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Saturday 11 July 2009

Road Signs

When roads have names such as these you know they are worth driving down. I drove all these fine roads last year looking around Saddleworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

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19 comments:

Arija said...

Wish we were in England, they look deliciously explorable..where you never know what you find down the track.

Tom said...

Thank you Arija

1 The road follows by the side of a moor which at times is purple with heather blooms.

2 There is a Stile on this road, and as the road looks down on the village below it is easy to see where the road got it's name.

3 At one time the Romans had a 'string' of Castles across Britain.... and one of these castles give this area it's name. The castle is long gone, but the out line can be seen.

4 This area with it's high moors and hills is a catchment area for water and from here abouts it is stored in great reservoirs and 'pumped' to areas that need it.. Some of the water Works are long gone but there's others that are still in use.

5 The give away here is in the name and the area. These hillside are grased by sheep, and have been for as long as man as proberly lived here. These hills are perfect for sheep. A Cote is a Pens or Enclosures for flocks. My dad kept pigeons and the shed/building they were housed in was a Pigeon Cote. Shepherds and hill farmers also referred to their humble cottages as Cotes.

SandyCarlson said...

Thanks for translating. So much poetry and history on these signs, Tom.

Rune Eide said...

Just as I imagined - there is a history behind every little stone in England - and begind the stones as well.

dyanna said...

I like your blog.Beautiful pictures

Avril said...

You are so lucky not having name changes to roads and streets! Ours are changed to unpronouncable people's names!!!! They do it overnight sometimes!! When we were building our garage, bricks had to be delivered - the poor truck driver couldn't find the main road because the name had changed overnight and I didn't know. When he phoned to say he was lost I couldn't understand why, as directions to our house are very simple ... if the roads have their correct names!!!

Anonymous said...

The road names you have remind me that we have some like that usually associated with a place or a thing. I wrote a story for the newspapers and another for a magazine called, "Return to Bear's Mill," about this grain mill built in 1848 that is still in use. I think I told you about it. Anyway, the main road to the place which is quite long is called, "Bear's Mill Road." But most state and federal roads are numbers like State Route 722 (SR722) that runs east and west and goes through the village where I was born.

We have an odd system but it makes sense. If you got on a Road with a number like I-75 then you would know the odd numbers means the road or highway runs north and south. If you got on Route 40 or I-70 (even numbers) the roads run east and west.

Here, Interstate 70 comes from the east and goes all the way west to around Denver, Colorado. Interstate 75 comes out of Maine and goes all the way south to Fort Meyers, Florida.

Also, all land here in Ohio was sold in 1 square mile plots. In that space surrounded by four country roads, might be four or five farms. Each farm faced a road. A child who lived on that farm would walk to school and no matter where he lived it would be less than a mile to school. Busing changed all of that but that is the way it was when I was growing up.

You have an ancient history there with your signs and country. We have nothing to compare.

Coy Hill said...

Excellent post Tom and I'm glad you explained the names in your comment. Although we both speak English some words don't exist over here and others have different meanings.

Nice photos to Tom, I particularly like the shot including your vintage rover.

EG CameraGirl said...

Yes, these roads have signs that would surely tempt me if I were in your neck of the woods.

Here, I find signs that say "no trespassing" most interesting. So far I mostly obey them, although my husband is very naughty and encourages me (while he stays in the car) to "go on! You're not hurting anything. Your just taking pictures." Hmmm. Do you think he'd put up bail to get me out of jail? ;-)

Rose said...

EG's husband sounds like my husband...he'll say: oh they ain't going to say anything. The most they can do is tell you to leave.

Anyway, yep, these signs would definitely tempt me to explore. Also, I need to take some pictures of the roadsigns I see...I hope I can remember.

Carolyn said...

I love to explore back roads and off the beaten track and I would be there in a flash. Thank you so much for the explanations. Like the US our roads are numbered according to size and direction. There are 400 series highways...like the 400 north out of Toronto Ontario or 401 travelling from east to west through Ontario and Toronto which are 4,6 or 8 lane divided highways(I remember when the 401 was called the "MacDonald Cartier Freeway"...sounds much better and had meaning!)
Here on the island some government employee just placed a grid on a map of the islands and said this is where the roads will be....some in the ocean and some on the top of mountains and some in rivers and they built them!
Tom your photos are wonderful...I adore the stone fences and you have captured their uniqueness.
Smiles

david mcmahon said...

What a great set of signs, Tom. I think you might really enjoy a site called RedBubble.com - which would be perfect for your photography. It's free and I've been on for two months and it's a very interesting learning curve where YOU dictate the pace.

Anonymous said...

You have inspired me...but I shall go further and picture signs of place names too-like Womenswold and Thanington Without.

Willard said...

I like those road names, Tom.

I especially like the photo of the Land Rover, now just don't forget to show another good one of it in action sometime. I can always see that photo in my mind where you are plowing into the stream with it. It is one of my all time favorites.

Brian Miller said...

ha, there is sweet irony in the two signs in the first pic! quite lovely all the pics. the stonework especially. congrats on the POTD mention.

Willow said...

Another reason I love to vacation in England! Congrats on the POTD contender.

Cheffie-Mom said...

Congrats on the Post of the Day mention!

imac said...

Wonderful read Tom, also congrats on your POTD award from David.

Saz said...

great post...happy POTD!!