King Lud's Entrenchments and The Drift

King Lud's Entrenchments and The Drift

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location	Leicestershire Lincolnshire
Grid reference	SK 864 282[1]
Interest	Biological
Area	23.9 hectares (59 acres)[1]
Notification	1984[1]
Location map	Magic Map

King Lud's Entrenchments and The Drift is a 23.9 hectares (59 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest which straddles the border between Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, and is east of Croxton Kerrial.[1][2] King Lud's Entrenchments is a scheduled monument.[3]

King Lud's Entrenchments is also known as King Lud's Intrenchments[3] or King Lud's Banks.[4] The site has not been excavated and its date is unknown. It has been thought of as a Saxon boundary ditch, but aerial photographic work has suggested that it may be part of an extensive prehistoric boundary system extending from Northamptonshire to the Humber and termed `the Jurassic spine'.[5]

This site has limestone grassland with tor-grass, cock's foot, crested dog's-tail and red fescue. Herbs include salad burnet, field scabious, germander speedwell and perforate St John's-wort, and there is also some broad-leaved semi-natural woodland.[6]

There is access to the site and The Drift is part of the Viking Way long-distance trail.

References

1. "Designated Sites View: King Lud's Entrenchments and The Drift". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
2. "Map of King Lud's Entrenchments and The Drift". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
3. Historic England. "King Lud's Intrenchments and adjacent barrow (1013184)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
4. Great Britain. Ordnance Survey. (1939). Map of Britain in the Dark Ages. South sheet. OCLC 24857038.
5. Historic England. "KING LUDS ENTRENCHMENTS (323540)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 2020-05-07.
6. "King Lud's Entrenchments and The Drift citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 13 November 2017.

52.842°N 0.721°W / 52.842; -0.721