Icknield Way Path
The Icknield Way Path is a 177 km route from Ivinghoe Beacon in the Chilterns to Knettishall Heath in Norfolk — following one of the oldest roads in Britain along the chalk escarpment and through the breckland of East Anglia.
This route has no official waymarking. Serious navigation experience is required — do not rely on GPS alone. Carry OS 1:25,000 maps and study the line before you go.
About Icknield Way Path
The Icknield Way is one of the great prehistoric tracks of Britain — running from the south-west to the north-east along the chalk uplands, used for thousands of years before the Romans built their road network. The modern path follows this route from the Chiltern Hills through Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire into the Breckland of Norfolk.
For trail runners it is a three to four day route on well-maintained paths through some of England's quietest countryside — the Suffolk and Norfolk chalk is flat and fast running, very different from the hill routes of the north and west.
The route
Ivinghoe Beacon to Baldock (~55 km): The Chilterns section — rolling chalk downland with excellent views.
Baldock to Royston to Newmarket (~60 km): Through the Hertfordshire chalk into Cambridgeshire. Racing country around Newmarket.
Newmarket to Knettishall Heath (~62 km): Through the Breckland — the sandy heath country of west Norfolk. Thetford Forest is the main landmark.
Getting there & logistics
Start: Ivinghoe Beacon. Bus from Tring (train from London Euston).
Finish: Knettishall Heath. Bus to Thetford; train to Norwich and Cambridge.
Best time: Year-round. The chalk drains well.
Safety
The Icknield Way Path is a low-hazard route — gentle terrain, never far from habitation. Good mobile signal throughout. In an emergency: call 999 or 112.
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