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
AERIALS OF FLOODING ON SOMERSET LEVELS

Sam Notaro built his own flood defences to protect his four-bedroom home in Moorland, Somerset Flooding is likely to get worse around Somerset as groundwater levels continue to rise .

BOSTON BOMBING AFTERMATH - 17TH APRIL

At least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .

CLIMBING BEAR CUB

BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .

BABY WHALE AND MOTHER LAP UP TOURIST ATTENTION

A grey whale and her calf greet an audience of awestruck admirers on the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico .

COME DINE AT SEA: RESTAURANT ON A ROCK

The rock restaurant, located in Zanzibar – THIS unique restaurant really does boast breath-taking views - as it is perched on a rock in the middle of the sea .

MESMERISING FIELD PATTERNS

FULL OF STUNNING colours and swirling shapes, the furrows on these fields create a mix of mesmerising patterns .

BACK TO BASICS HOTEL

CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .

DAREDEVIL DIVERS HAVE A WHALE OF A TIME

SWIMMING next to 40 tonne whales, dare-devil divers take the plunge with these gentle giants of the sea .

MONKEY LOVE

PUCKERING up and enjoying some quality time, these are the most lovable monkeys on the planet .

TRIG-OF -THE- EYE STREET ART

At first glance what might look like ordinary rusty bridge and road railings, are in fact amazing works of art .

THE SECRET LIFE OF SQUIRRELS

PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .

SNOW HITS BIRMINGHAM

More weather chaos is heading our way, with ice and snow already hitting areas across Birmingham .