Queen Victoria Country Park
Formerly the site of the Royal Victoria Hospital
The hospital was built for the Crimean War casualties, with the foundation stone laid by Queen Victoria on 19 May 1856. It looked magnificent and was considered to be the largest military hospital in the world at the time.
During the First World War, it was full to capacity, and so huts and tents were erected to expand capacity to 2,500 beds. In the Second World War, the hospital was again full after Dunkirk, and in 1944, American forces took over the hospital for D-Day.
In peacetime, it reverted to a general, psychiatric and convalescent hospital. By 1958 the main building was empty and in 1963 a fire caused such extensive damage that the building was demolished.
All that remains of the hospital now is the chapel which has been converted to a visitor centre.
This area is reputedly haunted by the grey lady (supposedly a nurse who murdered a patient because she loved him but he loved someone else, some people think it is the ghost of Florence Nightingale because she is always seen carrying a lamp) our visit was fairly quiet but we picked up a couple of orbs that followed us around.
But then again we were a bit early for any sightings of the grey lady as she is normally seen about 4am.
We moved on from the Old chapel to the Old Military Cemetery.
