This SUSTRANS network milestone marker is on the Spen Valley Greenway, part of national route 66. Route 66 links Manchester with Kingston-upon-Hull.
The Spen Valley Greenway uses a disused railway line running near the River Spen between the towns of Dewsbury and Oakenshaw. It is 7 miles long and has a tarmac surface along its whole length.
SUSTRANS is an organisation that promotes the use of cycles as a green form of transport. A national network of cycle routes is being developed in conjunction with local councils. Wherever possible the routes avoid roads, but in some places have to share the road network.
As part of the millennium celebrations 1000 mileposts have been installed at various positions throughout the whole SUSTRANS network.
The posts all bear embossed discs showing a "Time Trail" symbol. These form a nationwide puzzle that can be cracked by collecting the symbols.
There are 1,000 cast-iron Millennium Mileposts, donated by The Royal Bank of Scotland, along the UK's National Cycle Network, a Millennium Commission project supported by £43.5m of National Lottery Funds. Each milepost has a Time Trail disc bearing symbols and hieroglyphics bolted into it.
By taking rubbings of these discs it is possible to gain clues to help decipher the code.
There are several layers to uncover to reach the solution and a special Ultimate Prize for those who can work it out.
For many, especially children and families, the fun will be in just getting out on the Network to find the mileposts and discs.
This type 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 reason for the polka dots
At the time the mile posts were erected local communities were encouraged to paint the posts in any colour scheme they liked. However there is a different reason for this multi-coloured mile post.
On July 5th 2014 The Tour de France cycle race is starting from Leeds in Yorkshire (strange but true). There is a tradition of lining the route with yellow bikes, the colour of the jersey worn by the rider with the lowest aggregated time after each stage.
Volunteer
SUSTRANS Ranger Ben Manuja, came up with the idea of painting some of the SUSTRANS mileposts in Yorkshire yellow.
In this case they have painted the mile post in the polka dot
jersey
colours that denote the best climber, defined by the rider who accumulates the most points cresting hills and mountains at the front of the race.
Visit Instructions:To record a visit to a Millennium Waymark, please:
Take a photo of the item during your visit.
Describe your visit and what you thought about the item.
Please also mention what you personally did to mark the new Millennium. Was it a night to remember?