Nottingham to Melton The road begins a few hundred yards south of Nottinghamshire County Hall (built in 1937), in
West Bridgford in the district of
Rushcliffe, at the traffic lights junction of the
A60 (for Loughborough) and the B679 (for
Wilford). The section to Melton follows the former railway from Nottingham to Melton, now the
Old Dalby Test Track, and to the
A46 junction is only a few hundred metres apart. The line then continued from Melton to Oakham, then on to Corby and Kettering, and was the fastest route to
Nottingham by train from
St Pancras. It followed the exact line of the former
turnpike. It begins as
Melton Road, and passes two churches then crosses the former railway line to Melton, and the
BP Melton Road Filling Station. There is traffic lights at a crossroad for
Valley Road, to the left, and
Boundary Road, to the right (for Rushcliffe Leisure Centre and
Rushcliffe School). In
Edwalton, the road then crosses the former railway, where a few hundred metres further south it is still accessible by train. To the right is Wheatcrofts garden centre (started by
Harry Wheatcroft) and the road meets the A52 at a busy roundabout, where the road exits to the east as a
trunk road. from the low bridge There is a 14 ft 6 in low bridge (the former railway), so there is a turning point for high vehicles. For the next mile the road is the parish boundary between
Tollerton to the left, and
Plumtree, to the right. It passes Tollerton post office and there is traffic lights for
Tollerton Lane (for
Nottingham Airport), where there is the
Total Lane End Garage. The road becomes the parish boundary between Plumtree and
Normanton-on-the-Wolds, to the left. The former A606 used to go through both villages before 1930. At the end of the joint bypass, there is a right turn for the
British Geological Survey. It passes through
Stanton-on-the-Wolds. At the junction for
Keyworth, there is the
Murco Wolds Service Station. At a crossroads, there is access to
Widmerpool, to the right, and the former
Widmerpool railway station. The road meets the dual-carriageway
A46 at an interchange. This point is the southern end of the A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement. At Hickling Pastures, it passes Turnpike Farm, and there is a left turn for
Hickling. The road becomes more hilly, and it passes through
Upper Broughton and its
Golden Fleece. Crossing the Dalby Brook, the road enters
Leicestershire and the district of
Melton. In
Broughton and Old Dalby, it passes through
Nether Broughton, and its
Anchor Inn and
Red House. The road is crossed by a pylon line, and ascends Broughton Hill where the road rises 80 metres in 0.5 km. On the top of the hill, there are crossroads, which is highest point of the road at 171 metres, for a former Roman road (
Six Hills Lane) that follows the northern ridge of the wolds, where the right turn is for
Wartnaby. The road descends down a hill into
Ab Kettleby, the former home of
Desert Orchid, passing the
Sugar Loaf on the left. The road descends down the side of a valley and up onto Potter Hill. At this point the road enters the parish of
Melton Mowbray as
Nottingham Road. It passes the
Esso Brookside Service Station and the headquarters of
East Midlands Councils, and Melton Borough Council on the right. It meets the
A607 and A6006 at traffic lights and crossroads. Previously the road went straight through the town centre, which is now pedestrianised as
Nottingham Street. The southbound road now follows the A607 to the east on
Norman Way, then follows
Thorpe End and
Sherrard Street to the west, in a convoluted route through the town centre. The northbound route follows
Leicester Street then
Wilton Road. Both meet at an awkward junction at the
Anne of Cleves, onto
Burton Road.
Melton to Stamford The road passes
Melton Mowbray railway station, and crosses the
Birmingham to Peterborough Line and the
River Eye. The road climbs the side of the River Eye's valley out of Melton, passing the former
King Edward VII School. In
Burton and Dalby it passes through
Burton Lazars, and St James church, and is crossed by the
Jubilee Way. At crossroads there is a left turn for
Whissendine, and a right turn for
Little Dalby. In
Somerby at the top of Leesthorpe Hill, there is the
Leesthorpe Crossroads], with a right turn for
Leesthorpe and
Pickwell. The road climbs to the top of a hill, where it becomes the boundary between Rutland (to the left) and
Leicestershire (to the right), reaching 160 metres at Green's Lodge. Rutland became independent in April 1997. Leaving the Rutland boundary, the road descends to reach Whissendine Brook, and there is a left turn for Whissendine, and a right turn for
Cold Overton and Northfield Farm (both in Leicestershire). In
Langham it ascends the side of Ranksborough Hill (at 191 metres, the second highest in Rutland), to reach 166 metres. Descending down the hill, it passes a right turn for Ranksborough Hall, an activity centre. In Langham, there is an abrupt turn to the left and one to the right, where it meets a road from Cold Overton.
Ruddles Brewery was based here before 1997 – the year Rutland finally became independent. As
Oakham Road it meets a roundabout for the bypass in
Barleythorpe. The former route through Oakham is now the B640. The £11.6 million bypass opened on Wednesday 10 January 2007, with construction having started in October 2005. The contract had been awarded to
Alfred McAlpine Civil Engineering in June 2003. The next roundabout is for the
Lands' End clothing company. It crosses the
Birmingham to Peterborough Line, and there is a roundabout for the B668 (
Burley Road), close to a
Midlands Co-op superstore. . The bypass is crossed by the
Hereward Way, and at the
A6003 roundabout the A6003 leaves to the south for
Uppingham, and the A606 leaves to the left (east). From here to
Barnsdale, the road is followed by the
Viking Way and the Macmillan Way. There is a right turn for
Hambleton (and
Hambleton Hall), which is the former route of the road. When
Rutland Water was built, the A606 was diverted to the north. The road passes on the north shore of Rutland Water, and the southern edge of Burley Wood. In the parish of
Whitwell, at Barnsdale crossroads, there is a right turn for Barnsdale Hall Hotel and Country Club, and Barnsdale Lodge. The road passes through Whitwell, where it is crossed by the
Viking Way, and passes
The Noel (
Noel Arms). The road reaches the end of
Rutland Water, the largest reservoir (by surface area) in the UK, owned by
Anglian Water, and passes through
Empingham, where it is crossed by the
Rutland Round. It crosses the
River Gwash, and is crossed by the
Hereward Way. At
Tinwell, it meets the
A1 at an interchange built in 1960. It enters
Lincolnshire,
South Kesteven, and
Stamford as
Empingham Road losing its trunk road status, passing the Malcolm Sargent Primary School (former Exeter
secondary modern school), on the left, and the
Danish Invader, on the right. There is a right turn for
Roman Bank (former
Ermine Street) and it reaches its terminus at
Scotgate – the former Great North Road (B1081). ==References==