A project to restore historic milestones has been completed.
Work focused on a series of cast iron markers in Saddleworth and was led by councillor Sam Al-Hamdani with support from volunteers.
The cast iron milestones are set on stone bases and were used to show distance and direction to destinations along historic routes.
Half had previously been improved by Oldham Council, but the remainder were in poor condition.
Councillor Al-Hamdani said: "This all started for me when speaking to Paul Sykes, the former Mayor of Austerlands, who had worked with a couple of other volunteers to restore the milestone opposite the Three Crowns in Scouthead.
"He passed on the advice from the council’s highways team on the correct paints to use and how to carry out the restoration.
“My colleague Alicia Marland then got a list of all the milestones in the borough from the Council, although the descriptions of the locations wasn’t brilliant, and one of the milestones were missing off the list altogether.”
Councillor Al-Hamdani, with help from volunteers, took on the task of bringing them back to their original appearance.
He said: "Some of the milestones were already in good condition, even ones right up on top of the moors.
"But nearly half needed various degrees of work, from touching up the white paint and lettering to a much more comprehensive restoration."
He recently revisited the first two milestones to refresh their appearance.
He said: "I’ve just been back to touch up the white paint on the one that Paul restored in Scouthead, which was originally restored five years ago, and to repaint the first one I did, on Delph Road.
"I learned a lot, and improved my technique over the couple of years that I have been doing it, so the first one I did needed redoing.
"The ones I have done since should definitely last longer."
The milestones are marked with references to the historic Saddleworth meres, Lordsmere, Quickmere, Friarmere and Shawmere, and other locations such as Wakefield and Austerlands.
Of the original 24 listed, one has been lost in a car accident.
Councillor Al-Hamdani said: "There are two more, both in Slackcote – one on Oldham Road and one on Delph Road – where the bottom part of the milestone has been destroyed, leaving just the top semi-circle."
He identified another marker just above Delph, now set back in a field, and has asked the council’s environment team to explore relocating it to the roadside for restoration.
Councillor Al-Hamdani is hoping to expand the project by working with residents to create heritage walking routes that include the restored milestones.
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He said: "I can provide a list of all the locations, and if people are happy to come up with a route, I’d be happy to design a route map with some of the historical information about the area."
He can be contacted at sam@samalhamdani.org.uk.
A paper on the history of the milestones is available from the Saddleworth Historical Society.
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