As you scoot along the roads of Dorset luxuriating in the cosseted comfort of an automobile, you may sometimes be aware of regular flashes of white at the periphery of your vision. The humble milestone begs your attention.
Milestones still line Dorset roads at regular intervals, redundant witnesses to a slower, bygone age.
They were first used in Britain by the Romans, though it wasn't until the 1767 they became mandatory. Before this time even the length of a mile varied...hence the saying 'give him an inch and he'll take 1759 yards'... but with the advent of the mail coach strict standardisation became necessary.
The milestone's relevance gradually disminished with the arrival of the railway and the increasing speed traffic at the end of the 19C.
Nowadays they occupy some enviable pieces of real estate. Those along the A35 have stunning views, though actually reaching them means taking your life in your hands as the photographer (me) found.
Of course Britain being Britain there are milestone enthusiasts and a society, the Milestone Society (see here), though whether they actually uproot them and paste them in albums...
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