Can you ride the Icknield Way on a motorbike?
Partly.
- 7.4 km of the Icknield Way is a byway or unclassified road open to motorcycles all year.
- 10 km is closed to motor vehicles by a traffic order.
- 28 km is a restricted byway, bridleway or footpath, with no right to ride a motorbike.
- 63 km follows public roads, which you can ride but aren’t green lanes.
The Icknield Way, end to end
The whole route straightened out, from the Chilterns (top left) to East Anglia, coloured by what you can legally ride.
- Open to motorcycles 4.9 km
- Check before riding 2.5 km
- Closed to motor vehicles 10 km
- Restricted byway, no motors 9.3 km
- Footpath, bridleway or path 19 km
- Public road 63 km
- Track, no recorded right of way 0.7 km
- No path today, or line not mapped 65 km
Pale grey is where the old line crosses fields or isn’t mapped any more, about 65 km in all.
On the map
A is the start, B the end. The same colours as the strip above.
See every lane’s name, surface and current status.
Open the live map →Section by section
Every stretch of byway along the route, in order. Distances are from the Chilterns.
-
12.5to 21.8 km
Icknield Way9.3 km
From near Ewelme to near Postcombe
-
27.3to 28.8 km
Upper Icknield Way1.5 km
From near Chinnor to near Lacey Green
-
80.3to 81.1 km
Wardswood Lane0.8 km
From near Streatley to near Lilley
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81.5to 82.4 km
Icknield Way0.9 km
From near Lilley to near Hexton
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82.4to 84.6 km
Icknield Way2.1 km
From near Hexton to near Great Offley
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90.4to 92.1 km
Icknield Way1.7 km
From near Ickleford to near Willian
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165.0to 172.0 km
Unnamed byway7.1 km
Near Icklingham
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172.0to 174.5 km
New Barnham Slip2.5 km
-
174.5to 175.6 km
Unnamed byway1.1 km
What riding it is like
Holloway Premium
Ride the Icknield Way as one route
- Link its open lanes with real road connections between them
- Export GPX for your GPS unit or phone app
- Live navigation on a bar-mounted phone
- Seasonal closures shown on the dates they apply
£1 from every membership goes toward keeping lanes open.
Closures and orders on the route
Every restriction we’ve found on lanes along the Icknield Way. Tap one for the details.
-
Unnamed sectionClosed until 28 February 2027
Temporarily closed to all users until February 2027 for safety and surface repairs (Suffolk County Council, stated in its November 2025 consultation on a seasonal order for these byways).
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Icknield WayClosed to motor vehicles
Central Bedfordshire Council, Shillington BOAT 61 (The Icknield Way). No motor vehicles allowed at any time, per the council's own current byways-open-to-all-traffic list.
-
New Barnham SlipCheck status before riding
this may be part of the Barnham, Icklingham, West Stow or Wordwell byways that Suffolk County Council has closed to all users until February 2027. Check status before riding.
A snapshot, not a live feed. Researched from council and park authority orders, last built 9 October 2026. Check each lane’s current status in the app before you ride.
About the Icknield Way
- A prehistoric route along the chalk, older than the Roman roads, linking the Chilterns with East Anglia.
- Its line is less certain than a Roman road’s, so the mapped route follows the historic alignment where it is known.
Ride it well
- Walkers, horse riders and cyclists use it too. Slow right down and stop the engine for horses.
- Ride in small groups, stay on the line of the lane, and don’t ride a soft surface that you’d rut.
- Seasonal orders exist to stop winter damage, and lanes stay open when riders respect them.
Places along the way
Historic sites and landmarks within a mile or so of the route. Access not checked, look before you visit.
A possible Neolithic henge in Leagrave dating to around 3000 BC.
Baldock's old town hall, now run as an arts and heritage centre.
An artificial cave beneath a Royston crossroads, protected as both a scheduled monument and listed building.
A natural history museum built from Lord Rothschild's private collection, now part of the Natural History Museum, London.
A Grade II* listed windmill thought to date from the early 17th century, one of the oldest in Britain.
A prominent Chiltern Hills landmark and Iron Age hillfort site, 233m above sea level.
A 79-acre site of special scientific interest north of Bledlow Ridge.
A Grade II* country estate near Ipsden, home to an intentional community.
A Grade I listed moated castle near Watlington, originally built in the 14th century.
Questions riders ask
Can you ride the Icknield Way on a motorbike?
Partly. 7.4 km of the Icknield Way is a byway or unclassified road open to motorcycles all year. 10 km is closed to motor vehicles by a traffic order. 28 km is a restricted byway, bridleway or footpath, with no right to ride a motorbike. Legal status changes, so check each lane’s current status before you ride.
Which parts of the Icknield Way are closed to motorbikes?
Unnamed section, Icknield Way are closed to motor vehicles by a traffic order, listed on this page with the details we found.
How long is the Icknield Way?
The Icknield Way runs about 176 km from the Chilterns to East Anglia, measured along its mapped line. About 66 km of that has no mapped line today.
Is there a GPX route for the Icknield Way?
Not a ready-made one yet. You can link its open lanes into your own route with Holloway Premium’s route planner and export a GPX file.
Ride the Icknield Way with Holloway
Every lane along it, with its legal status and hazards, is on the Holloway map, free with a quick email sign-in.
Open the map, free Or plan a route along it with PremiumRoute lines and lane data from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and council rights of way records via rowmaps.com. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2026. Reference only: legal status changes, check signage and current Traffic Regulation Orders before riding. How we check this data.