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Bizarre photos show pylons laid down across the UK as engineers bury electricity cables underground to improve the view
PYLONS have been spotted laid down across the countryside as engineers bury cables underground to improve the view.
The project will restore Dorset's Area of Natural Beauty with the removal of 22 metal pylons and their overhead cables.
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The 120ft structures, installed between 1965 and 1969, have been replaced by 60 miles of cabling buried 3ft underground, reports.
Now the high-voltage circuit has passed the latest testing rounds, the National Grid has knocked down the pylons.
There are plans for similar work in other treasured areas across the British countryside like the Peak District, North Wessex Downs and Snowdonia national parks.
A farmer who lives next to one of the felled pylons was a big supporter of the idea to remove the structures and is happy with the outcome.
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Robert Lasseter said: "The view that I have is much better now, it's a relief for the construction work to be over.
"I was very keen that they took these pylons down when the plans were first mentioned.
"It has definitely been a great improvement for the landscape."
Paul Hamnett, senior project manager for National Grid, said the work represents three years of complex engineering and construction efforts.
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He said: "Our goal has always been to enhance this beautiful landscape.
"Now we are seeing the fruits of our labours with the fields we used for civil engineering being reinstated and, ultimately, the successful removal of 8.8km of overhead cables and 22 pylons."
Tom Munro, the Dorset AONB partnership manager, said that seeing the pylons finally down marks the end to this "ground-breaking engineering project".
He said: ";The many archaeological discoveries arising from the project have confirmed and enriched our understanding of the South Dorset Ridgeway as an ancient ceremonial landscape of national significance.
"It has a huge number and variety of monuments from Neolithic stone circles to Bronze Age barrows and Iron Age hillforts.
"We're looking forward to seeing the landscape afresh, less cluttered by modern infrastructure."
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The work should come as a relief to TV crew wanting to take advantage of the idyllic locations but burdened with the task of having to remove the structures in post-production.
Work commenced in the autumn of 2019 with scans to ensure the land could be returned to its original state after the cables were buried.
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