Farewell to an ancient landmark

Hallam Moors, South Yorkshire The pole had gone. Its footing had been among a group of boulders at the top of the climb, but the hole was now empty, as though a tooth had been pulled

The rough track up from Redmires to Stanage Pole used to be dismal, so deeply rutted that even off-road vehicles were forced out onto the moor alongside. Now it is closed to motorised traffic and the surface repaired. Its folkloric status as Roman is debated, but this is undoubtedly an old road, used for centuries by travellers crossing the moors. It linked Sheffield to the villages of northern Derbyshire and beyond the western moors ringing the horizon to Manchester. There are still worn flags or "pitchings" in a few places, laid in the eighteenth century as horse-drawn carts were replacing pack animals. On the crest of the moor is a tall wooden pole to help the weary and confused navigate in driving rain or blowing snow.

Or at least, there used to be. As I toiled uphill, something was nagging at me, but only when the wide views of the Derbyshire moors opened out did I realise what it was. The pole had gone. Its footing had been among a group of boulders at the top of the climb, but the hole was now empty, as though a tooth had been pulled. Someone had laid a small posy of sunflowers on top of the rocks, which I took as an act of remembrance for a familiar landmark.