Optical fibre sensors based on stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fibers have now clearly demonstrated their excellent capability for long-range distributed strain and temperature measurements. The fibre is used as sensing element and a value for temperature and/or strain can be obtained from any point along the fibre. While the spatial resolution of classical configurations is practically limited to 1 meter by the phonon lifetime, novel approaches have been demonstrated these past years that can overcome this limit. In this paper, this could be achieved by two physical processes: prior activation of a steady acoustic wave through the classical Brillouin interaction between two Brillouin pumps, and interrogation by Bragg reflection on the acoustic wave using a distinct ultra-short pulse in a highly birefringent fiber.We could achieve a spatial resolution below one centimetre, while preserving the full accuracy on the determination of temperature and strain.