Explore #6 of the ‘North of The Wall’ Tour

Next up on our Scottish tour was a partly disused hospital…

History (abridged and rewritten from Wiki)

Stratheden Hospital was originally called Fife and Kinross District Asylum, and renamed in 1948. It was a centre of excellence in Child and Family Psychiatry from the 1960s, and part of the site still provides psychiatric healthcare to this day. In May 2016 a new intensive psychiatric care unit opened at a cost of £4.4m, providing a communal lounge, rooms for rehabilitative and therapeutic activities, access to an outdoor courtyard, private meeting rooms for visits from families or visitors, an IT suite and eight new patient en-suite rooms.

Part of the site closed in 2011 during a reorganisation of acute old age in-patient services in central and east Fife, when one third of the 45 former patients were successfully discharged for community-based treatment.

Our Explore
This was a tricky but rewarding explore. As most of the site is still active, and we arrived mid-afternoon, we had to be extra cautious in keeping out of sight – both whilst searching for access, and also once inside. After a lot of persistence we finally found a way in, and spent an enjoyable couple of hours photographing what remains…

An (almost) empty ward…
empty ward lone wheelchair Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

empty ward lone wheelchair Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

‘March of the Floor Polishers’ – arranged by some other urbexers years ago!
March of the floor polishers Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

Heavy decay in the former gymnasium changing area…
Changing room Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

Ward storage area Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

Mobile bath Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

chairs bay window Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

Corridor outside the laundry room…
Laundry room corridor peeling paint Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

laundry area Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

The shop is shut…
Shop Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

These colourful windows on the corner of a split corridor by the children’s wards were the highlight of the explore for me. I presume they were created by former patients?
split corridor children's ward colourful windows stained glass home made Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

A couple of quick iPhone snaps showing the outside of the corridors…
Children's ward corridor painted windows external view Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

Children's ward corridor painted windows external view Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

…and back inside.
corridor children's ward colourful windows stained glass home made Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

Sadly the pharmacy department was almost entirely stripped and empty…
Pharmacy Department lab laboratory Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

Some serious decay up in one of the attic storage rooms…
Attic room storage collapsing ceiling Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

…and another split corridor view.
Split corridor Stratheden Hospital Fife Scotland Adam X Urbex Urban Exploration Access 2018 Abandoned decay ruins lost forgotten derelict location creepy haunting eerie

We then headed off to check out a possible location to camp for the night. Unfortunately that turned out to be a no go, and we spent a frustrating hour or so driving around the Scottish countryside whilst zooming in and out on Google maps to search for a suitable alternative. Eventually tiredness and the need for a beer won out, and we admitted defeat and checked into a small paid campsite for the evening. Soon our disposable BBQ was cooking away, and we were relaxing after another great day of exploring.

Thanks for sneaking in.
Adam X