Utility poles in United Kingdom
Thin wooden poles, wires to every house
A plain wooden telephone pole with thin wires fanning out to each house is very British.
- Plain, slim wooden telephone poles.
- Thin wires fanning out from the top to each house.
- In the country, transformers sit on two-pole H frames. Ireland looks similar.
17 photos, grouped by the clue they show.
Key clue Wires fan out to houses 11
Key clue Slim wooden pole 5
Key clue H-frame transformer 1
United Kingdom: what its poles look like
In the United Kingdom the most common pole in town is a plain, slim wooden telephone pole. From its top, thin wires fan out to each house, so a single pole can look like the centre of a spider web above a row of terraced houses.
In the countryside, wooden poles also carry low-voltage power lines, and transformers often sit on a frame between two poles, called an H-pole.
In cities most power lines are underground, so the poles you see there are usually for phone and broadband. Rural lanes have more overhead power lines on wooden poles running along hedges and fields.
Look-alikes: how to tell them apart
United Kingdom vs 
Ireland
Ireland looks very similar. Look for Irish clues: bilingual signs in Irish and English, yellow ESB Networks warning signs on poles and yellow lines along road edges. Both drive on the left.
Questions about poles in United Kingdom
Why do British telephone poles have so many wires?
Each thin wire runs from the pole to one house, carrying its phone and broadband line. That is why a pole in a street of terraced houses looks like a fan of wires.
Are power lines underground in the UK?
In most towns and cities, yes. Overhead power lines on wooden poles are mainly found in the countryside.