A telegraph pole farm in the Orkney Isles
A telegraph pole farm in the Orkney Isles

The Orkney Isles are the source of most of the UK’s telegraph poles. Telegraph Pole Farming is a mainstay of the economy in these harsh northern isles. The posts seen here are nearly ready for harvesting. Every autumn, migrant workers from Eastern Europe work night and day picking only the tallest, creosotey poles with the most succulent insulator fruit.