The route in earlier times was a far more important route than it is today. It was the main road from Nottingham to London. The turnpike went from Nottingham via Melton and Oakham to Kettering (to join today's A6), and then on to London, run by the Nottingham, Melton and Kettering Turnpike Trust from 1758. The turnpike trusts were abolished in 1880, the year that the railway line to Melton opened. The trains would run until 1968.
The road begins a few hundred yards south of Nottinghamshire County Hall[1] (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 BPMelton 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[2] the former railway, where a few hundred metres further south it is still accessible by train. To the right is Wheatcrofts garden centre[3] (started by Harry Wheatcroft) and the road meets the A52 at a busy roundabout,[4] where the road exits to the east as a trunk road.
There is a 14 ft 6 in low bridge[5] (the former railway), so there is a turning point[6] for high vehicles. For the next mile the road[7] is the parish boundary between Tollerton to the left, and Plumtree, to the right. It passes Tollerton post office[8] and there is traffic lights for Tollerton Lane (for Nottingham Airport), where there is the TOTALLane End Garage.[9] 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[10] through Stanton-on-the-Wolds. At the junction for Keyworth, there is the MurcoWolds Service Station.[11] 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.[12] This point is the southern end of the A46 Newark to Widmerpool Improvement.[13]
Broughton Hill
At Hickling Pastures, it passes Turnpike Farm, and there is a left turn for Hickling. The road becomes more hilly, and it passes[14] through Upper Broughton and its Golden Fleece.[15] Crossing the Dalby Brook, the road enters[16]Leicestershire and the district of Melton. In Broughton and Old Dalby, it passes[17] through Nether Broughton, and its Anchor Inn[18] and Red House.[19] The road is crossed by a pylon line,[20] and ascends Broughton Hill[21] 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[22] the northern ridge of the wolds, where the right turn is for Wartnaby. The road descends down a hill[23] 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.[24] At this point the road enters the parish of Melton Mowbray as Nottingham Road.[25] It passes the EssoBrookside 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,[26] onto Burton Road.
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[27] through Burton Lazars, and St James church,[28] and is crossed by the Jubilee Way. At crossroads[29] there is a left turn for Whissendine, and a right turn for Little Dalby. In Somerby at the top of Leesthorpe Hill,[30] there is the Leesthorpe Crossroads],[31] with a right turn[32] for Leesthorpe and Pickwell. The road climbs to the top of a hill, where it becomes the boundary[33] between Rutland[34] (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[35] (both in Leicestershire).
In Langham it ascends the side of Ranksborough Hill[36] (at 191 metres, the second highest in Rutland), to reach 166 metres. Descending down the hill, it passes a right turn for Ranksborough Hall,[37] an activity centre. In Langham, there is an abrupt turn to the left and one to the right, where it meets a road[38] from Cold Overton. Ruddles Brewery was based here before 1997 – the year Rutland finally became independent. As Oakham Road it meets a roundabout[39] for the bypass in Barleythorpe. The former route through Oakham is now the B640. The £11.6 million bypass opened[40] on Wednesday 10 January 2007, with construction having started[41] in October 2005. The contract had been awarded to Alfred McAlpine Civil Engineering in June 2003. The next roundabout[42] is for the Lands' End clothing company. It crosses the Birmingham to Peterborough Line, and there is a roundabout[43] for the B668 (Burley Road), close to a Midlands Co-op superstore.[44]
The bypass is crossed by the Hereward Way, and at the A6003 roundabout[45] 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,[46] there is a right turn for Barnsdale Hall Hotel[47] and Country Club, and Barnsdale Lodge.[48] The road passes through Whitwell, where it is crossed by the Viking Way, and passes The Noel[49] (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[50] 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,[51] 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).
