A grand 56-bedroom hotel, once heaving with injured soldiers during the First World War, now lies completely abandoned. Named The Rest, the Grade II listed building in Porthcawl, Wales was built as a convalescent hotel in the early 1860s. It was subsequently used as an auxiliary military hospital from 1915. Between World War I and II, the hospital provided care for more than 2,500 wounded soldiers from Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The Rest, which sits on a clifftop overlooking Rest Bay, returned to civilian use as a convalescent hotel in 1946, before it closed in 2013. Photographer Shaun Ashford, 25, of Cardiff, Wales, visited the historic site and captured the Victorian building’s empty interiors.
SOARING through the air, a hungry white-tailed kite prepares to snatch a vole from his mother’s claws .
LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish .
WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .
A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .
STRETCHING his little legs in the air, a smiley leaf-tailed gecko breaks free from his old, scaly skin .
A TAXIDERMY truck spotted in America’s Deep South could be the most gruesome wagon on the road .
This brave Hyena finally catches his pray among the thousands of flamingos, Lake Nakuru, Kenya - OUTNUMBERED among thousands of flamingos, this bold hyena is not put off from hunting for a morning snack .
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
POWERFUL bolts of lightning illuminate the night sky in an incredible autumn storm over the Sardinian coastline .
This frozen lighthouse in Michigan could easily be mistaken for a still from the snow swept disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow .
A frilled lizard appears to be belting out a tune as it sits in a tree with its mouth open wide .
The aurora lights captured in Blair Nebraska, America - WITH electrifying purple and illuminous green brightening up the night sky, this is the rare moment a flash of 'sprite' lightening was captured on camera .