What is the triangular pole at Jct 21 M5 It is sometimes illuminated & displays different colours & patterns?
It’s a piece of public art called “Travelling Light” by a Cornish artist called Peter Freeman. It was put up in 2004 and stands alongside the M5, as a “gateway beacon sculpture” for Weston super Mare. It is a 13.5 metre high mirror stainless steel column which uses digital LED lights programmed to change colour for each day of the week, with special light shows for individual calendar dates – 14 February, the summer and winter solstices, Hallowe’en, Bonfire Night, Christmas and new year. I have to confess, although it looks OK at night, I think it looks horrible during the day as it sits on a mound surrounded by a steel fence next to some industrial units. The “Wicker Man” is actually called “The Willow Giant”. It dates from 2000 and is 40 foot high. Made by Serena de la Hey, a Somerset artist, using locally grown willow, it was burnt down by arsonists in March 2001 and has been rebuilt using willow woven together with more durable steel wire. The Camels and the Dinosaur, which all add
