This route starts at a McDonald's, a convenient place to meet your mates before setting off. This is a very scenic route and as soon as you cross over the very busy M1 motorway you are into beautiful English countryside with the roads lined with hedgerows and crops growing in the fields. You'll pass over rivers and canals and go past the beautiful Boddington Reservoir. Next you'll pass somewhere that was in the news recently. In 2009, Fenny Compton Village Hall was the location of the first meeting of ex sub-postmasters and mistresses affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal, as seen in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office. More than 900 people were wrongly prosecuted. Some went to prison, and others were left financially ruined. Mr Bates chose the village hall in Fenny Compton at random, for being somewhere near the middle of England.
Just a few miles further on and you reach the former home of Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin at Gaydon. The British Motor Museum is now housed here and with over 300 cars to view it could be a great place to visit.
You then turn onto the B4455 Fosse Way which is arrow straight. The Fosse Way was an ancient Roman road that ran from Exeter to Lincoln. There are large sections of it remaining and these are easily picked out on a map by their straightness. As soon as you leave the Fosse Way, you enter into the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty A.O.N.B. known as The Cotswolds, famous for the villages of honey coloured stone cottages. You will pass through several of these villages with plenty of time to take photos or soak up the atmosphere before heading for lunch in Cirencester, there is ample motorcycle parking and a good choice for food.
After lunch, the route is soon at Bibury, one of the most beautiful villages in England, a stop here for an ice cream is recommended, so leave some room when having your lunch. Next village is Burford, another Cotswold tourist honeypot. As the route leaves The Cotswolds you will see the small and very unassuming Parish Church of St Martin’s at Bladon, the final resting place for of Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965). A small detour takes you to the church where you can pay your respects.
You are still in the lovely countryside and it is not until you reach and go past the Grand Prix Circuit at Silverstone that this route uses a major road. From here, the A43 takes you back into Northampton.
Enjoy.