Icknield Way Path

Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Suffolk

One of the links in a prehistoric route, often called the Greater Ridgeway, from The Wash to the South Devon Coast.

From the Ridgeway at Ivinghoe Beacon and using green lanes, farm and forestry tracks the route follows the group of prehistoric trackways which form the Icknield Way along the chalk spine from the Chilterns to Norfolk. Many sights of archaeological interest are passed on the route through Dunstable, Baldock, Royston, Great Chesterford and Icklingham meeting the Peddars Way at Knettishall Heath. The Icknield Way Association Walkers Guide includes details of a link to Thetford from West Stow and an alternative route through Toddington. Walkers using this route should also carry the relevant maps.

The waymarked Icknield Way - Ridgeway Link (7.5 miles and coincident with the Icknield Way Path on OS mapping) is a linking route from the Chilterns Gateway Centre on Dunstable Downs to the finish of The Ridgeway National Trail at Ivinghoe Beacon where there are no visitor facilities. The Link uses the route of the existing Icknield Way Path that has been upgraded to make it is stile-free and steps have been added on a steep section.

See also E-Routes (E2).

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Details:

Path Type:	Paths Marked on OS mapping
Waymark:	Named disc with neolithic flint axe emblem
Attributes:	Easy Downland/Wolds Forest/Woodland Heritage
Start:	SP959168 - Ivinghoe Beacon, Buckinghamshire
Finish:	TL943807 - Knettishall Heath, Suffolk
User Group:	Icknield Way Association Icknield Way Association
Web Sites:	Icknield Way Path Griffmonster - Icknield Way posts [blog] Annierak - Icknield Way [blog] Icknield Way Path [YouTube video]

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Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Guidebook	Icknield Way path : a walker's guide : 110 miles along the 'oldest road in Britain' linking the Ridgeway Path to the Peddars Way following footpaths close to the ancient route - including a link to Thetford  (Icknield Way Association  - 2012 )
Guidebook	Icknield Way path : a guide for horseriders, cyclists and others  (Wimpole Books  - 1993 )
General Interest Book	Green road into the trees : an exploration of England  (Penguin Books Ltd  - 2013 )

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