Why does Sherlock (BBC) use miles?

The UK’s usage of the metric system is a mixed bag. Here’s a somewhat brief overview:

Viagem

• Large distances are measured in milhas, com Jardas para mais curto queridos
• Velocidade é miles per hourou mph
• Combustível is purchased in litros
• Fuel efficiency é medido em miles per gallon ⁽¹⁾ou mpg
• The space within a car will be given in litros

Around the home

• Clima is almost always discussed in Celsius
• The sizes of rooms will be given in both pé quadrado e square metres
• Computer and TV screens are given in diagonal polegadas
• Standard sizes of furniture (for example, unidades de cozinha) are measured in milímetros.
• Paper is A sizes (A4 being the most common), which are metric.
• Beds (well, colchões) are measured in feet and inches, and given names, including single (3’ x 6’3”), small double (4’ x6’3”) and Superking (6’ x 6’6”).
• People will mostly use pés e polegadas for their height. A few younger people may use centímetros.
• Depending on age people will use pedra e libras or kg for their weight

Alimentação

• When cooking people will use either gramas or onças, mostly depending on age
• All food legally has to be sold in gramas or millilitres. Contudo...
  • leite will be sold by the cerveja⁽²⁾ (1, 2, 4 and 6 pint bottles) - but be labelled with the respective amount in millilitres too.
  • Beer is purchased by the cerveja
  • Wine is purchased in 75cl (750ml) bottles
  • Some other miscellaneous products will be a weird number of gramas or millilitres - especially products in glass bottles, like vinagre.
  • Bife and burgers will be sold as a number of onças
• Not exactly non-metric, but ovos are still sold by the half dozen or dúzia.

Variado

• Terreno é medido em acres or hectares
• Horse races are measured in furlongs
• Horses themselves are measured in mãos
• Tools (Allen keys, drill bits) will often come in both metric and imperial sizes - very frustrating!
• Desk fans come in 6, 9, 12 and 16 polegada diameters normally.

• (1) - a gallon in the U.K. is 4.546 litres
• (2) - a pint in the U.K. is 20 fluid ounces, or 568ml.

It's a little-known fact that the U.K. is actually one of the few - if not the only - place(s) in Europe that still uses miles to measure distance! The U.K. does use some metric, but it's a bit of a mix, and distance is one of the areas where they're still on the imperial system.