'Fingerpost' Direction Signs...

[CitroJim]

As we've had topics on AA boxes and AA Village Signs, I thought whilst out on my bike this afternoon this relic of times gone by might be worth an airing...

Somerset is really quite well-off for pre-Worboys 'Fingerpost' direction signs and many, many still survive, especially in the more rural parts..

Here's a typical one I saw on a very quiet byway this afternoon:



This one sports a lovely SCC (Somerset County Council) finial...

This one has sadly lost its finial... Odd that a place (it's just a very tiny hamlet) in the heart of Scrumpy country should be called Beer



This is horribly confusing... A cider barrel on the road to Beer!



All spotted during a 30 mile bike ride this afternoon... The road between Low Ham and High Ham is very steep, a great climb on the bike

[Fake Concern]

Lovely roads for a cycle, Jim, very like the ones I use in East Sussex. I see lots of finger sign posts on my rides, but I think most of them are wooden. I'll have to get some pictures now!

[NewcastleFalcon]

Lovely pictures Jim, capture what for me enjoyble bike riding/motoring is...taking an interest in the places and people along the way and taking time to enjoy it. Love the quirky sign for "Unsuitable Beer" as I read it at first!

Dorset Area of Outstanding National Beauty, but with no money in the public purse to conserve, preserve and maintain their distinctive fingerpost's, have The Dorset Fingerpost Project

They have also produced a guide on how to repair your fingerpost!

There's still 717 left in Dorset and the map of locations is quite crowded, but "fingerpost champions" are being sought to preserve what there is.

Apparently the Dorset fingerpost in its full glory has a distinct style which is always good.



Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

Those Dorset fingerposts are lovely Neil

Lovely roads for a cycle, Jim, very like the ones I use in East Sussex. I see lots of finger sign posts on my rides, but I think most of them are wooden. I'll have to get some pictures now!

It's heavenly for cycling down here but at times it is rather aromatic (if you know what I mean!). Yesterday on my 30 mile ride I had it all, deserted byways, long climbs, scary descents, howling headwinds and even rain!!!

[Peter.N.]

Just seeing your bike there against the signpost Jim makes me feel tired. The Bridport and Powerstock signs are not to far from me, most of the signs around here are the cast iron kind and there are lots of them and many little tucked away villages that haven't changed in many years, our house is about 350 years old and our nearest neighbour about 1/4 mile away so it hasn't changed here much. We get our water from a well that's about as old as the house.

Peter

[CitroJim]

Just seeing your bike there against the signpost Jim makes me feel tired.

You should have seen the ride I did yesterday Pater.. We may be on the edge of the Somerset levels here but there's some awesome hills on the escarpment Langport and surrounding villages sit on... I did a ride more akin to a TdF mountain stage yesterday

Sadly, nothing of interest to see on it really except steep hills!

[Peter.N.]

I used to cycle quite a lot in my youth but if I try it now my knees seize up, very good way of seeing the countryside though. Have you been up Sutton Bank in north Yorkshire, that's some hill.

Peter

[CitroJim]

Have you been up Sutton Bank in north Yorkshire, that's some hill.

Not yet, it's on the wishlist

As are a lot of famous hills....

[NewcastleFalcon]

For a less strenuous collection rather than hills, there are some fantastic cycle routes on old railway lines across the country where you could collect viaducts

Don't try the one on picture of the day today though, very decent chance of getting wiped out by a metro train.

Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

For a less strenuous collection rather than hills, there are some fantastic cycle routes on old railway lines across the country where you could collect viaducts

That's a good idea Neil Not everyone likes hills but I do... I rode a particularly challenging one this morning... One called 'Mile Hill' for very good reason...

Don't try the one on picture of the day today though, very decent chance of getting wiped out by a metro train.

[CitroJim]

A couple of choice ones from my ride this morning

Taken in Muchelney - a place much in the news a couple of winters ago due to flooding



And this one in Long Sutton...



It was a horrible morning for mid July - perishingly cold and damp (again)

[Peter.N.]

The B3165 in your last picture goes within about a mile of our house, turn left at the white gates, it ends at Lyme Regis.

Peter

[CitroJim]

The B3165 in your last picture goes within about a mile of our house, turn left at the white gates, it ends at Lyme Regis.

Now there's interesting Peter, never realised it went that far... Goes a fair distance in the opposite direction too... Most B roads are generally quite short...

Just like the A361... It's quite near here in Somerset and goes all the way up to be quite near me at home.. It starts in Barnstaple and ends in Northamptonshire, near Daventry... A very long A road...

I travel along a good part of it between here and home...

[Peter.N.]

The A38 is another one Jim, starts in Nottinghamshire and finishes the other side of Plymouth.

Peter

[CitroJim]

The A38 is another one Jim

I'll be travelling along a bit of that one in a bit when I go to visit dad in Burnham Hospital Peter....

It's a busy old stretch of road down this way