#bangour village hospital

[nariarts]

2011. The day I got banned from Bangour.

[alias71]

This is my memorial to my great uncle, LCpl. William Alexander Wyber M.M., 11th Battalion, Royal Scots (1897-1974). I hope this is of interest to those who want to know more about individual soldiers who fought in WWI and what life was like for veterans who suffered from mental health issues after the war.

[sarahs-arty-stuff]

[bondsmagii]

Hey dude, any advice on how to girl up and actually go urban exploring? I have severe anxiety and even horror movies can make me have an anxiety attack and throw up because of the tension, but I'd really love to be able to go explore some abandoned buildings :(

I suppose it's a question of what in particular scares you about it? if it's a case of it being a dangerous hobby, I'm afraid there's no getting around the fact that it is dangerous, and there is a risk doing it, and you could get hurt. having said that, not all urban exploring means you have to go crawling into collapsing building and whatnot. it's still interesting to observe them from the outside, and there are lots of abandoned places that require little to no risk. close to me there's an entire abandoned hospital complex (Bangour Village Hospital) with on-site security and getting into the buildings is near impossible, but the place is just as stunning to walk around and photograph from the outside -- and in fact, it's even allowed. people walk their dogs up there and security just makes sure you're not trying to get into the buildings themselves, but everything else is fine. it's possible to find places -- buildings, parks, factories, etc -- where you don't have to take any risks at all to just explore. you never have to do more than what you're comfortable with.

if it's things like ghosts and stuff you're worried about, I shouldn't worry too much. I've been urban exploring for over a decade and I am very susceptible to the paranormal, but I've barely had any paranormal experiences in an abandoned building. I think it's happened twice in all that time. granted, one of them was one of the scariest paranormal experiences of my life, ever, but like... with numbers like that, it's worth the risk. it's unlikely you'll meet anything paranormal, but of course you should always be aware of the fact other people might be there. the more remote the location, the better.

but yeah, have a look at some places in your area, see some photos of them, see if any other urban explorers have written reports about them online... the more you know about a place, the more familiar and less intimidating it'll be. then just go check it out! you don't have to go inside. just go and see what it looks like. you'll probably find your curiosity is a bigger motivator than you'd think, but even if you're still too nervous to go in, it's fun to be there.

[urbexscotland-blog]

BANGOUR VILLAGE Some photos of Bangour Village Hospital. A 220 acre abandoned village. I'm producing a documentary on this right now too.

[prince-rainbow]

This week I went to an old abandoned hospital so I thought I would record it. I hope you enjoy it.

[nxc-le]

Saturdays walk was unusual -

We visited Bangour Village Hospital, originally modelled on Alt-Scherbitz hospital, Germany and styled based on the continental colony system, it was Britain’s first “Villa-style” psychiatric hospital. Bangour Village Hospital opened in 1906 as the Edinburgh District Asylum housing patients with mental health problems from across central Scotland. The hospital was requisitioned by the War Office in both the first and second world wars. After St Johns hospital opened in Livingston in 1989 it was slowly shut down and in 2004 the last remaining ward was closed. Interestingly in 2005 the village was used as location for the film The Jacket.

It is now a relic of its former past and the listed buildings left a chill as we walked around the 960 acre site.

Bangour Village Hospital,

West Lothian, Scotland

25.05.2019

[epizo]

Mary Ferns

Mary Ferns (known as May Ferns) is a woman from Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland, who disappeared on 17 June 2008 at the age of 88.[1][2]

Personal Life

Mary had worked as a psychiatric nurse at the Bangour Village Hospital near Dechmont, where she had met her husband who at that time was a senior nursing officer at the same hospital. The grounds of the abandoned hospital were searched as part of the initial police investigation. Both she and her husband had been widowed before they married. At the time of her disappearance they had been married for 16 years.[3] She had partial hearing and sight and was suffering from asthma, diabetes, and heart problems.[4]

Disappearance

Mary left her home in Vancouver Avenue in the Howden area of Livingston at approximately 9.30am on Tuesday, 17 June 2008, having told her 81-year-old husband William that she planned to go to the shops to buy a pair of tights. She was reported missing by her husband, William "Bill" Ferns, when she failed to return home by evening.[5][6]

Police Investigation

Once she had been reported missing, Borders and Lothian Police (now Police Scotland) became responsible for the investigation into her disappearance. The police spoke to local residents, carried out door-to-door enquiries, and organised a mail campaign that involved sending letters to local residents in order to elicit information. On 24 June, they also carried out a reconstruction of her last known movements on Howden East Road, additionally stopping vehicles to question passing motorists, in the hope of finding potential eyewitnesses.[3]

A large scale physical search was also carried out. The police released photographs of Mary taken in the Almondvale Centre 5 days before her disappearance. Since it was thought that she was likely to have planned to shop in the local Almondvale Centre, the investigation incorporated a survey of CCTV footage from the shopping centre, a physical search in the Livingston area, and a large underwater search in the local River Almond from Livingston down to the mouth of the river in the Firth of Forth. After the investigation had determined that she had last been sighted in the vicinity of Labrador Avenue, it was realised that she may have taken public transport to a different location, causing the geographical scope of the investigation to expand.[7][4] In July 2008, shortly after her disappearance, a special-purpose email address was set up by the police for the receipt of information pertaining to the incident.[8]

Eventually, CCTV footage surfaced that showed her walking along Princes Street in central Edinburgh on the day of her disappearance, approximately 90 minutes after she had left her home in Livingston.[9] She was unaccompanied in the footage. It was not possible to establish where she had gone after passing the Balmoral Hotel near the end of Princes Street.[10]

On Monday 4 April 2011, more than two years after Mary's disappearance, the physical search discovered a human skeleton on an overgrown area of the banks of the River Almond near Cromarty Court in Craigshill, Livingston, close to Almond Park, the Livingston RFC home ground.[11] Although the discovery was initially treated as significant in the search for Mary, forensic examination eventually revealed the remains to be those of a male decedent.[12][13] Several months later, in January of 2012, it was established that the remains were in fact those of James Adams, a local man who had gone missing at the age of 56 in September 1996, approximately 15 years earlier.[14] It was established that James Adams had died of natural causes.[15]

The investigation into Mary's disappearance has been described as the biggest search for a missing person ever conducted in Scottish history and Scotland's biggest manhunt.[16][17][18][19]

Publicity

Lothian and Borders police released the CCTV footage obtained from Princes Street in Edinburgh, which had confirmed earlier witness statements that placed her in the area. The accompanying statement also mentioned that officers would be travelling onboard the 09:39 bus from Livingston to Edinburgh on a regular basis to talk to passengers in case they have valuable information.[20][21] A van showing Mary's picture was parked at strategic locations in the hope of encouraging witnesses to come forward. Additionally, a huge ad-trailer was placed at the Asda supermarket in Almondvale.[2]

In December 2008, her stepdaughters Anne Foster and Margaret Ross, and Lothian and Borders police, conducted a press conference in order to raise awareness of the case and expedite its resolution. During the press conference, Chief Inspector Jim Baird of Lothian and Borders police described the case as "bizarre", adding "this is a lady who has just disappeared off the face of the Earth. That doesn't happen. It may happen in novels and books. It doesn't happen in real life." Her stepdaughter mentioned that the CCTV appears to suggest that she had found what she was looking for in the shops and may have been returning to the bus stop to catch a bus back to Livingston.[22]

On Monday 16 March 2009, an episode of the BBC TV show Missing Live presented by Louise Minchin featured a piece on the disappearance of Mary Ferns and a public appeal for information.[23]

Episode 3 of the week-long TV documentary series "Missing Mums: Lorraine Kelly Investigates", presented by Lorraine Kelly, documented the case of Mary Ferns. The episode was shown on both Sky and STV.[24]

In December of 2016, the families of Madelaine McCann and Mary Ferns, alongside the families of several other missing persons came together for a special ceremony and carol service in Edinburgh.[25]

References

Missing People

OAP's family call for her return

Evening News (Edinburgh). Police stage reconstruction in search for missing OAP. 23 June 2008.

Evening News (Edinburgh). Fears growing for missing pensioner. 1 June 2008.

Search enters sixth week.

Daily Mail. Family appeal over missing woman, 88. 20 June 2008.

Family pray for Mary's return

Special-purpose email address

Missing pensioner images

Relatives of missing Mary speak of torment

Detectives find skeleton in hunt for missing Mary

Human remains found in Livingston believed to be male

The Scotsman. Riverbank skeleton: no link to missing OAP. 6 April 2011.

Skeletal remains identified as missing Livingston man

Remains found last year identified as man missing for 15 years

TV appeal for missing Scots pensioner

Family of missing Edinburgh pensioner appeals for help

BBC features missing OAP appeal

TV programme launches fresh appeal for missing Mary

Lothian and Borders Police. Lothian and Borders Police Press Release: Mary Ferns. 19 August 2008.

Edinburgh Evening News. Police release footage of missing OAP. 19 August 2008.

Mary Ferns appeal

TV appeal for missing Scots pensioner

Missing Mums: Lorraine Kelly Investigates

Families of missing people gather for ceremony

Further Reading

The official Missing People page for Mary Ferns

The Mary Ferns archive at Deadline News Scotland

[spodzone]

Situated outside Livingston, the psychiatric hospital at Bangour Village was founded in 1906 as Edinburgh District Asylum – one of the first in Scotland to be modelled on a village. In 1918 it housed up to 3000 patients. During the second World War, patients were transferred temporarily to Hartwoodhill Hospital. Around 1924-1930 it gained a multi-denominational church in the centre of the village.

These days the site consists of several listed buildings, most in increasing states of decay – ideal territory for urban exploration.

A few views from ground level:

And a handful of photos made with the drone:

Also see an aerial 360º drone panorama of Bangour I made using Hangar360.

Around Bangour Situated outside Livingston, the psychiatric hospital at Bangour Village was founded in 1906 as Edinburgh District Asylum - one of the first in Scotland to be modelled on a village.

[4652paces]

No Entry - Bangour Village Hospital #westlothian #Scotland #canonuk #canon90d (at Bangour Village Hospital) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5YMchmAw0X/?igshid=113t50lz6brtf

[nariarts]

2011; Bangour Village Hospital

[gingerrayray]

Some pictures of pretty flowers and bees 🐝🌹🌼🌻🌺

[sarahs-arty-stuff]

[momobookdiary]

I was at SJI Holliday’s book launch of The Lingering at Edinburgh’s Waterstones bookstore earlier this evening.

I was lucky enough to have a chat with the lovely Susi whilst she was signing my book I had bought – yes I have already read the book but I needed a paperback copy as it was so good to stay hidden inside my ebook reader! 

This was the second book launch I have attended (first one was Owen Mullen last year) and they are such a buzz… I will be watching out for more in future as I had so much fun!

Here is the blurb about the book … 

Married couple Jack and Ali Gardiner move to a self-sufficient spiritual commune in the English Fens, desperate for fresh start. The local village is known for the witches who once resided there and Rosalind House, where the commune has been established, is a former psychiatric home, with a disturbing history.

When Jack and Ali arrive, a chain of unexpected and unexplained events is set off, and it becomes clear that they are not all that they seem. As the residents become twitchy, and the villagers suspicious, events from the past come back to haunt them, and someone is seeking retribution…

At once an unnerving mystery, a chilling thriller and a dark and superbly wrought ghost story, The Lingering is an exceptionally plotted, terrifying and tantalisingly twisted novel by one of the most exciting authors in the genre.

Here is the review I published earlier this week … since then I have thought a lot about the book and will be reading it again soon!

OMG! This is brilliant– and terrifyingly creepy!!

The Lingering is a twisted supernatural tale. A new couple, Jack and Ali, have moved to the self-sufficient commune.  They are starting over after something happened in their old life – details are sketchy – you will need to read the book to find out more!

The commune lives within ‘Rosalind House’ which is an old psychiatric home within  a small village – the setting has many old buildings which were used and now sit at varying stages of decay.  The locals from the next village all share stories and history of the haunted buildings, which include tales of witchcraft and ghosts!

I especially loved this setting as I live very close to an old village* which was previously a psychiatric home/hospital and the land sits currently with many derelict buildings just as described in this novel. The author has a brilliant way of describing the village ensuring you get the ghostly feeling however after personally walking in a similar situation it has my over-active mind going full speed.  

When I choose a book I am looking for a read that will draw me in and spark my imagination from the start.  I want to find it impossible to put down, for it to unnerve me and will leave me breathless until I reach the end of the book. This book hit 10/10 every time!

It is true when I say this book changed my life – I will not be walking my dog up by the old hospital any time soon!

Thank you to TBC Reviewer Request Group and SJI Holliday for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

BOOK DETAIL

AUTHOR: SJI Holliday

TITLE: The Lingering

PUBLISHER: ORENDA BOOKS

FORMAT: ebook

PUBLICATION DATE: 27 Sept 2018 (ebook) and 15 Nov 2018 (paperback)

REVIEW PUBLISHED

Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, Kobo, Amazon, BookBridgr, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday is a pharmaceutical statistician by day and a crime and horror fan by night. Her short stories have been published in many places and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham prize with her story ‘Home from Home’, which was published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in spring 2017.

She is the bestselling author of the creepy and claustrophobic Banktoun trilogy (Black Wood, Willow Walk and The Damselfly) featuring the much-loved Sergeant Davie Gray, and has dabbled in festive crime with the critically acclaimed The Deaths of December.

Her latest psychological thriller is modern gothic with more than a hint of the supernatural, which she loved writing due to her fascination and fear of ghosts. She is proud to be one of The Slice Girls has been described by David Mark as ‘Dark as a smoker’s lung.’

She divides her time between Edinburgh and London and you will find her at crime-fiction events in the UK and abroad.

Follow Susi on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads or visit her website sjiholliday.com

*If you are interested in the village I refer to above then check out Bangour Village Hospital, West Lothian. Grid Ref: NT 031 708

      🍷📖👻 Book Launch of The Lingering by SJI Holliday ✨📘✨ @sjiholliday @OrendaBooks at @Waterstones_Edi #OMG #MustRead #Thriller #Ghosts Awesome I was at SJI Holliday's book launch of The Lingering at Edinburgh's Waterstones bookstore earlier this evening.

[kellicee]

27 years later outside the church which my parents got married in that's now also one of the abandoned buildings in Bangour! (at Bangour Village Hospital)

[spodzone]

Around Bangour by Tim Haynes Via Flickr: Boarded-up windows; one of the buildings in the former Bangour Village Hospital. Blog: soc.sty.nu/2018/04/around-bangour/