The Roman Road from Arrington Bridge to Sandy

Margary Number: 224

Distance: 10.5 miles

Sandy was a settlement of sufficient importance to have had a town wall so no surprise it was connected with a road to Ermine Street and onwards to Cambridge.

Viatores recorded the Sandy end as RR 224 but wandered off course at Potton whereas the real route headed directly to Arrington Bridge.

Historic Counties: Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire

Current Counties:Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire

HER: Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire

Lidar Image - Full Route

The route to Sandy looks to be a branch off the road to Stotfold at the village of Wendy. A fairly direct route to the hills east of Sandy where a more contour based route was chosen to minimise the gradients.

Arrington Bridge Roads - Routes

Map equivalent to the above with county boundaries.

Oblique 3D Lidar Image - looking West

After the branch off the Stotfold road then the River Cam would have needed a bridge but at that spot not a large one..

The road then takes a very direct route towards Sandy (Bedfordshire).

Lidar Image and Route Map 1

Perhaps surprisingly no modern roads or tracks made use of the Roman agger. The agger is faint and widened by ploughing but sufficient remains to indicate the Road's course.

Lidar Image and Route Map 2

Towards Potton part of the B1042 does overly the Roman line but then wanders off-line as the Roman route takes a direct course,

Oblique 3D Lidar Image

Sufficient trace to be certain of the route although for one section near Potton a railway line, now disused, appears to have used the Roman road for part of its course. A Roman road agger would have made a good base for a railway.

Lidar Image and Route Map 3

I have shown the route dashed where the old railway line has destroyed evidence but there is little doubt they shared the same course there.

It has recently become clear Sandy was an important Roman settlement. It was located near the railway rather than where the modern town is today.

For details of Sandy Roman Town see AOC Archaeology Group

Lidar Image - Roman Roads around Sandy

We now know Sandy (Bedfordshire) was an important Roman road junction with at least 5 roads meeting there. I didn't trace the one heading west any further as the evidence seemed to disappear after 5km.

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Last update: Jan 2024

© David Ratledge