# East Fortune Hospital, East Lothian - June 2016



## Brewtal (Jul 12, 2016)

This explore was a bit of a gamble with the weather. This was supposed to be one of three days of the trip that no explores were planned. We were supposed to go climbing up in the Cairngorms near my hometown but the weather was absolutely terrible. I suggested an explore for something to do, so a hospital was decided. It was either a re-visit to Glen O'Dee or a trip to East Fortune. We checked the forecast for both places and took a punt on BBC Weather's prediction that it would stop raining for a few hours in East Lothian so we downed our coffee and bombed it down the road. And good old BBC let us down again when we got there because it was some of the heaviest rain I've seen in a while. After killing some time at a garden centre nearby by we decided just to go for it. After a 110 mile drive we were not turning back. And after faffing about finding a place to park we got lucky because the rain stopped.

History:

East Fortune Hospital was opened as a tuberculosis hospital for the South East of Scotland in 1922, when a World War I naval airship station at Drem, East Lothian was converted into a Hospital. For the duration of World War II, the patients were accommodated in a hutted annex at Bangour Hospital. East Fortune Hospital became part of the Board of Management of East Lothian Hospitals in 1948.

In 1956, as tuberculosis patients began to decrease in numbers, mentally handicapped children were admitted to East Fortune Hospital, followed by adults 3 years later. The Hospital became part of the North Lothian Health Board in 1974 and was finally closed in 1997, following the transfer of patients to Roodlands Hospital in Haddington.

We wandered about for a while checking out the accessible parts. A lot of it was pitch black, some of it wasn't even worth seeing, and some parts I wanted to see were sealed up again. I couldn't get many external shots because of the constant drizzle but there are other reports at cover it well. The massive boiler was what I wanted to see and it just so happened to be the first place we went into. As we moved around the site the rain started again. It was a long drive back so we didn't want to be sitting in wet clothes for 2 hours, so after a couple more buildings we called it a day.

The 3 shots I got outside:













I got annoyed very quickly having to find cover to wipe my lens so didn't bother with any other external shots. This place has been covered before by others. Here are a selection of shots from various parts in no particular order:





















































And finally the boiler room:

























A perfect way to waste a rainy day. Thanks for looking!


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## King Al (Jul 12, 2016)

That is definitely the best way to spend a rainy day! Nice one Brewtal


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## Sam Haltin (Jul 13, 2016)

Good one but the hospital is getting worse for decay. In Scotland the weather could be described as T.S.W. Typical Scottish Weather. I'm surprised you didn't get any snow.


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## flyboys90 (Jul 15, 2016)

Nice one,Thanks for sharing.


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## Dam_01 (Oct 12, 2016)

Just drove past this place earlier today and bookmarked it to look up about it later and funnily enough, here it is!
Looks like an interesting site. cheers for all the pics.


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## Brewtal (Oct 13, 2016)

It's well worth a mooch if you are in the area!


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## Wrench (Oct 14, 2016)

Nice peely paint there.
Good work.


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