This beacon, by the Mermaid Inn, near the Roaches ridge of hills in the Staffordshire Moorlands, was used to celebrate the Millennium, I believe. It gets fired up on similar occasions now.
It's a lonely spot, so it carries quite an impact when it's lit.
The badge attached to it carries the symbols of the Stafford Knot, the logo of the county, and a depiction of curlew (see comments, below).
I had thought it was a lapwing, which is a bird which swoops and darts over the moors in Spring. But, erm, no.
Hi Mark. The bird depicted is a Curlew. The shield is the badge of Staffordshire Moorlands District. (Stafford knot above a curlew standing on moorland) You probably know that the Mermaid is, sadly, no longer an inn. It has been converted to self-catering accommodation.
ReplyDeleteOh blimey, yes... a curlew! How embarassing. I'm mixed up because the lapwing is the emblem used on many footpath markers in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Oh well.
DeleteThanks for the correction.
As for the Mermaid, yes, it is now self-catering only - but still calls itself, confusingly, the 'Mermaid Inn'. I suppose this is just for historical reasons...(?)