thing to do is simply to plod on. There's no lack of raw material ready to put up on the site, it's just a matter of making the time to do it.

So, here's something completely new for 2007: Mount Wellington tin mine in Cornwall.

Ray has written an excellent piece (called Memories Of Cane Hill) on training to be a nurse at Cane Hill in the late 1960s. Plus he recalls climbing the water tower and exploring the service tunnels in 1960s urbex adventures.

Update to the Rauceby Virtual Asylum: 1.

Update to RAF Wyton: 1.

Update to the High Royds Project (some new photos): 1.

Update to the Aquila: 1 and 2.

The Whittingham Hospital website has now been updated and is well worth checking out.

I have revamped my links section. Whilst the UK-based forums are now included, there are simply too many urban exploration sites to now keep up with. Therefore I've listed my old favourites, but the best place to find the other sites is via the forums. If you link to me, then let me know, and I will post a link in return - fair's, fair.

Whilst most of Rauceby has now been demolished, I'm still pressing on with the Virtual Asylum. The latest pictures show how Cedar Ward used to look.

The Rauceby Virtual Asylum continues to grow with Elm Ward now fully documented.

A poignant tale from Warley which shows these old buildings are not just bricks and mortar.

I often get e-mails about how this site has inspired people to become urban explorers, research a local landmark, or simply appreciate the buildings and architecuture around them. However, it's rare to find part of the site, and a building, directly inspiring someone. Richard Higham was so taken by the Cane Hill sections of this site, that he based his entire art project around it. His exhibit, and his tale of becoming ill whilst putting it all together, can be found here (scoll down).

I have no idea what all this is about, but I believe this site has become some form of art exhibit itself: www.interactiondesign-lab.com (pdf file) - scroll down to page six.

Keep an eye on warleyhospital.co.uk. Mechanised is constructing a site based on the hospital, and if it's as good as his urban exploration site, then we're in for a treat.

The Administration Block pictures have been reorganised and republished as Administration (Ground Floor) and Administration (First Floor).

The Kitchen and Stores Courtyard has now been published.

And Rowan Ward has now been fully documented along with the bathrooms and coal stores on the east side of the hospital.

Not including my original explorations, there are now 306 fully annotated pictures of Rauceby on the site.

I was interviewed Saturday morning for the Bumfrey And Cox show. As part of the British Forces Broadcasting Service, my tales of urban exploration were broadcast to servicemen and women all over the world. I don't think anyone could tell I was slightly hungover, but it all seemed to go well.

I have long been a fan of album sleeve artwork particularly by Stylorouge and Malcolm Garrett. So I was extremely proud to discover that one of my shots was wanted for an album sleeve. But it wasn't of a derelict building or ghostly interior - the sleeve designer used one of my wallpaper shots. Check out the Portfolio for a picture of the sleeve of Treefinger's Shoebox Archive.

It would appear that I was completely wrong when I described Cane Hill as Grade II listed. In fact, it's not listed at all! So, all references to the buildings being listed have now been removed.

Interestingly, there was an attempt to list the Administration Block, Chapel and Water Tower earlier this year. Unfortunately, the buildings did not merit listing. Why? Not because the asylum didn't have local interest, nor because the Administration Block, Chapel or Water Tower weren't architecturally interesting.

No - it failed listing because there's already a good listed example of an early echelon style asylum i.e. High Royds.

Which, unfortunately completely misses the point. Cane Hill is unique, a transitional style of asylum, and if you wanted to categorize it, then it would be Radiating Pavillion not Echelon. If High Royds was listed because it was a good example of an Echelon asylum, then Cane Hill has to be listed because it's the only example of Radiating Pavillion.

Watch this space.

Andrew has corrected me on where he found the Cause Of Death and Toe Tag forms at Cane Hill. Turns out he found them in a ward towards the back of the hospital, near Portnalls Road. This actually makes perfect sense when you know what Cane Hill's ward allocation was. I've updated the page to explain their methods.

Mystery solved! Sort of. Duncan pointed out that the mysterious room across from the equally mysterious Photo Hl at Rauceby was labelled... Dark Room. So, Rauceby was originally equipped with a photographic studio. The next question is... why.

"I really enjoyed the feature on Inside Out last night, really interesting. I am always fascinated by empty and derelict buildings, especially airfields." - Mark

"I have to say, I was very impressed with what I saw on the Inside Out programme. The BBC were very respectful - maybe you should get your own show! Having seen all of your explorations at Severalls on your website, I didn't realise just how close I was until I started digging deep into it... Well done for getting the BBC up the water tower!... The main reason for e-mailing was to say well done on the program. And also to thank you for putting "the cause" across in the way that you did. You put into perfect words what I have been striving to articulate for many months now, but it never comes out right." - Laura-Ann

"Just wanted to say that I saw your piece on Inside Out last night and thought it was great! I wasn't sure what to expect, after seeing your disappointment at the usual sensationalist treatment by the press, but since you actually presented it yourself it kept well away from the 'criminal' or 'vandal' slant that normally comes from the media." - Tim

"Watched your interview last night - brilliant. Thought you got across many good points in a clear and constructive way. Not only did you put us fellow Urban Explorers in a good light (we mean no harm!), but also I liked the explanation that Urban Explorer's are providing a kind of public service, in giving people a way of seeing inside an old building without actually risking life and limb themselves! The tour of Severalls was great - I never knew those small rooms used to be padded - guess I was looking for the way too obvious round spy hole!!! - Duncan

More info: BBC Inside Out (East)

I've updated the Media section of the site, including The Sun's report on Aldington Prison (which included a couple of my pictures).

Jen wrote in recently and offered a personal perspective on Rauceby which I've added to the project page. I've also reorganised the pictures of Administration - the Administration Corridor is now a separate section, and the new Administration section will be added soon.

More documentation has turned up from Cane Hill. This time, a morbid 'Cause Of Death' and 'Toe Tag' from the mortuary.

A website devote to the long-lost Bexley hospital has just launched. Check out www.bexleyhospital.co.uk for a look at one of GT Hines biggest asylums.

The pictures taken for The Independent have become rather iconic, also being used for The Metro article. But I didn't realise that photographer Ben Stansall also used some in his portfolio for a competition and won "'The Picture Editors Awards' Young Photographer Of The Year".

Congratulations to Ben and you can see his pictures on the award site. And that's my eye looking menacingly through the door of the padded cell at West Park.

The Croydon Advertiser continues to report (and continues to get Keith Boutcher's phone number wrong) on Hipposcope Film's Inside Cane Hill documentary. This time the paper reports on an interesting connection between Cane Hill and a record sleeve - but not Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World.

To add to the famous names at Cane Hill was William Pryor - great, great grandson of Charles Darwin. In the first chapter of his autobiography he relates meeting a friend at Cane Hill whilst he was incarcerated inside the instutition for heroin addition.

Updates to Great Barr Hall: 1 and 2

Updates to Aldington Prison: 1.

Updates to St. John's: 1.

"Thanks for putting up the links they've been great, as you know the quiz is only for our forum members but as I have had such a great responce off your website if you let your visitors know that they can enter if they put their email address in where it says 'username' and put in brackets after it (urbex) so i know its come from you they will be in with a chance of winning the book." See the Denbigh update of the 31st July (below) for more information.

Colin Jones
www.northwaleshospital.co.uk

A new site has recently launched, devoted to the wonderful asylum in North Wales, Denbigh. I've yet to visit this location, so check out www.northwaleshospital.co.uk and see the splendor.

They're also running a competition to win the book "The North Wales Hospital, Denbigh 1842-1995" by by Clwyd Wynne. To enter the quiz, click here.

Updates to ever popular Aquila: 1.

Updates to the equally popular Warley: 1.

I've still got a huge backlog of photographs from Rauceby to publish and describe. This is part of the Virtual Asylum, a project to fully 3D model an asylum. There should be enough data from my extensive photo coverage of the asylum, and the maps and plans, to construct a computer model.

The first part is to get all the photographs up and described.

I've gone through the pictures of the Engineering Courtyard again, adding new descriptions, and providing maps of the area. And the previously unpublished pictures of Engineering are now online.

First up is Aldington Prison. Enjoy (if that's the right word when considering a prison).

One of the first books devoted to derelict pictures of a hospital has just been published in the UK. Daniel Clark's Crossley Hospital East is devoted to images of the decaying former hospital. A review can be found here, plus information on how to purchase this worthwhile book.

I'll be updating this site next week with information about another book devoted to derelict places (called Left London).

The now infamous Metro article can be found here. Hacked up by a sub-editor, the phrase 'breaking into' was injected to sex the article up. Not good.

Shock news: something's found at Severalls!.

Personally, I'm extremely surprised they found anything at Severalls - the site was was almost clinically clear.

(And Ian, you need a haircut).

Being serious, this is almost a repeat of the Dead Files incident at the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital. (Pathological reports and causes of death of patients were blowing all over the site). The local rag kicked up a storm shouting that something should be done. And the fact that strange 'urban explorers' devoted websites and shrines to the location prompted local residents to denounce us all as devil worshipers and perverts.

I don't think anything was done in the end.

As the era of the asylum draws to an end (but it's got a couple more good years in it), it's my belief that the next round of buildings to be decommissioned and demolished will be the power stations. With that in mind, I recced my first: Drakelow Power Station.

Another era draws to an end. Dave Robinson's canehill.com offered some exterior views from several years back and a history of the hospital. But the domain proved too expensive to renew due to interest from 'other parties' - is this a portent of impending doom?

Anyway, I've archived the old site here.

And Dave kindly send some archive shots of the hospital and staff to me which he didn't have time to add to his site. These have been added to the images from the past section.

And I've now correctly captioned Pete's photographs.

Updates to Grand Tour : 1, 2 and 3

This is completely different: Finding Pedro's video for their song Cane Hill. Can you guess the location?

Hipposcope Films have managed the exclusive scoop of getting permission from English Partnerships to shoot a documentary about Cane Hill. Did you work at Cane Hill? Or were you a patient there? Please get in touch with Keith who'll be delighted to hear from you. In the meantime, the film is generating interest with Spooky Goings On and requests for interviews being reported in the local press.

Updates to Bourne Hospital: 1

The newly renamed Video And DVD Reviews (which was previously just devoted to Session 9) is now devoted to Session 9 and The Asylum.

The entire Whittingham tour has now been updated with the correct names given to each of the divisions.

A couple of urbex themed movies have recently turned up:

• Firstly After... is a supernatural thriller about three urban explorers who get more than they bargain for when they set out to explore the vast secret world beneath Moscow. It features a kick-ass soundtrack by the Crystal Method. You can check out a trailer for the film at www.themmovieafter.com or www.myspace.com/themovieafter.
• And a more homegrown short features Beedingwood as its spooky location.

Updates to Aquila: 1.

And now I've calmed down, here's something rather different: a comparison of two asylums.

Thanks for all the mails and requests for information; I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Several urban explorers were recently featured on a regional BBC TV programme. After following several groups to different locations (including Hellingly), various representatives of several official organisations were asked for their comments:

• The Health and Safety Executive: "This is not something we get involved in. We only deal with places of work."
• Kent Police: "It is not a criminal offence"
• The Environment Agency: "It's not something we would get involved in."
• Kent Fire Brigade: "It would only concern us if fires were being started."
• The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings: "You have to commend these people."
• Save Britain's Heritage: "We have had a few of our sites visited by these groups and they have provided us with great pictures via their websites."
• English Heritage: A source said he actually uses Urban Explorer websites for more information about locations he's having difficulty getting permission to enter himself.

Lots of updates to the Warley Project: a new aerial shot, some pictures of long lost demolished parts of the hospital, the conversion of the Chapel into St Raphael's Place and the development of the main building.

An update to Aquila.

English Partnerships have started to improve security at several key sites. West Park, Park Prewett and Cane Hill have all had their grounds extensively cleared. Security has been greatly improved at Hellingly. A fellow explorer Pete was at Cane Hill recently and took these photographs.

And apparently the BBC's website is a little over generous with the truth over the wattage of the 'repeater' on the water tower. Check out Rumours And Dark Mysteries (scroll down to the bottom).

And an update to St Johns : Again transmitter related.

Steve recently found a plan of the entire Rauceby site which has been added to the maps section (scroll to the bottom). Rauceby itself is currently being demolished, and the Water Tower was recently pulled down. To see the remains of the site, check out these recent pictures of Rauceby.

Firstly, there's been some rather ghostly goings on at Beedingwood.

All is not quiet at Cane Hill either. It turns out that the secure unit (the former cottage hospital to the south of the footpath) is to close. As such, this has probably prompted potential new owners (English Partnerships) to bring forward plans for the total redevelopment of the site.

Cane Hill continues to fascinate. Here's a ghost story and the facts behind the grave of Sir James Moody.

Speaking of ghosts, Queen Elizabeth's Hospital in Banstead woods had a weird reputation. So I went to check it out.

Aquila still provokes much interest and here's some more more information about anechoic chambers. Plus, another tale about what went on there.

A correction to the St. John's tour.

And some information about rescue training at Rauceby. Some of this goes to explaining the weird triangular holes we sometimes find cut in buildings. (They're practise holes cut by people on rescue exercises. The holes are triangular because there's a risk of loose bricks falling in a square cut hole).

And it's frightening what turns up when you do a bit of research. 12 'new' asylums have been added to the asylum list - all in Wales, but it isn't that far!.

And I've finally got my entire tour of West Park online. This includes some thoughts about the The Independent Shoot which took place a couple of weeks later.

Bexley Asylum in Dartford, Kent, is long gone. However, Tony Kinson is putting together a website devoted to the old institution. If you have any pictures of the asylum, please get in touch with him.

Plus, some more recollections from Upwood.

I've also given some hints at to what's to come: there's Aldington Prison and the Comparision Of Two Asylums. But the first exploration of this year is already online, and again is something slighty different: finding Netherne cemetery.

And finally a suggestion about the big wooden spools at Severalls.