Let’s get Icknield Way on the National Trail Map

Britain’s oldest road should become its newest National Trail. That’s according to campaigners who took local MP Alex Mayer on a stroll along the Icknield Way.

The picturesque 110 mile Icknield Way stretches between Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire (including alongside All Saints, Chalgrave), Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk.

Tracing a natural chalk ridge, it dates back over 4,000 years and was a crucial ancient trade route. The Romans later upgraded it. In the 1130s it was granted special protection as one of the “Four Royal Highways" of England.

The first National Trail, the Pennine Way, opened in 1965. Since then only 17 routes have been designated across England and Wales. The most recent National Trail is the 2026 Charles III Coast to Coast path.  But this still leaves a “noticeable gap on the map” according to Alex Mayer MP who agrees the Icknield Way is “the best candidate in the country to become a National Trail”.

To be granted National Trail status, a route must be formally designated by the Secretary of State under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. This follows a recommendation from Natural England which assesses a route’s national significance, landscape and heritage value, local support, and whether it can be sustainably maintained.

Campaigners believe the Icknield Way meets those tests.

National Trail status could bring significant economic and health benefits to the region. Other National Trails have boosted tourism and research commissioned for Natural England found that by encouraging a healthy lifestyle National Trails save the NHS more than £46 million a year.

Doug Landman from the Icknield Way Association said: "The Icknield Way Association exists to preserve and maintain the long-distance route between Ivinghoe Beacon and Knettishall Heath. We are a voluntary body, supported by our membership, and one of our main aims is to secure National Trail status so that Government support is guaranteed for future generations to enjoy. We wholeheartedly welcome the support of Alex Mayer MP in actively seeking to gain such from the current Government."

Alex Mayer MP has called on the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to give the Icknield Way the serious consideration it deserves.

She said: “Long before there were roads, railways or motorways, ancient Britons travelled along the Icknield Way because the surrounding lowlands were covered in dense, impassable forests. Today it is a treasured asset for walking and horse riding. And it’s rather good for tasty blackberry picking I discovered.

“Britain’s oldest road deserves to become its newest National Trail. That would celebrate our history, boost tourism, support local businesses and encourage more people to enjoy the great outdoors.”