Bluestone Heath Road

The Bluestone Heath Road is an ancient road across Lincolnshire Wolds in Lincolnshire, England.

Route

The route begins at Candlesby and runs 22km (14 miles) northbound to Caistor, following closely an ancient ridge trail across the spine of the wold. It climbs to a height of 98 metres (320 feet) above sea level near Tetford, and, on a fine day, provides a marvelous view of the hamlets, corn fields, hills and landmarks of the area, such as Lincoln Cathedral, Boston Stump and the North Sea.

The route is marked on the "Landranger No 122" (Skegness Area) Ordnance Survey map.

History

The route is thought to have been developed by the earliest Celtic settlers of the region and used as a drove road for moving livestock. The primary evidence for this is the route's width compared to nearby routes and its relative distance from existing settlements of the time.

The Ancient Roman people also used the road, sometimes closely following the original Celtic route, sometimes deviating from it (for example, near Tetford where the Roman route cuts into the valley and away from the ridge line).

There is a disputed claim that the road was used as a munitions store during WWII due to its proximity to a number of air fields, together with a local legend that a German Doodlebug or V2 rocket landed on Tetford Hill but never detonated.