WELSH HOTEL ONCE HOME TO WWI SOLDIERS NOW LIES ABANDONED

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.

Other great stories
CHEEKY CHIPMUNK

A chipmunk, with his cheeks full to bursting, has no intention of leaving with an empty stomach .

FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .

EYE-CATCHING TRIBAL HAIRSTYLES

BRAIDED, sculpted and beaded, these are the eye-catching hairstyles worn by the tribal women of Angola .

SCOTTISH COUPLE MARRY INSIDE BEAUTIFUL ICELANDIC CAVE

BEAUTIFULLY lit by the dim glow of lanterns, a cave in Iceland is transformed into the perfect wedding venue .

UNIQUE CAVE RESTAURANT

DINING under the stars, this restaurant takes you back in time - inside an ancient cave .

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .

ADORABLE HARVEST MOUSE CLIMBS DANDELION

Surveying its surroundings, a tiny harvest mouse climbs the stem of a dandelion .

DINNER TIME

TWO Little Owls perch on a fence as they enjoy their dinner .

AVATAR-STYLE WISTERIAS WILL LEAVE YOU FEELING TREE-UMPHANT

A TEN-THOUSAND square foot wide Avatar-style grove is such a beauty it will leave you feeling VINE .

WIFE CELEBRATES MARRIAGE BY SNOWBOARDING IN WEDDING DRESS

SNOWBOARDING in your £2,000 wedding dress sounds like a nightmare for most brides .

ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO

A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .

MILLIONS OF SARDINES CREATE A TORNADO WAVE

THIS incredible shimmer of silver fish mirrors the image of that of an underwater tornado .