Stony faced

I've looked at this ex-milestone many times in passing but thought it was worth a photo.  Once upon a time it would have had a nice black-painted cast iron plate announcing in white letters, "TO EDIN.R 5 MILES" but the plate disappeared a long time ago.

The stone itself was actually relocated 20 or 30 metres closer to Edinburgh when the big Asda at Straiton was built in 2011.  Before then it had been almost lost to time, half-buried in the grass verge (hence the tide line on it to this day!) and overwhelmed by a huge hedge.  Curiously, when they moved it, instead of keeping the absent plate facing the carriageway they turned it round 90 degrees so that it now faces away from the weary traveller from Dumfries or Moffat (who in any case to read the plate would now be travelling away from Edinburgh, so even if they made a reproduction plate, it would be wrong too).

There are only a few others in this style remaining, here and there (and as future blipportunities!) but as far as I know, only one of them still has the plate.