AA Sentry Box 723 Cappercleuch

We like to get ourselves to some remote places and in my Josmobile we're usually ok - big chunky tyres, four wheel drive, an emergency button to get through to the relevant people if anything goes wrong. But back in the 1930s, when you were taking a spin in your Ford Model A, what did you do if you were in a sticky situation with a shot chassis or found you had a clapped out carburettor?

This AA sentry box at Cappercleuch near St Mary's Loch in the Borders would have been a welcome sight to the weary traveller worrying about their warning lights.

What would you do if your tyre went flat, especially away from the big smoke of Selkirk? Luckily the Automobile Association, founded in 1905 were there to help. Drivers would join by writing a letter and requesting membership. In return, they'd be offered a range of services, which included maps, advice on reducing speed to avoid police fines, and roadside assistance in case of breakdown.

They'd get a yellow handbook and a key to give access to a sentry box. Patrol officers went out on cycles and communicated with members via hand signals and salutes. Members would be identifiable due to their shiny AA badge attached to the front grill of the car.

The AA sign is imbued in our minds as the saviour sight in a breakdown. We had an old Pajero that went bang in the Borders years ago, and when I rang the AA and the lady asked in a cockney accent “Where would you say you were” and I said “Ahhhh, in the middle of nowhere”...she replied rather shocked “In the middle of Norway???”

This little beauty of a box is set back on the road just down from St Mary's Loch, literally in the middle of nowhere, though it could be mistaken for Norway looking at the vista. We've passed it in all seasons.

It's in pretty good nick and looks well cared for, well painted in its customary black and gold livery. This is box number 723 and is one of only seven left in Scotland, six of which are listed.

These sentry boxes would originally have acted to house AA patrolmen from the elements. They would have had a chalkboard on the door so tense travellers could leave a message of their whereabouts for the return of the officer.

Boxes would have a sand box and a fire extinguisher.

This style box was designed in 1956 and was made by a firm in Hampshire that employed disabled ex-servicemen. They're neat and tidy and functional. Inside this one is a timber cupboard, a lino floor and a six digit telephone which was disconnected in 2002. The white panels displaying the name of the sentry box, Cappercleuch Box, would have been backlit.

It's always nice to see this box still standing, in all its solitude and gloss paint glory. I wonder where the other six Scottish boxes are? I might need to take a road trip!