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.
SAT with his arms folded and a cross look on his face, this Gorilla looks like he's had enough of the Christmas holidays already .
A cheeky owl fancies a game of hide and seek as it peeps out from behind a tree .
WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze .
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
ARMED with her camera, bikini and flippers, this brave diver goes swimming with SHARKS .
WITH STUNNING colours and serene scenes, these photographs capture the otherworldly beauty of the English coast .
The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .
SOARING at 112 miles per hour through the air, this petite blonde certainly lives up to her title as the fastest flying woman in the world .
A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .
A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .
