Eastend House - October 2015
I have wanted to see this place for years! A friend went there and after seeing his pics it has been high on the to-do-list but never had the chance until now!
This was the first stop on my road trip back home to Scotland with my girlfriend. The night before we left I told her I had a surprise planned on the way. We left my place in Surrey at 5.30am as I wanted to get there at a decent time and still make it home to have dinner with my family. A painfully long drive but well worth it when we got there!
Some history found online:
"Georgian country house built around the nucleus of a simple square keep of c.1500. The tall crowstep-gabled wings to the east and west were added in 1673. The bow-fronted elevation to the south was added in the 18th century and completely encases the original keep on that side. The Scottish Baronial additions to the west date to 1851 and are by David Bryce. The original keep is now only visible along its north front and a little of its east side. It is in coursed and harled rubble and rises through 3 storeys to a crenellated parapet borne on corbels. A gabled garret storey sits above. The first floor string course continues along the 17th century wing to the east."
I couldn't really find much else of interest, and this place has been documented before.
Anyway, on with the explore!
After driving around loosing my faith in my sat nav due to it trying to take me down roads that apparently don't exist we eventually parked up somewhere off of the road. I knew we were about a mile away so we decided to walk. After driving so long we really wanted to stretch our legs a bit and get some fresh air! Being in the middle of nowhere meant no 3G so all I had to go by was a screen shot from google maps. I didn't have the courage to admit I had absolutely no idea where we were of where we should be going, just a hunch! I was determined to find this place, I promised my girlfriend the trip of a lifetime and failure on day 1 was not an option. We scrambled down a very overgrown old farm road and cut through a wooded area onto a dirt track. There was a house not too far away and we could see a closed gate at the end of this track so we decided to be a bit more quiet than we had been. As we progressed my confidence began to build as the road on my screenshot was beginning to resemble the twists and turns in the road we were walking down.
Then all of a sudden there she was - Eastend House!
After being awestruck by the size and beauty of this place we decided to take a few pics and head round to the other side. We found a way through to the main garden and then we could hear voices - oh dear. Then I saw 2 black labs scurry past where we had just walked. 2 ladies out for a stroll! Phew! We crouched down as they walked past up and luckily their dogs paid no attention to us. Once all was clear it was time to find a way in.
This place has clearly had forced entry many times. It was obvious some of the boarded up windows had been redone recently, as the old ones were still lying on the ground after being removed. It looked fairly secure and we decided if there wasn't a way in we would just soak up the beauty and be on our way. We would never force our way in somewhere. We are not vandals and half of the fun is finding an elusive entry point! We were lucky enough to find the only opening, it was well hidden and bloody hard to get to! Once inside we realised just how run down this place is.
This one is strange. When we were outside I tried to take a pic with my flash on through a gap in the boards.
Unfortunately we only had our phones to take pics with. My battery died as soon as we got to the bottom of the stairs! I took some pics on my girlfriend's phone upstairs but after driving hundreds of miles with very little sleep and suffering a major caffeine crash my hands were a bit shaky, so none of them came out very well so they were not worth posting. There are plenty of other reports with upstairs in its full glory. I am pretty happy with these ones I got though. After a week in Scotland I discovered that although my pics look good on my phone they are generally pretty bad when uploaded to my computer, so I decided I had to fork out for a decent camera, so this is my last post with phone pics! I will definitely be venturing back here early next year, I need to see more of this place!
A word of warning to anyone who plans to visit here - this place is highly water damaged and riddled with dry rot, so watch your step. On the top floor one single footstep made me decide to turn around and leave quickly. I honestly though the floor was going to give way. Stay safe!
Thanks for looking!
I have wanted to see this place for years! A friend went there and after seeing his pics it has been high on the to-do-list but never had the chance until now!
This was the first stop on my road trip back home to Scotland with my girlfriend. The night before we left I told her I had a surprise planned on the way. We left my place in Surrey at 5.30am as I wanted to get there at a decent time and still make it home to have dinner with my family. A painfully long drive but well worth it when we got there!
Some history found online:
"Georgian country house built around the nucleus of a simple square keep of c.1500. The tall crowstep-gabled wings to the east and west were added in 1673. The bow-fronted elevation to the south was added in the 18th century and completely encases the original keep on that side. The Scottish Baronial additions to the west date to 1851 and are by David Bryce. The original keep is now only visible along its north front and a little of its east side. It is in coursed and harled rubble and rises through 3 storeys to a crenellated parapet borne on corbels. A gabled garret storey sits above. The first floor string course continues along the 17th century wing to the east."
I couldn't really find much else of interest, and this place has been documented before.
Anyway, on with the explore!
After driving around loosing my faith in my sat nav due to it trying to take me down roads that apparently don't exist we eventually parked up somewhere off of the road. I knew we were about a mile away so we decided to walk. After driving so long we really wanted to stretch our legs a bit and get some fresh air! Being in the middle of nowhere meant no 3G so all I had to go by was a screen shot from google maps. I didn't have the courage to admit I had absolutely no idea where we were of where we should be going, just a hunch! I was determined to find this place, I promised my girlfriend the trip of a lifetime and failure on day 1 was not an option. We scrambled down a very overgrown old farm road and cut through a wooded area onto a dirt track. There was a house not too far away and we could see a closed gate at the end of this track so we decided to be a bit more quiet than we had been. As we progressed my confidence began to build as the road on my screenshot was beginning to resemble the twists and turns in the road we were walking down.
Then all of a sudden there she was - Eastend House!
After being awestruck by the size and beauty of this place we decided to take a few pics and head round to the other side. We found a way through to the main garden and then we could hear voices - oh dear. Then I saw 2 black labs scurry past where we had just walked. 2 ladies out for a stroll! Phew! We crouched down as they walked past up and luckily their dogs paid no attention to us. Once all was clear it was time to find a way in.
This place has clearly had forced entry many times. It was obvious some of the boarded up windows had been redone recently, as the old ones were still lying on the ground after being removed. It looked fairly secure and we decided if there wasn't a way in we would just soak up the beauty and be on our way. We would never force our way in somewhere. We are not vandals and half of the fun is finding an elusive entry point! We were lucky enough to find the only opening, it was well hidden and bloody hard to get to! Once inside we realised just how run down this place is.
This one is strange. When we were outside I tried to take a pic with my flash on through a gap in the boards.
Unfortunately we only had our phones to take pics with. My battery died as soon as we got to the bottom of the stairs! I took some pics on my girlfriend's phone upstairs but after driving hundreds of miles with very little sleep and suffering a major caffeine crash my hands were a bit shaky, so none of them came out very well so they were not worth posting. There are plenty of other reports with upstairs in its full glory. I am pretty happy with these ones I got though. After a week in Scotland I discovered that although my pics look good on my phone they are generally pretty bad when uploaded to my computer, so I decided I had to fork out for a decent camera, so this is my last post with phone pics! I will definitely be venturing back here early next year, I need to see more of this place!
A word of warning to anyone who plans to visit here - this place is highly water damaged and riddled with dry rot, so watch your step. On the top floor one single footstep made me decide to turn around and leave quickly. I honestly though the floor was going to give way. Stay safe!
Thanks for looking!
