Scattered across the British countryside, as there are in many countries are hundreds of concrete triangulation pillars. Redundant skeletons of the original surveying methods of the last century.
On their tops is a brass fixing allowing a theodolite to be mounted. The trig's as they are also known are positioned in specific locations so that in clear weather, at least two other trig points are visible, allowing the surveyor to construct angular measurements with neighbouring pillars. Although some trig points are close to sea level, most of them are positioned on vantage points and hill tops.
Aerial photography, lasers, satellites and digital mapping have all but rendered the trig's useless. They remain on the landscape as a guide for hikers who use them as landmarks on featureless terrain. Many of them beaten severely by the elements and left to decay.
But not the one on my local hill! A bunch of creative people from a local wildlife team have whitewashed it and using what looks like permanent marker, decorated all four sides with illustrations of the typical wildlife that can be found in the area.
I think it looks great. They have kept it minimal by using only black and white and they haven't spoiled the beauty of the area. It looks better than the battleship grey concrete in my opinion and I can expect to see a few more of these popping up in the near future.
Long live the Sharpie!
Thanks for stopping by.
