The Icknield Way is unique among long-distance tracks because it can claim to be “the oldest road in Britain”. It is one of the links in a prehistoric route, often called the Greater Ridgeway, from The Wash to the South Devon coast. Dotted with archaeological remains, it survives as splendid tracks and green lanes along England’s chalk “spine”.

The Icknield Way Path runs from the end of the Ridgeway National Trail at Ivinghoe Beacon, near Tring, to the start of the Peddars Way National Trail at Knettishall Heath, near Thetford, for 112 miles (180 km). Using green lanes and farm and forestry tracks, it follows the group of prehistoric trackways that form the Icknield Way along the chalk spine from the Chilterns to Norfolk, passing many sights of archaeological interest through Dunstable, Baldock, Royston, Great Chesterford and Icklingham.

The Icknield Way Association’s walkers’ guide includes details of a link to Thetford from West Stow and an alternative route through Toddington, so walkers should also carry the relevant maps. The waymarked Icknield Way – Ridgeway Link (7.5 miles, coincident with the Icknield Way Path on OS mapping) runs from the Chilterns Gateway Centre on Dunstable Downs to the finish of the Ridgeway at Ivinghoe Beacon; it has been upgraded to be stile-free, with steps added on a steep section.