Tales of the Urban Explorer: Seacroft Hospital

A few explorers had done it, why not give it a bash?

We were in Leeds and heading to Seacroft, a council estate district in the eastern area of the city.

Long ago, I had worked for a construction company named Henry Boot whose head office was in this very region. I can barely remember where it was and eventually I got the sack as the miserable arse boss took a dislike to me.

The hospital was founded in 1904, originally to care for people with infectious diseases. Most of the surrounding buildings have been demolished to make way for new homes.

Some explorers have sold out to the press who have dramatised the event stating blood stains have been found. More like a loose bogey that has been wiped on a wall sporting a little blood.

Don’t pick your nose so hard I say..., fucking idiots.

We parked close by at a nearby junction noting that construction was happening next door. Sane builders don't work on Sundays, what a blessing that is.

@goblinknackers and I walked the perimeter noting that nasty green spiky fencing that was doing its job very well until…

Ah, what's this, a breach…

Slipping through, both of us hugged the hospital wall and the first defences were down.

Seacroft Hospital is pleasantly secluded from Karens unless those builder dudes happen to be working.

NOTE: Don’t come on any other day, some of them are dedicated zealots and work Saturdays.

This looked like a small hospital, completely intact and yet named ‘Leeds City Hospital’. Could it be that the surrounding population rarely got ill, and so it could be kept this intimate?

Herras fencing (above) does not cause me any issues. I can climb it if necessary, slip underneath it, or more commonly navigate past the dividers as there’s almost always a single one that’s a little bent.

Why it’s called ‘anti-climbing fencing' I will never know. Someone has the market sewn up and the senseless buyers have been stitched up big time.

The clock tower would have been an adventure but was tightly sealed by sturdy strong balsa wood. That’s the stuff you make model planes from.

"You're like a bloody cat burglar", exclaimed @goblinknackers watching me struggling to get through a window that was not exactly easy.

If anything, I have become slightly more adept at ‘burglary’ without the burgling.

He chose to sit this one out, being more of a strength bloke than one of great agility.

With some effort, and sweating I was inside grateful that said window had not collapsed under my weight. They made window frames to last one hundred years ago.

Getting past the initial room was challenging and I had to navigate one of the dodgiest floors ever with a sizable drop below into blackness.

Stretching with all my might, I shifted my weight across and hoped I would not fall down this abyss and likely gain great injury.

...for fuck sake, was it all going to be like this?...

It wasn’t, but how was I going to get back out was the conundrum?

Inside was suitably wrecked, and I did notice the local vandals had not ripped the banisters off the stairs. They were even usable and didn’t fall off in your hands.

Being inside alone, even with @goblinknackers outside was still giving me the chills. It was October, and cold within these walls, more so than outside.

Seacroft Hospital was not completely graffiti-free. Taking little notice of the given advice I continued looking for something other than cobwebs.

That is a difficult safe to open without a handle.

Correspondence was sparse, besides Irene’s number who no doubt is a nymphomaniac, and desires hot sex.

The light is not switched on, though it looks that way.

Signage; it's not that far deteriorated that it's all vanished under masses of rubble.

I have been down much creepier corridors.

This building could be salvaged; the floors were good besides that death trap at the beginning.

A little colour enhances the image. Bright ones are the best.

There’s little chance of having a shit here, the remnants of the toilet were not to be seen. Nice tiles though.

In one respect, I was grateful to be alone inside Seacroft Hospital. The cracking of glass, talking or other noises would have creeped me out. Soloing is a different experience than having a partner knocking about.

The upper floors were noticeably brighter and I did not require the extra bright light I carry everywhere.

I poked my head into the loft area. Access to the roof would have been nice but crawling through there wasn’t going to happen.

The lower windows had been smashed, the nicer stained-glass ones intact. Were the local thugs and vandals appreciative of that nicer glass?

I waved to @goblinknackers through these windows.

In the distance are the new houses that are being erected next to the old hospital. When the residents move in, there will be a new wave of Karens impeding the progress of explorers at this hospital.

After around 20 minutes I had seen all I wanted to see and tried the front door, just for the hell of it.

The door opened and I was both gobsmacked and relieved.

...could I get out of here and continue living?...

Closing the door firmly behind me, and yelling out '@goblinknackers', my surprised comrade emerged quickly.

His chances of getting inside were still out of the question as a largish fence separated us and would have been extremely tough to scale from his side.

From my side, a handy wall helped me escape death, though it was still a little tricky navigating the spikiness and keeping my balls intact.

My successful hospital count has now been incremented by ONE.

There's barely any left in the country, and although this was not the most stunning of explores, I felt that satisfaction that one feels when something is conquered.

Do you like posting your Urbex content and photography for FREE on Facebook and YouTube? I like to get some form of reward for my work and every time I create I do just that. Take a look at The Urbex Community on HIVE.

If you want to keep creating for FREE then ignore what you are reading. If you want to be like me and gain something other than BUGGER ALL for your work then click here and learn about posting on the HIVE blockchain.