VIRTUAL TOUR Part Eleven: Going Home

Ormrod-Spink and "Bob-Diddley" lead the way out of here. As we tramp along the disused concrete airfield of a road once again, take note of the abandoned gurney patiently rusting by the side of the path. It looks like one patient never even made it as far as casualty. Directly in front of us, you can make out a wooden fence. This surrounds part of the original entrance. To the right, immediately behind that lamp-post, is our in and out point - the glass-topped wall. Be careful - because most accidents happen on the way out. Believe me - I know these things.

One last look at the world's creepiest lamp-post - creaking eerily in a non-existant breeze, it sums the whole place up. The light has been extinguished on the Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital. Once and for all. But the adventure has only just begun.

I trust that you have enjoyed your brief foray into the realm of the CRCMH, and that my inane ramblings have provided you with a little bit of information into the world of hospital exploration and what it was like in the early 1990s - back in the days when everyone work lumberjack shirts and listened to Nirvana and drank in places like BJ's and Skindles. Now - all of those things have disappeared into the mist of time. The hospital itself, however, lives. For how long now - who can tell. But it won't be long before it's all just a distant memory. But, as somebody rather intuitive once said - all things must pass away.

After the long walk back to the car park of The Feathers Inn, opposite the entrance gates to the not-so-threatened Cliveden, it's time to jump back into the car and head off home. But not before making one final pass through the tunnel of trees alongside the hospital. At night, as you can see here, this can actually be quite a freaky experience - especially on the night of The Flincher I can tell you. Never have I floored a car and focussed only on the road directly ahead as much as I did that night. But I'd return again - because the CRCMH has an unearthly attraction. And it wouldn't surprise me one iota if after this tour, you returned too. So happy hunting to you (not that we condone that sort of thing, constable).

Sleep tight. Don't have nightmares. And most of all - enjoy the rest of the Official Unofficial Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital Shrine.

Professor Isaac Mangang
Chief Virtual Tour Guide
March 2002