Northampton to Leicester drive: Distance, time & best stops
The distance from Northampton to Leicester by car is 43 miles, with a 50 minute driving time. The best road trip stops on the Northampton to Leicester drive are the Althorp Estate, Rugby School and Fosse Park.
The drive from Northampton to Leicester connects a market town on the River Nene to one of England’s most multicultural cities.
Northampton has plenty of attractive parks, but the highlight is arguably the Abington Park Museum. The museum is standard local history fare, but the estate surrounding the manor house is lovely.
Leicester offers scavenger hunts and the National Space Centre.
Northampton to Leicester distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Northampton to Leicester is 43 miles. That makes for a driving time of around 50 minutes. The quickest route heads up the M1.
The best stops near the Northampton to Leicester driving route are the Althorp Estate, Rugby School and Fosse Park.
Northampton to Leicester road trip stops: Althorp Estate
A ten minute detour off the M1, the Althorp Estate is home to one of England’s finest and most lavishly decorated stately homes. The Spencer family still lives there and tours are seasonal.
However, most visitors are going for the Diana connection. Althorp was Princess Diana of Wales’ family home, and her grave is on the estate.
Things to do between Northampton and Leicester: Rugby School
Rugby School is a private school in Rugby, Warwickshire. There are public tours every Saturday at 2pm, which would be mildly interesting if it was just a case of looking at the handsome, historic school buildings.
It’s the playing fields that are truly historic, though. This was where William Webb Ellis picked up the ball during a football match, giving birth to the sport of rugby union.
Northampton to Leicester drive: Fosse Park
Right at the edge of Leicester, Fosse Park is a big out-of-town shopping centre. It’s not a particularly attractive one, with most of the stores in the middle to lower end of high street tours. Still, if you want to do a credit card blitz around the likes of Primark, TK Maxx, River Island and Next, at least they’re all conveniently gathered in one place.
More Northampton road trips
Northampton to Birmingham | Northampton to Cambridge | Northampton to Coventry | Luton to Northampton.
More Leicester road trips
Leicester to Cambridge | Leicester to Coventry | Luton to Leicester | Leicester to Milton Keynes | Northampton to Leicester | Leicester to Nottingham.