North Wales Hospital (Denbigh Asylum)
Denbigh asylum or it's politically correct NWH tag was built in the mid 1800's and could house around 200 patients. It closed in 1995. In 2008 the team from Most Haunted did a week of live broadcasts from here with the hope of catching ghosties on camera. Of course it was another load of manufactured crap from Yvette and that other idiot and all they managed to do was upset the townfolk for their views on them and the hospital. A week later the main hall caught fire in what was a suspected arson attack and the development that was under way to turn it into luxury housing came to a halt. It has lain derelict ever since and very recently the council has won a court battle to hand the buildings to the National Heritage after the current owners neglected to do any repairs during their years in charge.
Now I have to admit that asylums are my favourite buildings for exploring, not for the macabre or any morbid fascination but purely for the architecture! This place was no exception. We visited one Easter weekend and all the stories of the gatekeeper with the German Shepard had put the wind up us leading up to the explore. Driving for 2 hours and arriving at the crack of dawn was the best option to sneak in unseen and we were fortunate that day that we never saw the infamous gatekeeper or another soul for the 4 hours we looked round. I have to say though that the interior left very little to the imagination and the place was pretty much a shell. However, the buildings are gorgeous, the grounds are huge, there's a chapel and a separate nurses quarter and I thoroughly enjoyed the mooch!
