Too many road signs in pothole Somerset

We will always remember last week as the Seven Bed Holiday.
As Caroline has rashly accepted my marriage proposal it was only fair that she meet the rest of my large family.
Changing her mind after the social mingling at our wedding reception in July would be too late.
Unfortunately the nearest relative on the visiting list lives in Coventry with the other 15 randomly scattered in obscure northern counties, so I worked out a 1,000 mile route with us sleeping in a different place each night.
Saturday saw us savouring the Scottish border scenery as we drove along well maintained A and B roads.“Why are there so few potholes here?” I asked.
“In mild Somerset the ‘bad winter’ is blamed for the poor state of our lumpy roads but Northumberland and Scotland have harsher weather.
“I know as I used to live in the north before I saw the error of my ways”.
After a brief discussion we decided the answer was simple. Up there they spend the highway maintenance budget on maintaining the roads. Down here the money is invested in painting the roads and planting forests of distracting warning signs.
In the border country the number of road signs is kept to a minimum, which avoids confusing clutter and preserves the views. Presumably they wish to attract visitors.
Philip Welch