Lexden Earthworks and Bluebottle Grove

Lexden Earthworks and Bluebottle Grove are surviving stretches of the banks and ditches that defended the western side of Camulodunum, pre-Roman Colchester, and are among the few late Iron Age defences left in Britain. The system was probably begun in the last quarter of the 1st century BC, when the Trinovantes held the area; from about AD 10 it was held by the Catuvellauni and their leader Cunobelin. Nearby lies the Lexden Tumulus, once said to be Cunobelin's grave, though the luxury goods found in 1924 date to about 15 to 10 BC and point instead to a Trinovantian ruler such as Addedomarus. The two sites are reached separately: Lexden Earthworks run beside Straight Road near Garden Drive, while Bluebottle Grove is a short signed walk from Prettygate Road. Bluebells grow on the Lexden banks in spring. Colchester City Council manages both, there are no facilities, and parking is on nearby streets. Dogs on leads are welcome.