Decaying Hospital II Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Cryptik Souls Crew: Been contemplating what to do with this one for a while. I'm sad to see it go, as to me this is our best cache location, but to replace it now would seem futile. After years of total abandonment it seems that Cane Hill is set to be redeveloped in the very near future. With the demise of the CRCMH which hosted the original decaying hospital cache it appears that Cane Hill will soon follow in its footsteps. Nearby West Park hospital is also now securely boarded up and security patrol regularly, opportunities for urban exploration of derelict hospitals are fast dwindling. My advice is to get in Cane Hill while you can and have a look round the place, it really is fascinating and its won't be there for much longer.

Thanks to everyone who visited the cache over the years, even more thanks to people who uploaded photos, it were proper bo I tell thee!

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Hidden : 4/14/2003
Difficulty:
1 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Set just outside the grounds of the abandoned Cane Hill Asylum, a Victorian mental hospital which closed its doors in 1991, this cache takes the Decaying Hospital theme to new levels of creepyness, beware the tormented souls of the deranged patients these buildings used to house! The cache involves a walk totalling approx half a mile around a footpath which circles the perimeter fence of the hospital.

Cane Hill Asylum - 1912

You are visitor since 26 May 2003




Visitors to the original Decaying Hospital cache (set at the abandoned Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Taplow, Berkshire) commented on how atmospheric the location was. Unfortunately the cache was a tiny bit too close to the hospital and the plug was pulled >:( This time round you don't have to go inside, and you really shouldn't, some of the buildings are in a really bad state of repair, it's dangerous, private property etc.

Aerial shot of Cane Hill



Cane Hill Hospital was designed by architect Charles Henry Howell and was opened in 1883, designed as a mental asylum. It's intention was to house the patients from suburban areas in a countryside location to help their recovery. However, in those days, once you were put in a place like this, it was highly unlikely that you'd ever get out, this pretty much held true until it's closure in 1991.

Cane Hill now stands empty, the site is very overgrown and some areas of the building have suffered heavy fire damage from arson attacks, some areas of the hospital have been totally stripped but some artefacts remain. The most disturbing probably being the ECT machines, used for administering the highly controversial electric shock treatment, oh, and of course the morgue, complete with examination slabs and corpse fridge ;-) The building is highly unsafe, many floors have caved in and ceilings fallen through, we really must stress again that you should not try to go in there!

Desperate to see whats inside? Click here, here and even here for a selection of Cryptik pics...

Shocking! Morgue slabs



Parking is recommended at N51 18.748 W000 09.164, followed by a short walk to the gate at N51 18.856 W000 09.077 You can download these waypoints for Easy GPS by clicking here


Useless trivia
David Bowie's manic-depressive / schizophrenic older stepbrother, Terry Burns, spent 16 years at Cane Hill before committing suicide in 1985. An image of Cane Hill can be seen in the background on the US sleeve of Bowie's single "The Man Who Sold The World"

The Man Who Sold The World sleeve

A big Cryptik thank you to everyone who has taken the time to upload photos!

Everyone wonders why it hasn't been developed... Many old NHS sites like this are on the cards to be redeveloped, but not until the government decideds who they are going to sell them too, which may take years. They are earmarked for affordable housing. So now you know, and visit before the developers get here!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ybbx va gur vil ng gur raq bs gur srapr, arne gur tngr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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