The UK is riddled with abandoned ghost towns, the country’s long history throwing up all manner of settlements left behind.
From unexpected military facilities to ancient ruins, the nation has no shortage of interesting deserted places. Some are chilling, others are just downright strange – some meanwhile are little more than a pile of bricks.
From Norfolk to Snowdonia, Kent to Fife, these relics of the past, once bustling community hubs now lie silent. One even has a new job.
Stanford, Norfolk
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Once a 500-person village, Stanford was repurposed during the war, a job it maintains today. It was obtained by the military during World War Two, its residents moved on.
But after the war, residents weren’t allowed to return and instead it has been used as a training ground with live munitions for every single major deployment of the army since.
Now named the Stanford Training Area (STANTA) it encompasses the former villages of Buckenham Tofts, Langford, Stanford, Sturston, Tottington and West Tofts.
Cwmorthin, Snowdonia
Over on the west side of the nation, Cwmorthin is a place that is showing its age. It sits at the fringe of a disused slate quarry and despite starting life in the 11th century as a farming community, owed its size to the pits.
Now though, where once there were houses there are only shells and roofless walls that serve as a chilling reminder of the lives that were once led there. The quarry closed in 1939, taking away the town’s lifeblood.
Hallsands, Devon
Living by the sea comes with its own pitfalls, and this is a lesson best shown by the village of Hallsands in the south of England. It was once home to 128 people, but in 1917 29 homes were destroyed by a powerful easterly wind and a high tide. Within two nights, the whole town was gone.
It was the construction of a nearby dock using shingle from a beach close to the village that was later blamed for the catastrophe. Now, a smattering of ruined, and very salty houses stand in place.
Hampton-on-Sea, Kent
Hampton-on-Sea suffered a similar fate to Hallsands, falling victim to extreme coastal erosion. It was once an oyster fishing spot but it was abandoned in 1916. Now all that remains is a pub, the Hampton Inn, serving as a lonely memorial for a place that no longer exists alongside a section of pier visible at low tide.
Binnend, Fife
To the north of Edinburgh, in Scotland, Binnend was constructed as part of a boom surrounding Burntisland Oil Works. It was once home to hundreds, but the factory faltered financially and its employees were eventually made redundant.
Time was called on the settlement for good in 1931. It had no gas, water, electricity or sewage. Despite this, two die-hards stayed until the 1950s. The spooky remains of one neighbourhood, High Binn, still remain covered in greenery.
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