Millennium Mileposts

Along the C2C and other National Cycle Network routes you will find strange looking cast iron mileposts in a variety of designs and markings. These mileposts make up what Sustrans call the 'Time Trail' and are often used to mark the opening of each new section of the Network. As of Spring 2001 there are nearly 1000 of them in place and are designed to mark the way rather like mediaeval stone crosses.

There are four different designs of Mileposts, each depicting a different theme .......

The first was designed by John Mills and is called 'The Fossil Tree', this post takes the form of an abstract tree with relief imagery of fossils depicting the passage of time from early primitive creatures to the ultimate demise of fossil fuel driven technology.

The Scottish sculpture Iain McColl designed the second post entitled The Cockerill. Influenced by Miro's 'The Fork' and Branusci's 'The Cock'.

The third post, by Welsh artist Andrew Rowe, is based upon the nautical and industrial heritage of his native Swansea and has up to four directional flanges.

The final post is titled 'Tracks' and is by Belfast artist David Dudgeon. The main design shows the tracks left in the landscape by cyclists and is complemented by a piece of text exploring sensations and observations felt whilst travelling through various environments.

Although each post has been designed by an artist from each of the four countries, the posts are spread throughout the United Kingdom.

On each of the posts are engraved metal discs with pictures and letters; these relate to the ubiquitous theme of Time and make up a kind of treasure hunt on bikes. For the truly dedicated puzzle addicts amongst you this will pose a considerable challenge to solve. If you don't really want to go such extremes you can, by taking rubbings (place a sheet of paper over them and rub all over with a wax crayon or pencil) of the discs, keep a record of your journey and apply to Sustrans for special souvenirs called Time Treasures.

You won't have to travel all over the country to collect the engravings however as Sustrans have divided the country up into 9 regions and placed at least 2 copies of each Time Trail symbol in every region. Mileposts will be arranged so that the first two sets can often be collected during a single ride near a large town.