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.
An Italian photographer travelled to northern India where he visited poverty stricken suburbs and captured ordinary people in a series of intimate and expressive portraits .
FROM A mini table and chairs to a detailed violin, it’s hard to believe these incredible sculptures are all carved into the nib of PENCILS .
HUDDLED together on a branch, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls soak up the sun .
A cheeky gorilla sticks her tongue out and plays up for the camera at Bronx Zoo .
A kingfisher’s bright blue and orange feathers glisten in the sunlight as the bird dives into a lake .
A diver looks like a minnow as she swims alongside a gigantic whale shark, the largest species of fish on the planet .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
A striped marlin means business as it spots lunch and spears a small fish .
WITH STUNNING colours and serene scenes, these photographs capture the otherworldly beauty of the English coast .
HIDDEN in the middle of the Mojave Desert, a secret oasis awaits intrepid travellers .
Enjoying life’s little pleasures is something that many struggle to do .