The path takes its name from Hereward the Wake, the 11th-century rebel leader who fought against William the Conqueror, and who had his base on the Isle of Ely, which is located near to the middle of the path.
In August 2006, the Hereward Way between Wansford and Southorpe near Peterborough was diverted under a Peterborough City Council improvement plan.[2] The re-routing was complete with the Peterborough Local Access Forum and means that walkers do not pass alongside the A47.