The Roman Road in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, also known as Worsted Street Roman Road, is a linear biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

stretching from south-east of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

to north of Linton. It is also a

Scheduled Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

, and is maintained by

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council for non-metropolitan county of Cambridgeshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county, which additionally includes the City o ...

. This green lane has

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...

grassland, thick hedges and small copses, which provide a valuable habitat for invertebrates. There are grasses such as sheep’s-fescue and quaking-grass, while herbs include

wild carrot ''Daucus carota'', whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World ...

and purple milk-vetch. The date of the road is uncertain, but archaeological excavation has confirmed that it is Roman, and probably constructed later than the first century. It was a local road connecting Cambridge to the

Icknield Way The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. Background It is generally said to be, withi ...

. The road is a public footpath and part of the

E2 European long distance path The E2 European long distance path or E2 path is a 4850 km (3010-mile) series of long-distance footpaths that is intended to run from Galway in Ireland to France's Mediterranean coast and currently runs through Scotland, England, Belgium, L ...

References

{{SSSIs Cambridgeshire Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire Scheduled monuments in Cambridgeshire Roman roads in England Long-distance footpaths in England