Background

At the start of the l990s, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council set up The Green Belt Project to organise conservation work on a variety of wildlife sites, in particular the Devil’s Dyke, Fleam Dyke and the Roman Road. There was a great deal of work to do and so the Project Officer, Sharon Hearle, applied for a Lottery grant. A substantial grant was awarded for the Devil’s Dyke, but it was judged, rather surprisingly, that the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke, although Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Scheduled Monuments, were not sufficiently well known or used.

Sam Agnew, the Councillor for the Horseheath area and Chairman of the South Cambridgeshire Conservation Committee, suggested that if the two neglected sites had a group of Friends, it might be possible to obtain other grants. Sharon Hearle organised a meeting on 1st February 2001 at the Six Bells on Fulbourn High Street; various supporters rang round their friends, and 78 people turned up.

One of the County archaeologists, Tim Malim, gave a talk about the history of the sites. Sharon Hearle talked about the flowers to be found in chalk grassland and the acute need to clear back encroaching scrub, maintain the flora by mowing and raking, and also to provide information boards and leaflets. Sam Agnew proposed that we set up a Friends group, receiving the complete support of the meeting. Sam’s offer to be Chairman was accepted enthusiastically. Jane Fenton, a fund raiser for Bird Life International and one of the founders of the Hawk and Owl Trust, offered to be Treasurer for a year. Julia Napier offered to write about butterflies for a newsletter, and about 35 people expressed their interest in joining. During the following weeks, the Friends of the River Shep gave us permission to copy their constitution and Julia Napier was recruited as Secretary.

At a meeting held on the evening of 5th April 2001, the first members adopted a constitution which stated that the objectives of the Association were to:

• Conserve and enhance the biodiversity

• Raise the public awareness of the sites and encourage related activities

• Improve access where appropriate and provide information

It was agreed that the subscription would be £5 per household per annum and about 35 people joined on the spot. A committee was appointed which included the Green Belt Project Officer, Sharon Hearle, Rob Mungovan, Ecology Officer for South Cambridgeshire DC, David Seilly for work parties and Robert Finch, an expert bryologist.

Membership grew rapidly to 100 and when we applied to Awards for All for a grant of £5,000 in December 2001 we were successful. The grant was used to clear the top of the bank of the Fleam Dyke from Fulbourn to the disused railway. A stretch of dyke on which one could only walk in single file became a pleasant if narrow footpath, and there was an amazing eruption of the beautiful blue clustered bell flower, harebells, the purple common or black knapweed and greater knapweed and also very small numbers of the true calcareous flora for which this site had been listed: lady’s bedstraw, dwarf thistle,hoary plantain, dropwort, quaking grass, and a few others.

In the autumn of 2003, we obtained a grant of £25,000 for work on the Roman Road to set back advancing scrub between Worsted Lodge and the Gunner’s Hall path, for a leaflet on the Roman Road, and five information boards and dog bins which were erected in 2007. South Cambridgeshire District Council gave a grant of just over £1,000 for a leaflet on the Fleam Dyke, which was published in 2009. Both leaflets are available from the Cambridge Tourist Office. Most recently another Awards for All grant for the development of a long-distance circular walk linking the two sites, including the publication of a Guide Book.

There are now about 335 members to whom we send our newsletter, but since many households consist of two people or more, reaching perhaps 300 people. The parish councils of the nine villages along the Roman Road and the Fleam Dyke and Cambridge Past, Present and Future have all joined as Corporate Members. Recently, the Ely Runners sent a donation of £100, which we hope will become an annual corporate donation.

Recently, letters and petitions by members and their friends have finally secured a Traffic Restriction Order on the SE part of the Roman Road, in an attempt to limit damage by off-road riders.