The Fleam DykeAA

Fulbourn Nature Reserve

A large area of flower-rich meadows, marsh and

woodland, belonging to Fulbourn Manor. The

entrance is at the end of Stonebridge Lane.

These beautiful meadows are managed for

the Townley family by the Wildlife

Trust.

AA

BBScrub areasLarge sections of the

Fleam Dyke had become

covered with hawthorn,

blackthorn, buckthorn and

some spindle (a chalk-loving,

hardwood species used to

make spinning wheels for the

spinning of wool). Recent

clearance has greatly

benefited flowers,

especially the

clustered

bellflower.

BB

CC

Disused railwayIn 1848 the Newmarket and Chesterford line

opened as the first part of a rail link from London

to Norwich. However, after only three years the

line closed due to financial difficulties. Eastern

Counties Railway took over and drove an alter-

native route from Cambridge to Newmarket via

Six Mile Bottom. Walkers now cross the cutting

on an embankment which was constructed in the

late 1930s in order to provide shooting butts for

rifle practice in preparation for the coming war.

CC

DD

Chalk grasslandChalk grassland is particularly rich

with colourful flowers of chalk

downland: in early spring, violets

and cowslips, then in May, rock-

rose, horseshoe vetch and

milkwort followed by wild thyme,

squinancywort, lady’s bedstraw,

dropwort, small scabious, field

scabious, common knapweed and

greater knapweed. Between

Fulbourn and the disused railway

the path is now bordered by

harebell, clustered bellflower

and greater knapweed. Rockrose

and lady’s bedstraw are also

spreading along the path. Autumn

brings red hawthorn berries,

purple sloes and the black berries

of privet, purging buckthorn and

the trailing, feathery white gar-

lands of ‘old man’s beard’, or

wild clematis.

EE

EE

EE

FF

The IcknieldWayThe Fleam Dyke ends at the

high ground (90m) known as

The Ambush, which would have

been thickly wooded in early

Saxon times. A footpath leads to

the Icknield Way, which has

been used since Neolithic times.

It linked the Norfolk coast to

Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire.

Look for the waymark of a

Neolithic axe. The Harcamlow

Way is a modern long-distance

walk linking Harlow and

Cambridge.

HH

JunipersThe nine junipers on the Fleam

Dyke are the only examples of the

native juniper which remain in

East Anglia. Scrub clearance may

have helped them to set seed, and

there are now four small seedlings

in protective guards. Near the A11entrance there are two plantations

of juniper bushes, grown

from cuttings.

FF

GG

HH

Beech and silverbirch woodlandBeyond the Bedford Gap which,

legend says, was cut for the Duke

of Bedford’s race horses, the

slopes of the Dyke are covered

with a mix of native and non-

native trees, such as holm oak.

Listen for the long-tailed tits,

wrens and other small birds.

GG

common lizard

juniper

clusteredbellflower

spindle

wren

common knapweed

lady’s bedstraw

female

male

Mutlow HillThe Fleam Dyke probably follows a

Neolithic boundary path to Mutlow Hill

ancient vantage point and meeting place.

The earth mound (or barrow) at its centre

was built 4000 years ago (Bronze Age) for

the burial of cremated remains. The stones

of a small Roman temple, and rare third-

century BC coins have been found nearby,

but everything else was looted long ago.

DD

redwing

fieldfare

skylark

green hairstreakon hawthorn

chalkhill blue ongreater knapweed

hoary plantaincowslip

violet

Essexskipper

field scabious

smalltortoiseshell

commonbroomrape

greaterknapweed

red-tailedbumblebee

ladybird

rock-rose

small scabious

meadowbrown

common blue

bird’s foot trefoil withred and white clover

agrimony

MAP: © crown copyright all rights reserved. Licence

No: 00324100, 6 November 2008. Company: CCS Ltd.

red admiral

Arch

aeolo

gy

Th

e massive earth

wo

rk

kno

wn

as Fleam

Dyke

con

sists of a 7

m to

8m

(25

feet) hig

h b

ank an

d d

itch

barrier, w

hich

run

s for 5

km

(3 m

iles) from

Balsh

am to

Fu

lbo

urn

. It is the th

ird o

f a

series of b

arriers bu

ilt in th

e

5th

and 6

th cen

turies b

y

An

glo

-Saxo

n im

mig

rants in

ord

er to d

efend th

eir core

settlemen

ts again

st

Ro

man

o-B

ritish attacks

from

the so

uth

west.

Th

e wid

enin

g o

f

the A11

(in l9

91)

was an

oppo

rt-

un

ity to excavate

usin

g m

odern

meth

od

s to h

elp

with

analysis. T

he

results sh

ow

that

the F

leam D

yke

was b

uilt in

three d

istinct p

hases, fro

m th

e early 5th

to th

e

early 7th

centu

ries. Th

e remain

s of sn

ail shells an

d a

Ro

man

coin

fou

nd b

eneath

the b

ank sh

ow

that th

e Dyke is

po

st-Ro

man

.

Histo

rically, the F

leam D

yke marks an

cient settlem

ent

bo

un

daries, an

d is still a p

arish b

ou

ndary. T

he h

igh

est po

int

at Mu

tlow

Hill is cro

wn

ed b

y a Bro

nze A

ge b

arrow

, lon

g

since lo

oted

, wh

ich w

as used

for m

eetings (m

oo

ts) from

Neo

lithic tim

es on

ward

s.

Natu

ral histo

ry

Th

e flora an

d fau

na o

f chalk g

rassland h

ave develo

ped

over

several tho

usan

d years, sin

ce early man

cleared th

e trees

and b

egan

to g

raze sheep

. Wh

en sh

eep farm

ing d

eclined

du

ring th

e 19th

and early 2

0th

centu

ries, the sp

read o

f

scrub w

as limited

by g

razing rab

bits. H

ow

ever, myxo

ma-

tosis killed

mo

st of th

e rabbit p

opu

lation

in th

e l950s,

wh

ich allo

wed

seedlin

gs o

f man

y shru

bs to

gro

w. L

arge

areas of sh

ort tu

rf, on

ce rich in

flow

ers and

bu

tterflies, becam

e covered

in scru

b.

Bu

tterflies and o

ther in

sects

Ch

alk grasslan

d sp

ecies, such

as

the g

rizzled

skip

per, g

raylin

gan

d

chalk

hill b

lue, d

isappeared

as the

dyke b

ecame co

vered w

ith scru

b.

Scru

b-clearan

ce has led

to an

in-

crease in th

e gro

wth

of h

orsesh

oe vetch

and th

e return

of ch

alk

hill b

lues.

Moth

s, bu

mble b

ees, solita

ry bees

and w

asp

s, and m

any o

ther w

inged

insects th

rive on

the ab

un

dan

ce of

flow

ers. In M

ay, the o

ccasion

al green

hairstrea

kcan

be seen

alon

g th

e ban

k

from

Mu

tlow

Hill

to F

ulb

ou

rn.T

wen

ty-

fou

r species o

f bu

tterfly are regu

larly

seen o

n th

e Fleam

Dyke, o

ften in

go

od

nu

mbers. N

um

erou

s an

thills

are eviden

ce

of larg

e nu

mbers o

f mea

dow

an

ts(fo

un

d

on

ly in areas o

f old

and u

ndistu

rbed

grasslan

d).

Crick

etsan

d g

rassh

oppers

can b

e heard

and seen

in th

e

grass o

n su

nn

y days.

Rabbits

are

com

mo

n an

d

hares

can b

e

seen in

the

surro

un

din

g

fields. M

un

tjac,

foxes an

d

badgers

live

on

or n

ear the

dyk

e. Sto

ats

and w

easels

can b

e seen cro

ssing th

e path

and, if yo

u m

ove q

uietly, yo

u m

ay see a com

mon

lizard

baskin

g o

n b

are soil o

r on

the cro

ss-bar o

f a fence. T

here

are harm

less gra

ss snakes

near th

e Pu

mpin

g S

tation

.

Man

y bird

s can b

e seen o

r heard

: skyla

rk, yello

w h

am

mer,

bla

ckbird

, robin

and w

ren. F

ieldfa

resan

d tits

forag

e

thro

ugh

the h

edges in

win

ter, and su

mm

er visitors su

ch as

wh

itethro

at

and b

lack

cap

sing in

the h

edges. Yo

u m

ay see

a sparro

w h

aw

k“zo

om

ing” o

r a kestrel

ho

vering alo

ng

the d

yke. Bu

zzard

sh

ave return

ed to

the area an

d can

be

seen circlin

g o

ver Mu

tlow

Hill, u

ttering th

eir eerie cries.

Com

e and see th

e

flow

ers!

Vio

letsare th

e first flow

ers on

the F

leam D

yke in A

pril.

Cow

slips

have m

ultip

lied

since th

e overg

row

n b

anks

near F

ulb

ou

rn w

ere cleared.

Fro

m M

ay on

ward

s there is a su

ccession

of th

e beau

tiful lo

w-g

row

ing p

lants

typical o

f chalk g

rassland. T

he area

near M

utlo

w H

ill beco

mes g

old

en w

ith

horsesh

oe vetch

and ro

ck-ro

ses, and

here, an

d east o

f the A11

, wild

thym

e

con

trasts with

large p

atches o

f wh

ite

squ

inan

cywort. L

oo

k ou

t for th

e starry wh

ite

flow

ers of d

ropw

ort, an

d th

e small w

hite

um

bels o

f bu

rnet sa

xifra

ge. M

ilkw

ort

has a

lon

g flo

werin

g seaso

n an

d co

mes in

a cho

ice

of co

lou

rs: pin

k, wh

ite and b

lue! A

s the

sum

mer p

rogresses, la

dy’s b

edstra

wfo

rms a

backg

rou

nd to

the m

auve, p

urp

le and b

lue o

f

com

mon

kn

apw

eed, sm

all sca

bio

us,

clustered

bellflo

wer

and h

areb

ells. Near

Mu

tlow

Hill th

e wh

ite flow

ers and d

ark

bro

nze leaves o

f eyebrig

ht

mark th

e path

in A

ugu

st, and if yo

u

loo

k carefully yo

u m

ay

see autu

mn

gen

tian

s.

Con

serv

atio

n

Th

e fl

ow

ers

of

chal

k gra

ssla

nd a

re m

ain

tain

ed e

ith

er b

y

gra

zin

g o

r by

cutt

ing a

nd r

akin

g o

ff.

So

me

area

s ar

e le

ft

un

cut

each

yea

r in

ord

er t

o p

rovi

de

a go

od h

abit

at f

or

inve

rteb

rate

s su

ch a

s bu

tter

flie

s. S

ince

1990 t

her

e h

as b

een

syst

emat

ic c

lear

ance

of

inva

sive

scr

ub a

nd t

hes

e ar

eas

are

no

w f

ull o

f fl

ow

ers

fro

m M

ay u

nti

l S

epte

mber

. B

um

ble

bee

s, h

ove

rfli

es,

soli

tary

wasp

san

d o

ther

win

ged

in

sect

s

are

abu

ndan

t, a

nd b

utt

erfl

y n

um

ber

s h

ave

incr

ease

d

stea

dily

alo

ng t

he

Dyk

e. O

ther

, le

ss e

asily

visi

ble

in

sect

s

such

as

spid

ers,

wee

vils

and b

eetl

es,

ben

efit

fro

m t

he

wid

e

vari

ety

of

pla

nt

spec

ies.

All t

hes

e pro

vide

foo

d f

or

smal

l

mam

mal

s an

d b

irds.

Gen

eral

wo

rk h

as b

een

do

ne

by

•th

e M

id-W

eek

Co

nse

rvat

ion

Vo

lun

teer

s ru

n b

y T

he

Wildlife

Tru

st

•w

ork

par

ties

ru

n b

y th

e F

rien

ds

of

the

Ro

man

Ro

ad a

nd

Fle

am D

yke

•co

ntr

acto

rs,

pai

d f

or

by

a L

ott

ery

gra

nt

Mo

re e

xten

sive

wo

rk h

as b

een

pai

d f

or

by

Nat

ura

l E

ngla

nd

(En

glish

Nat

ure

), a

nd b

y th

e C

ambri

dges

hir

e C

ou

nty

Co

un

cil

Arc

hae

olo

gy

Dep

artm

ent.

How

to g

et t

her

e

By R

oad

:

•T

he

Fle

am D

yke

can

be

reac

hed

fro

m t

he

villag

e o

f

Fu

lbo

urn

. G

o p

ast

the

chu

rch

an

d F

ulb

ou

rn M

ano

r, t

urn

left

do

wn

Sto

neb

ridge

Lan

e. L

imit

ed p

arki

ng s

pac

e at

TL

526557.

•F

rom

th

e en

d o

f Fox

Ro

ad,

Bal

sham

, T

L580514.

Fo

llo

w

the

Ickn

ield

Way

sym

bo

l, t

urn

ing l

eft

at H

arca

mlo

w W

ay.

Lim

ited

par

kin

g s

pac

e.

•T

he

A11

cuts

th

rou

gh

th

e F

leam

Dyk

e at

TL

550542.

Th

ere

is a

lay

-by

on

th

e so

uth

bo

un

d s

ide.

By B

us:

•T

her

e is

a r

egu

lar

bu

s se

rvic

e o

n w

eek

day

s fr

om

Cam

bri

dge

Dru

mm

er S

tree

t S

tati

on

to

Fu

lbo

urn

: bu

ses

16,

17 a

nd C

iti

1.

•B

us

16a

go

es t

o H

aver

hill

via

Bal

sham

.

•Fo

r det

ails

ph

on

e 0871 2

00 2

233 o

r co

nsu

lt

ww

w.s

tagec

oac

hbu

s.co

m/c

ambri

dge

and

ww

w.c

ambri

dge.

go

v.u

k

Ple

ase

note

:

•N

o c

yclin

g.

Th

e w

eigh

t o

f cy

cle

and c

yclist

dam

ages

th

e

surf

ace.

•D

og o

wn

ers.

Kin

dly

cle

an u

p a

fter

yo

ur

do

g.

Wh

o l

ooks

afte

r th

e F

leam

Dyk

e?

•To

rep

ort

pro

ble

ms,

cal

l th

e C

ambri

dges

hir

e C

ou

nty

Co

un

cil

Co

un

trys

ide

Ser

vice

s Tea

m o

n 0

1223 7

15558.

•T

he

Fri

ends

of

the

Ro

man

Ro

ad a

nd F

leam

Dyk

eh

elp b

y

fun

d-r

aisi

ng,

run

nin

g w

ork

par

ties

an

d a

lso

mo

nit

ori

ng

flo

ra a

nd f

aun

a. W

e h

ave

also

pro

du

ced a

lea

flet

abo

ut

the

Ro

man

Ro

ad (

avai

lable

fro

m t

he

To

uri

st O

ffic

e,

Cam

bri

dge)

. W

e h

ave

inst

alle

d

info

rmat

ion

bo

ards

and

do

g b

ins

on

th

e R

om

an R

oad

. To

jo

in u

s, a

nd t

o r

ecei

ve

ou

r n

ewsl

ette

r, p

leas

e co

nta

ct t

he

Wildlife

Tru

st

(su

bsc

ripti

on

£5–£10).

•T

he

Wildlife

Tru

st r

un

s re

gu

lar

mid

-wee

k w

ork

par

ties

on

th

e F

leam

Dyk

e. F

or

mo

re i

nfo

rmat

ion

, ple

ase

con

tact

: T

he

Wildlife

Tru

st,

Th

e M

ano

r H

ou

se,

Gre

at

Cam

bo

urn

e, C

ambri

dge

CB

23 6

DH

. Tel

: 01954 7

13530

gre

enbel

t@w

ildlife

bcn

p.o

rg •

ww

w.w

ildlife

bcn

p.o

rg

•T

he

Fri

ends

wis

h t

o t

han

k

Sou

th C

ambri

dges

hir

e D

istr

ict

Cou

nci

l fo

r fu

ndin

g t

his

lea

flet

.

Illu

stra

tion

s

Ric

hard

Lew

ingto

n:

Gre

en h

airs

trea

k an

d c

hal

khill

blu

e.

Gra

ham

Easy

:C

lust

ered

bel

lflo

wer

, ju

nip

er,

bu

zzar

d.

Tin

a B

on

e:R

ed a

dm

iral

s, w

ren

, vi

ole

ts,

tort

ois

esh

ell,

spin

dle

, h

awth

orn

(an

d l

eafl

et d

esig

n &

typ

eset

tin

g).

Sh

elle

y S

ign

s: o

ther

flo

wer

s an

d b

irds.

Com

mon

kna

pwee

d (p

urpl

e), c

lust

ered

bel

lflow

er (b

lue)

, bur

net s

axifr

age

(whi

te)

and

haw

kwee

d ox

tong

ue (y

ello

w),

on F

leam

Dyk

e, n

ear M

utlo

w H

ill (P

hoto

: Jac

kH

arris

on).

Flea

m D

yke

near

the

disu

sed

railw

ay. P

hoto

: Jul

ia N

apie

r

Mam

mals, rep

tiles and b

irds

dropwort

horseshoe vetch

quaking grasssalad burnet

harebell

dwarf thistle

buzzard

bloody-nosed beetle

ringlet

small

heath on yarrow

orange tip

(Nov

embe

r 200

8)

The Saxon defence barriers

Th

e F

leam

Dyke

Sch

ed

ule

d M

on

um

en

t an

d

Sit

e o

f S

pecia

l S

cie

nti

fic

Inte

rest

A g

uid

e to

a 5

km (

3 m

ile)

wal

k al

on

g

this

fam

ou

s ea

rly

Sax

on

ear

thw

ork