A508 road
The A508 is a ,   A-class road for north–south journeys in central and south central England, forming the route from Market Harborough in Leicestershire, via Northampton, to Old Stratford in Northamptonshire, just outside Milton Keynes (and the Buckinghamshire border).

Major settlements
The major settlements along the route are Market Harborough, Great Oxendon, Kelmarsh, Maidwell, Hanging Houghton, Brixworth, Pitsford, Boughton, Northampton, Roade, Grafton Regis, Yardley Gobion, before finishing in Old Stratford.

Route

Market Harborough

Background

The road commences in the town of Market Harborough, 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, 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.

Other routes

 By following St Mary's Road to the west, you come to the villages of Lubenham and Theddingworth, whilst following the road east takes you to Market Harborough railway station, Great Bowden and an interchange with the A6 and A427.

Kettering Road

Heading south as Kettering Road, we almost immediately cross over the River Welland and just  further south from the start of the A508 route, we come to a roundabout, where Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl 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, whilst the A508 continues to the south-west as Springfield Street. We pass two residential roads; named Britannia Walk and Springfield Court, and before too long we pass another supermarket; this time a Sainsbury's (with an Argos and a petrol station included  ) in Springfield Retail Park, alongside a Shoe Zone, Pets at Home and Homebase. At the end of Springfield Street approximately  after the road started, we turn right to head south along Northampton Road at a T-junction.

Northampton Road

We turn right onto Northampton Road from Springfield Street, towards Northampton, the A14, Leisure centre, East Farndon and Welland Park Community College. We continue along Northampton Road for approximately , and in that time, we pass junctions with Welland Park Road, Nithsdale Crescent, Nithsdale Avenue, Auriga Street, Patrick Street, Gladstone Street, Granville Street, 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  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  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.

Great Oxendon to Boughton

Great Oxendon

We cross into Northamptonshire just outside the town of Market Harborough. The A508 is also known by the name Harborough Road for , 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,  away. We act as a country lane for , 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  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 ), and Church Lane (after a further ). The village of Arthingworth is roughly  east of this point, as the crow flies. We encounter a lay-by after another , and after a further  we reach Kelmarsh Hall and Gardens,  after leaving Great Oxendon. However, it is still another , 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 , we arrive at Kelmarsh Junction; the place where the A508 and A14 intersect at A14 Junction 2. 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, and after , we arrive at Maidwell.

Lamport

Hanging Houghton

Brixworth

Pitsford

Boughton

Northampton

Spring Park Ward: Boughton to A5076 Holly Lodge Drive

Sunnyside Ward: A5076 Holly Lodge Drive to A5199 Welford Road

Kingsthorpe & St. David's Ward(s): A5199 Welford Road to A5095 Kingsthorpe Drive

Trinity Ward (A5095 concurrency): A5095 Kingsthorpe Drive to A5095 Burleigh Road

Semilong Ward: A5095 Burleigh Road to A428 Grafton Street

Northampton City Centre: A428 Grafton Street to A4500 St. Peter's Way/Towcester Road + A5123 St. Peter's Way

A5123 concurrency: A4500 St. Peter's Way/Towcester Road to central Northampton one-way system

Central Northampton one-way system

Cotton End & Delapré Ward(s): Central Northampton one-way system to Queen Eleanor Interchange (A45 + A5076 junction)

A45 concurrency: A5076 (Queen Eleanor Interchange) to M1 Junction 15 Collingtree Interchange

Northampton (A45/M1) to Old Stratford

Roade

Grafton Regis

Yardley Gobion

Old Stratford

Future
, a bypass is being built around Roade as part of enabling works for the rail freight interchange under construction between Roade and the M1.

Junction list

Length table
Here is a table, showing the lengths between different villages and junctions.

Length table key
 1-4: French violet = Market Harborough
 5-6: walnut brown = Great Oxendon
 7-10: lizard green = Kelmarsh
 11-12: mauve = Maidwell
 13: aerospace orange = Lamport
 14: dark salmon pink = Hanging Houghton
 15-17: chocolate brown = Brixworth
 18: turquoise/cyan = Pitsford
 19: cornflower blue = Boughton
 20-31: green = Northampton
 32-35: yellow = Roade
 36-37: pea green = Grafton Regis
 38: purple = Yardley Gobion
 39: navy blue = Old Stratford

Road usage

References

Notes

Citations 

Roads in England
Transport in Leicestershire
Transport in Northamptonshire