Pylon of the Month

All about electricity pylons and transmission networks

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  • Pylon of the Month – May 2010

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    This month's pylon was yet again submitted by a fan of the website.  A waiting list is now developing and so if you have sent a picture then please be patient.  This picture was taken on the English side of the Old Severn Bridge.  Those keen to avoid mixing up their Severn crossings should go look here to avoid confusion.  The 'hammerhead shark' look of the pylon is quite interesting and unusual and any information on why it is designed like this would be very welcome.  With summer looming, I thought that it would be nice to have a seasonal element to the picture and it was the beautiful blue sky that made this one stand out from the crowd.

    I also thought that I would also share another meaning of the word pylon with readers this month.  Apparently, it is "…..a new typographic term introduced to define the missing areas of a stencil typeface".  I'm pretty certain that this is a joke.  Look for yourself and decide http://thisisapylon.com/

  • Pylon of the Month – April 2010

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    Where did March go?  I was so busy that I forgot to post a pylon and so decided to skip straight to April.  Yet again, this month's pylon was supplied by a fan of the blog and yet again it comes from an exotic location.  The Masai Plain in Tanzania no less. which seems to be part of the famous Serengeti National Park.  The supply of electricity in Tanzania seems to be quite an issue at the moment as it seeks to industrialize.  Hydroelectricity contributes 71% of the country's electricity according to this source, with dams on the Great Ruaha River being the most important source.  For any pylon fans thinking of visiting Tanzania, electricity is supplied at 230V/50Hz and an Indian or UK plug should work.

  • Pylon of the Month – February 2010

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    This month's pylon is shown off to great effect by what is without doubt the best photograph up to now to appear on Pylon of the Month.  A professional photographer, David Hatfield, submitted this month's photograph of a pylon which is near Sheffield in South Yorkshire (close to junction 1 of the M18). As a result, I have made the photograph larger than normal so that it stands out from the usual snaps taken out of car windows and it sets a standard that will be hard to match in future months.  But the excitement this month is not over yet.  I have been waiting for a Yorkshire pylon so that I can mention the rather marvelous film, Among Giants, which is about a group of Yorkshiremen who paint pylons for a living.  The screenplay for the film was by Simon Beaufoy and it was the follow up film to 'The Full Monty'.  More recently, he wrote the screenplay for  'Slumdog Millionaire' and so has a serious pedigree.  As this article from the independent had it 'Full Monty Man follows up with Monty Pylon'.  The film appears not to have been a great success, although as this review from Amazon points out 'The mouth watering footage of electricity pylons in this film makes it worth the money on its own'.  It really should be compulsory viewing for pylon fans everywhere.

  • Pylon of the Month – January 2010

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    Welcome to the first pylon of 2010.  Regular visitors to the website will have noticed that there was no pylon for December 2009.  I never quite got around to posting one in the early part of the month and then it seemed to me that there was already enough excitement in the lead up to Christmas without Pylon of the Month adding to it.  This month's pylon is from yet another anonymous fan of the website.   It is located in Tibbermore just outside Perth in Scotland and so is the first pylon from North of the border to feature on the website.  You may well be aware that pylons are quite a contentious isssue in Scotland at the moment. Permission has just been granted for a line of 600 pylons to carry electricity generated in the North of Scotland from renewable resources.  It is an issue that has split the green lobby with Friends of the Earth welcoming it, whilst other environmental groups pushed for the cables to be buried underground or taken under the sea.  The extra cost that this would entail was considered uneconomic by the public enquiry that considered the matter.

  • Pylons and The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

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    As December looms, I thought I would mention a book that pylon fans could add to their Christmas list.  The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain De Botton has a whole chapter (called Transmission Engineering) dedicated to pylons.  The author and a member of the Pylon Appreciation Society follow a pylon line from the nuclear power plant in Dungeness all the way to Canning Town whilst musing on life, work and other subjects.  It is really is an excellent book.  One section particularly caught my eye.  It refers to a book (originally published in Dutch although I can find no reference to it) called The Beauty of Electricity Pylons in the Dutch Landscape by Anne Mieke Backer and Arij de Boode.  They make the case for appreciating the beauty of pylons and apparently note that windmills were as unpopular once as pylons are now.  They were occasionally burnt to the ground and denounced from pulpits before the painters of the Dutch Golden Age started including them in their landscapes thereby contributing to their acceptance.  Perhaps the same will be true for pylons in the future.

     

  • Pylon of the Month – November 2009

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    This month's pylon comes from yet another fan of the website.  It was taken from a car travelling south on the M40, but sadly there are no more details available on the exact location.  The dark clouds in the background give the picture a sense of drama and make what could have just another boring picture of a pylon taken from a moving vehicle something a bit special instead.

  • Pylon of the Month – October 2009

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    October's pylon comes, yet again, from a fan who sent me this picture taken in Kenya.  The exact location is unknown but as it is from a serving member of the Army it is probably somewhere near the training area in Kenya used by British Forces.  Around 60% of the electricity generated in Kenya is from hydroelectric sources according to this website ,which rather surprised me.  You learn something new every month with Pylon of the Month.

  • Pylon of the Month – September 2009

    This month's pylon comes complete with a warning about the dangers of procrastination.  Regular readers who just want to look at pylons without any improving message or moral baggage need not worry.  I promise that it will not become a regular occurrence.  I was on holiday with my family in Northern Ireland, staying near Rasharkin in a lovely and newly renovated Beech-Hill House, and had a wonderful time.  If you get to Northern Ireland, then Portstewart Strand is an amazing beach,but the whole North Antrim coast is magnificent. However, despite having numerous opportunities to take a picture for this month, I procrastinated.  As a result, I was forced to take a hurried photo of a pylon in West Belfast from the Westway  as we drove through Belfast on the way to Dublin to catch the ferry back to Holyhead.  Note the pylon reflected in the wing mirror which was completely unintentional but adds some interest to an otherwise rather blurred photo.

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  • Pylon of the Month – August 2009

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    August's Pylon of the Month comes all the way from Turkey.  If you happen to be in the area of Selcuk on (or at least very near) the Aegean coast then take the main road out towards Aydin and this pylon is on the left after about 3 miles.  Whilst you are in Selcuk you might as well also take a look at the fabulous ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus and the remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis. If you are looking for accommodation then the Kiwi Pension gets great reviews and I can personally vouch for the friendliness of Alison who runs it.  Having just been to Selcuk, I was also very excited to hear on the Archers recently that Pat and Tony Archer are also going there on their holidays.  Perhaps they might look out this pylon during their stay in the area.

  • Pylon of the Month – July 2009

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    As the summer holiday season is starting, July's Pylon of the Month has been specially chosen to maximise your chance of getting to see it as you travel up and down the country.  It is located just after Spaghetti Junction on the M6 (East), just after the Holiday Inn, just before junction 4a on the left hand side.  This opportunity photo, submitted by a fan of the website, was obviously taken on the move and the drops of rain and the specks of dirt on the car window lend it a gritty realism that contrasts nicely with the rather staged nature of previous pictures.