Two milestones, thought to date from 1758, are being refurbished as part of improvement work on the A69.

The stones are situated on the roadside between Low Row and Temon in Cumbria on what was then the Newcastle to Carlisle military road.

They display the distance to either city on cast-iron plates and are being painted and cleaned during strengthening work on a two-mile stretch of the road.

The preservation work will include mild cleaning of the milestones in situ, painting with a mineral-based paint and detailing the raised metal plaque, and removing soil and vegetation and replacing it with gravel around the base of the milestones – all of which will help protect them and make them more visible.

This method of preservation has been decided upon following advice from The Milestone Society.

Highways Agency DBFO Project Sponsor Mandy Foster said: "We fully recognise the historical importance of these milestones, as a legacy of the evolution of England's roads, and as such we are pleased to support their preservation.

"The Highways Agency's network includes many similar items of interest and we are keen to ensure that they are maintained for future road users.

"One of the Highways Agency's aims is to provide helpful information to enable road users to make choices before and during their journeys – these milestones show that this has been essential for travellers for hundreds of years, so it's nice to think that we're continuing an historic tradition."

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