The spark in little Lucy Hardman’s eyes as she stands beneath an electricity pylon says it all.
For the young live wire is utterly obsessed with the giant structures, which totally light up her life. The four-year-old gets such a buzz from looking at pylons that her most treasured game is to wrap up in a pylon-themed blanket.
She loves drawing pictures of the electricity towers and can’t fall asleep without first gazing at her favourite on YouTube. And when she got the chance to finally get up close to one after being invited by the National Grid, all her electric dreams came true.
Mum Sophie Powers says: “We thought it was crazy at first that we were having to watch pylons on TV, but we’ve got used to it now. Lucy is fascinated by things others might not be, but she’s cheeky and funny and great to be with. I feel happy seeing her get comfort from something like an electricity tower. I love the fact Lucy is so unique.”
The tot’s fascination began when she spied pylons by the side of the road on car journeys. Now she has a pylon sign on her bedroom door, pylon cutlery and, rather than teddies or a doll, cuddles up to a book of pylon pictures in bed.
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Lucy with her pylon-themed blanket (@theonlysophiepowers/ CATERS NEWS)
Lucy enjoying her time at the National Grid (@theonlysophiepowers/ CATERS NEWS)If she’s sad, her parents Sophie, 28, and Jamie Hardman, 31, put on a video of her favourite and she’s soon smiling again. And in the car, the whole family is on pylon watch, with little sister Lola, two, joining in, yelling: “Look Lucy, electric tower!”
Sophie, a stay-at-home mum, says: “She fell in love with them from seeing them on the motorway. She won’t eat, sleep, go to the toilet or go to bed without this one picture she found on YouTube paused on TV. Whenever she’s upset or dealing with change, she asks for that electric tower to be put on and it gives her such comfort. We ask why she’s so bonkers about them and she just says, ‘Because I like it!’”
In support of their daughter’s infatuation, Sophie and Jamie, a musician and team leader working with mental health, got matching pylon tattoos. And when they posted about Lucy’s love of electricity towers on TikTok, they were astonished by the response.
Lucy gets ready to check out the pylons at the National Grid (@theonlysophiepowers/ CATERS NEWS)
Lucy admires a picture of a pylon (@theonlysophiepowers/ CATERS NEWS)Sophie says: “People’s reactions to her online took me by surprise. The amount of love is insane. My inbox has been flooded with people asking me if they can make me things like personalised electric tower cups, keyrings and bookmarks.”
Lucy also caught the eye of officials at the National Grid, who invited her to visit Penwortham Substation near Preston as a guest of honour – where the little girl was thrilled to get to hug a pylon. Sophie, from Blackpool, Lancs, says: “Our trip to the National Grid was amazing. It was a dream come true for Lucy. Before anyone is alarmed, I do want them to know that it was totally safe for Lucy to cuddle the pylon.
“The National Grid’s site team were supervising very closely. They said the bottom part isn’t dangerous. Lucy knows which parts are dangerous and her obsession would never be unsafe, as she would always be supervised and she knows she can’t climb them.
“I feel very grateful to the National Grid for putting on this trip for us. The man who led it, Wayne, was amazing with Lucy, as she was overwhelmed by all the people at first, but she was comfortable with him. They gave us lots of freebies, which were so lovely. She takes the book of electric tower photos to bed with her. She loves them!”
Of course, there is a chance Lucy might go off her special interest as she gets older but, for now, the little girl’s passion for pylons remains electrifying. A National Grid spokesman said: “Safety is National Grid’s top priority. Lucy was very closely supervised by National Grid’s site team at all times during her visit, and under this careful supervision all activities Lucy took part in on the day were safe. The importance of staying safe around our infrastructure was explained to Lucy in detail during the learning session she had with the team.”
The spokesman added: “It’s always best to exercise caution around electricity infrastructure. We do not advise that members of the public seek to replicate any of Lucy’s activities, or to get too close to our infrastructure.”
Lucy is not the country’s first pylon enthusiast – The Pylon Appreciation Society accepts members for £15, while admirers can also enjoy the Pylon of the Month website. There are more than 90,000 pylons across the British landscape, capable of transmitting up to 400,000 volts of electricity.
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The UK’s first was built in July 1928, in Bonnyfield, Scotland. At the time, Egyptology was all the rage, following the discovery of pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb six years earlier. The doors to Egyptian temples were flanked by obelisk-shaped towers called pylons – and the term, which comes from the Greek word “pyle” meaning gateway, took off.
Britain’s tallest pylons, at 623ft, were constructed in 1965 on either side of the River Thames in Swanscombe, Kent, and West Thurrock, Essex. But they are dwarfed by the world’s tallest, in China, which reaches 1,246ft – four times the height of the Big Ben tower at the Houses of Parliament.
Birds are able to sit on pylons without being frazzled by the 400,000 volts as by having both feet on the wire they have an equal electrical potential, so the current will not move through their bodies.
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