green lane

In the UK an unpaved road in country areas. Many green lanes were ancient highways abandoned after the building of new roads in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Some are redundant local roads, but many were important prehistoric, Roman, or medieval long-distance routes (many Roman roads would never have had a paved surface). One common reason for their later abandonment is that they avoided established settlements that might be hostile to the traveller. Some were used extensively by drovers to avoid traffic and turnpike tolls.