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
ADORABLE HARVEST MOUSE CLIMBS DANDELION

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

SNOW HITS BIRMINGHAM

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

AN OTTER-ONE BITES THE DUST

Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .

FREEZING MANATEES STRUGGLE TO STAY WARM

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

AMAZINGLY DETAILED PENCIL SCULPTURES

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 .

BENGAL TIGER PLANS ATTACK ON UNSUSPECTING DEER

SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .

PRISON HOTEL

FOR most people, spending a night locked up in a cell would be undesirable .

PELT-MOBILE SPOTTED

A TAXIDERMY truck spotted in America’s Deep South could be the most gruesome wagon on the road .

AMAZING LIGHTNING PHOTOGRAPHY

STRIKING photos capture nature at its most raw and powerful during Earth’s most electrifying event .

UNDERWATER DIVERS FEED TIGER SHARKS

SOME OF the sea’s most terrifying creatures show their softer side as they join a group of diners for lunch .

CUTE MINI LION

MEET the little lion of suburbia with a mane that makes him look like a mini-king of the jungle .

STREET FIGHTER CRAZE SPREADS TO LONDON

THE CRAZE for mimicking the video game Streetfighter has spread to the streets of London .