Great Blats Around Rutland

Great Blats Near to My Home Now with BlatMaps

I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that almost any road is a good road round Rutland, but here are some of my favourite runs:

NEW: Route 5 below.

1. Wansford - Corby - Oundle - Wansford (30 miles)

Map of Route (261Kb) or BlatMap

Starting at Wansford go over the bridge (great sound) heading North until you pick up the A47.
Bear left on the A47 until you come to the A43 (a bit boring, but good for warming the engine)
[Alternatively, take the minor road from Wansford to Kingscliffe, turning Right back up to the A47 at the T-junction and then take a Left onto the A47. Much more interesting road!]
At the A43 roundabout continue on the A47 (it gets a bit more interesting from here - a few more hills and bends)
As you come to Morcott, take a left turn just before the petrol station (B672) to Caldecott (A great road with a mixture of sweeping bends, good visibility straights and 90degree corners.)
At Caldecott, follow the A6003 South to the A6116. (Don't floor it on the steep hill out of Rockingham as there is a safety camera on the last bend!)
Follow the A6116 round the top of Corby. (You will go past the entrance to Rockingham, so take a detour if you want.)
At Weldon, turn Right at the roundabout and then left onto the A427 towards Oundle (this is the best bit of road - undulating, sweeping bends with good visibility.)
Take the A605 towards Peterborough and then take the B671 at Elton towards Wansford. (Quite good, but I think that the Tansor-Fotheringhay-Nassington-Yarwell road may be better. I must try it sometime!)

2. Melton - Bourne - Stamford - Oakham - Melton (53 miles)

Map of Route (209Kb) or BlatMap

Start at Melton. Take B676, via Saxby, Coston, Buckminster, Stainby to the A1 at Colsterworth.
Cross A1 and take A 151 (some delightfully swoopy bits) via Grimsthorpe & Edenham.
Turn Right on A 6121 just before Bourne, via Toft, Essendine to Stamford. There is a safety camera just after you enter Stamford just after the Halfords/Argos out of town stores.
Take a while to wave back at the pedestrians as you pass through the centre of Stamford (You can miss the centre out by turning Right after Ryhall and heading through Great Casterton, but it can be a bit muddy!). Enjoy the solid walls on either side of the road in several places
TR, TR, to A606, crossing A1 then via Empingham and a lovely stretch above Rutland Water to Oakham and thus back to Melton on the 606.

3. Kings Bromley - Stone - Uttoxeter - Kings Bromley (thanks to BigYin)

Map of Route (196Kb)

Start at Kings Bromley on the A515. - North on A 515 via Yoxall (remembering to give it WOT passing Denis Welch's Garage on the left as a mark of respect for the King of the BIG Healeys).
Caution as you emerge from the climb through the woods just before Newchurch as most weekends finds Animal Rights Activists on the verge protesting about the guinea pig farm opposite.
Through Newchurch (don't blink or you'll miss it) and down the hill to the cross roads in the dip. - Turn left on B5234 and through Newborough. Once you reach the GLF signs the road becomes entertaining and swoopy with a couple of lovely fast lefts at the bottom of dips that are delightful going this way but adversely cambered in the opposite direction.
Continue via Bromley Wood to Abbots Bromley. At the T junction turn right on B5014. Just past the Coach & Horse CAUTION - RAISED ZEBRA CROSSING - carry straight on the B5014 which becomes the B5013 through Bagot Forest (Phil Drabble live here) on a series of short straights followed by 70 degree bends past the Red Cow and on to Blounts Green.
At the T junction turn left on the A518. Well surfaced, open and fast if you've timed it so that it is quiet (this means avoiding times when locals might be going to or from the shops/market/races in Uttoxeter). Look out for Chartley Castle on the right.
At the T junction turn right on A51 (direction Stone) CAUTION - 40 mph limit & safety cameras. You've now got about 3 miles to do on 60mph dual carriageway. At the end of the dual carriageway CAUTION 40 mph limit and safety cameras. Sorry, it's the worst part of the run but it's a good opportunity to let things cool down a bit.
Take the B5066 which is the 2nd lane on your right (just past the Post Office) signposted Hilderstone. Up the hill to the crossroads. Turn Right on B5027 via Milwich and Field (narrowish in places but lots of practice going up and down through the gears) to Bramshall. CAUTION LEVEL CROSSING. Just as you enter the village turn right on an unclassified road that is difficult to see but is signposted to the local butchers and as not giving access to the A518 for + 7.5t. CAUTION UNEVEN LEVEL CROSSING at the bottom of the hill (but I can safely cross it slowly with 65mm ground clearance).
At the T junction turn left (on A 518) and immediately right onto unclassified road towards Loxley Green. - At cross roads turn left and enjoy the new road surface to the next crossroads (Red Cow).
Turn Right on B5013 (I know this means retracing your route a little but this is such a nice piece of road I am sure you won't object) through Abbots Bromley (remembering the raised zebra) and continue on the B5014 (direction Lichfield) via Hill Ridware
After crossing the Trent turn left on A513. Fast, open, good surface.
At T junction turn left on A515 and you're back where you started.

4. The big one! Ketton - Wansford - Elton - B660 - Kimbolton - Raunds - Oundle - Benefield - Harringworth - Ketton (80 Miles)

BlatMap

This route is an 80 mile loop and takes about 1.5 hours in the early morning. It takes in the best roads I know in my area. Enjoy!

Start at Ketton. Head towards Collyweston. At the A43 take a dogleg R then L. At the A47 turn L to Wansford. (This bit isn't too interesting, but a lot better than the A1).
At Wansford take the Road to Elton, Crossing the old bridge. This is a nice bit of road, but it gets better. Keep going.
At Elton, turn L on the old A605 and follow this for a few miles until you come to the right turn down Bullock Road. It starts off straight, but gradually gets twistier and includes some great 90deg bends. Follow this down till you get to the B660 and turn Right to Winwick.
Follow the B660 until you get to Kimbolton. The B660 is one of the great roads and is often used by the car mags for drive tests. (You can continue down the B660 until you get to Bedford, but after Kimbolton there are too many villages and extended 30/40 limits to enjoy the road properly.
At Kimbolton turn R onto the B645 and keep going until you see a sign for Raunds. Take this until you get to the A45 and turn R towards Oundle. (there is a BP garage at this roundabout)
Follow the A45 to the A14 and cross over it (or use the Shell garage first) taking the A605 to Oundle. There are two safety cameras on this stretch - one just after the roundabout as you leave Thrapston (60 limit) and one at Thorpe Waterville (30 limit, but feels like it should be 50-60 so be careful).
At Oundle, take the A427 through Benefield (wonderful swoopy bits), then skirt round the north of Corby and head for Rockingham (village, not the circuit) on the A6003. There is a safety camera on the hill down to Rockingham, just inside the 30 limit.
At Caldecott, take the B672 towards Harringworth (a lovely viaduct and great roads) and then take the A6121 back to Ketton.

5. Another big one: Ketton - Bourne - Melton Mowbray - Grantham - Stamford - Ketton (77 Miles)

BlatMap

This route is an 77 mile loop and takes about 1h 20m in the early morning. It uses some of the roads in blats 1-3 above, but takes in some new ones as well. There is only one camera on this route (as you head back into Stamford) and it is a mix of fast 'swooping' roads and slower, but fun, twisties. There are lots of bikes to play with in the summer as well. As the route crosses over itself you can do one of the smaller loops if you prefer.

Start at the car park of the Northwick Arms, Ketton if you are meeting up as a group. Turn left out of the car park and then take a left up the hill just before the low flying signs as you exit Ketton.
At the top of the hill take a Left-Right dog leg. Follow the road to Great Casterton and then cross over. There are 4 speed bumps near the school, the last one just as you reach the low flying sign. This stretch of road is not too busy and is good fun to drive.
Coming into Ryhall, turn Right then immediately left onto the A151 (40mph). Follow this road until you are almost at Bourne and take a left onto the A151.
The A151 is probably one of the best roads round here - there are left-right-left-right switchbacks, steep rises and dips and some good full throttle straights. Take it easy through the villages once you have crossed the A1 as the right angle bends can be greasy! Have fun with the bikes - they will leave you on the straights, but you'll catch them again in the twisties.
At Melton Mowbray you will come to some lights - turn Right and pick up the A607 to Grantham. This can be a bit busy later in the day and watch out for cars turning towards Belvoir ("Bee-ver") Castle; there are several turnings and it is a popular destination in the summer.
Coming into Grantham, turn Right at the lights not long after the exhaust appreciation tunnel onto the B677 following signs for the A52.
At the next junction turn right onto the A52 , but go straight on at the first roundabout onto the B1176.
You now follow the B1176 most of the way to Stamford (there is a Left-Right extended dog-leg in Corby Glen as you cross the A151). This road is great fun, but there are a lot of blind crests followed by sharp bends, so take it carefully the first time. Overtaking on the first half is difficult, so you'll need to be patient.
As you come into Ryhall turn right onto the A6121 and head into Stamford. Just after the 30mph sign there is a Camera. You can follow the A6121 straight through the centre of Stamford, but until the roadworks are over you are better following the blatmap that takes you onto the A1, then head north for 1 junction and pick the A6121 up there.
The Northwick Arms will be able to provide you with some refreshment at the end of the run if you are thirsty - you just need some beer tokens!

Let me know what you think about any of these blats here.