Winterbourne, Berkshire

No apologies for blogging about signs again. I'm rather attached to the old-fashioned village signs that tell you not only the name of the place you're about to enter but also the distances to nearby towns. The usual kind, now vanishing from our roads, is white and rectangular, with the distances top and bottom. I like knowing how far I am away from places, even if the signs that tell me are being removed, in many cases to make room for some injunction to 'Please drive carefully through our Village'.

Here's something rather different and older still, an early AA sign that adds the distance to London. This kind of thing makes one think of the old milestones, setting its location in both local and national context. While it's unlikely now that most travellers, passing slowly through a small settlement like Winterbourne, need to know how far it is to London, it's good to see this sign retained, its eggy AA yellow setting off the red bricks of the wall. Safety first – and enamel a close second...