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A508

A508 in Grafton Regis

Route information

Length

50.961 km (31.666 mi)

Major junctions

North end

A4304 in Market Harborough^[1]^[2]
52°28′42″N 0°54′49″W / 52.4782°N 0.9136°W

South end

Old Stratford

A5 / A422^[15]^[16] 52°03′59″N 0°52′12″W / 52.0665°N 0.8699°W

Location

Country

United Kingdom

Primary
destinations

Road network

Roads in the United Kingdom

←

A507

→

A509

The A508 is a 50.961 kilometres (31.666 mi), ^[A] ^[B]^[C] A-class road for north–south journeys in central and south central England, forming the route from Market Harborough in Leicestershire,^[17] via Northampton,^[18] to Old Stratford in Northamptonshire,^[19] just outside Milton Keynes (and the Buckinghamshire border).^{[citation needed]}

Major settlements

The major settlements along the route are Market Harborough,^[20] Great Oxendon,^[21] Kelmarsh,^[22] Maidwell,^[23] Hanging Houghton,^[24] Brixworth,^[25] Pitsford,^[26] Boughton,^[27] Northampton,^[18] Roade,^[28] Grafton Regis,^[29] Yardley Gobion,^[30] before finishing in Old Stratford.^[31]

Route

Market Harborough

Background

The road commences in the town of Market Harborough,^[2] on the outskirts of Leicestershire, at the junction of the A4304 St. Mary's Road and Clarence Road. This small town has a population of 24,171 as of 2021 Census,^[33] and was named one of the best places to live in the country. It is the only area in Leicestershire to be included in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2023 guide.^[34]

Other routes

^[2] By following St Mary's Road to the west, you come to the villages of Lubenham^[36]^[D] and Theddingworth,^[37]^[E] whilst following the road east takes you to Market Harborough railway station,^[38] Great Bowden^[39]^[F] and an interchange with the A6 and A427.^[40]

Kettering Road

Heading south as Kettering Road,^[42] we almost immediately cross over the River Welland^[43] and just 0.139 kilometres (0.086 mi) further south from the start of the A508 route, we come to a roundabout,^[44] where Waitrose,^[45] Aldi^[46] and Lidl^[47] compete for customers. It is also the place where the A508 changes its name...

Springfield Street

Kettering Road now bears off to the south-east and sets its sights on the A6,^[49] whilst the A508 continues to the south-west as Springfield Street. We pass two residential roads; named Britannia Walk^[50] and Springfield Court,^[51] and before too long we pass another supermarket; this time a Sainsbury's^[52] (with an Argos^[53] and a petrol station included^[54] ) in Springfield Retail Park,^[55] alongside a Shoe Zone,^[56] Pets at Home^[57] and Homebase.^[58] At the end of Springfield Street approximately 0.381 kilometres (0.237 mi) after the road started, we turn right to head south along Northampton Road at a T-junction.^[59]

Northampton Road

We turn right onto Northampton Road from Springfield Street, towards Northampton, the A14, Leisure centre, East Farndon and Welland Park Community College.^[62]^[G] We continue along Northampton Road for approximately 1.088 kilometres (0.676 mi), and in that time, we pass junctions with Welland Park Road,^[63] Nithsdale Crescent,^[64] Nithsdale Avenue,^[65] Auriga Street,^[66] Patrick Street,^[67] Gladstone Street,^[68] Granville Street,^[69] Bath Street, Caxton Street, Clipston Street, Scotland Road and Lathkill Street. Afterwards, we pass a car retail company and a petrol station on our left, with some allotments and Market Harborough cemetery on our right. Roughly 0.180 kilometres (0.112 mi) along, the road name changes from Northampton Road to Harborough Road at a roundabout.

Harborough Road

At this roundabout, we meet Moseley Avenue on our left, which guides drivers into a housing estate. On our left, we pass a leisure centre, a football team (Harborough Town) and a rugby team (Market Harborough Rugby Union). We continue along Harborough Road, and 0.410 kilometres (0.255 mi) later, as soon as the rugby and football pitches end to our right, so does Leicestershire. This the point where the A508 leaves Leicestershire and joins Northamptonshire.^[17]^[19]

Great Oxendon to Boughton

Great Oxendon

We cross into Northamptonshire just outside the town of Market Harborough.^[70]^[19]^[17] The A508 is also known by the name Harborough Road for 21 kilometres (13 mi), until it becomes Harborough Road North at a roundabout in the village of Boughton. However, there is a small occurrence of Main Street in Kelmarsh, 5.695 kilometres (3.539 mi) away. We act as a country lane for 1.628 kilometres (1.012 mi), and along that section, we pass a metal recycling plant, and a golf course. Then, we enter Great Oxendon, which in the 2011 Census only had a population of 331, and immediately we pass St. Helen's Church. We continue for a further 0.250 kilometres (0.155 mi) to get to the main section of the village. We pass about 16 houses through the trees to our left, before we meet about five unnamed road and The George Public House. We also meet Main Street and Braybrooke Road slightly further to the south, before leaving Great Oxendon behind us.

Kelmarsh

We continue Northampton-bound along the road, meeting Oxendon Road (after 0.948 kilometres (0.589 mi)), and Church Lane (after a further 0.628 kilometres (0.390 mi)). The village of Arthingworth is roughly 1.75 kilometres (1.09 mi) east of this point, as the crow flies. We encounter a lay-by after another 0.881 kilometres (0.547 mi), and after a further 1.235 kilometres (0.767 mi) we reach Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens, 3.692 kilometres (2.294 mi) after leaving Great Oxendon. However, it is still another 0.186 kilometres (0.116 mi), before we arrive at the centre of Kelmarsh village. We pass about a dozen cottages, pass a crossroads with some unnamed roads, leading towards Harrington and Thorpe Underwood (both adjacent to the A14), to the left, and Clipston and Sibbertoft to the right. We continue for 0.658 kilometres (0.409 mi),^[H] we arrive at Kelmarsh Junction; the place where the A508 and A14 intersect at A14 Junction 2.^[3]^[4] We also now have to say goodbye to Kelmarsh, and hello to Maidwell...

Maidwell

After passing Kelmarsh Junction with the A14, we continue on towards the centre of Northampton,^[18] and after 1.165 kilometres (0.724 mi), we arrive at Maidwell.^[23]