Had a good day yesterday. Took a walk along the Derwent River and back up into the town of New Norfolk. Went into the grounds of the old hospital for the insane as it was originally called.
Willow Court as it is known now, has always been a fascination to me having been here at least ten times over the last 24 years. It has a very varied and somewhat disturbing history going back to the early 1800’s.
There is a guy (eccentric) who bought some of the buildings some 12 or so years ago and opened one of them up as an antique, come brik-a-brak come all sorts of shite store. Around the grounds he owns he has all manner of machinery, including old tractors and trucks etc, which mainly appear to be nothing more than scrap. The last time I went there which was about six or seven years ago, he had a dozen or so Leyland P76s all in a row, there wasn't a decent one amongst them. Most of them were broken in half. They've gone now.
It's good to see that the government /council whatever have started to finally do some investing into some of the old hospital buildings and utilizing them for the good.
If you ever come this way, I'd say it is well worth a look. Even though the town carries some sort of stigma which is definitely a carry-over from the past, it definitely has an attraction for those who like to walk and appreciate their surroundings.