By Derek Clark
Hartwood Hospital was a mental health hospital until it closed in 1998. It now sits derelict. Nature is reclaiming it day by day. Trees grow inside each of the structures, in some cases taller than the buildings themselves, protruding where roofs once kept out the rain and snow.
Now it sits vacant, with the promise of redevelopment, a promise that grows increasingly doubtful with each passing year. Signs warn of Japanese knotweed on the massive site. Fires break out every few years from would-be arsonists, and who knows what else goes on inside those walls. I visited during a recent snowfall and saw many footprints entering through forced gaps in the security fences.
The railway built access ramps to the local train station many years ago, but who knows if that will ever be used. When you walk these grounds, you might pass a local dog walker, but mostly you are alone with your own thoughts and the sounds of the crows flying in and out of the smashed clock tower. It’s their home now.
