Here we have the gatehouse at the back of the site, which guards the back entrance on the Portnall’s Road. Check your Cane Hill Yellow Pages for opening times.

(Seriously: Urban Explorers have largely ignored this gatehouse. And why bother with it, with the monstrous crumbling ruin located on the brow of the hill?)

"I used to live in North Lodge (the house on the hospital entrance on Portnalls Road), and my Dad was electrical engineer/site foreman at Cane Hill for almost 20 years, until the hospital closed. Cane Hill was a huge part of my childhood, I remember Dad taking us to the swimming pool in the summer (the changing rooms were open then) and on Saturdays/school holidays I had to go with my can of coke and sit with whatever patient happened to be around at the time while Dad did his work. There was one old guy in particular called Tommy who had no teeth and played the harmonica. My brother and I spent many happy afternoons hiding in bushes while patients wandered about our garden..."

"[My Mum] was upset to see the state of the house, the top left hand window was her bedroom, the one that sticks out a bit in the middle was my brother's room, and my room was on the right hand side, facing the wee road that led up to the hospital. It was enormous, but damp even then. She recognised most of the buildings in the photos, including Dad's office. She knew the guy who looked after the green houses well, John O'leary, he's dead now i think, he was ancient when I was a kid. We cant believe how much it has deteriorated in such a short space of time. Tragic really.

Ruthie