B587

Route

The B587 links Ashby-de-la-Zouch to the A514 and thence to Derby.

Breedon Hill from B587

The B587 begins on the easternmost roundabout on the Ashby Bypass, near to the Flagstaff Interchange on the A42. From here the road runs down a fairly long hill, passing Lount tip, and for a short distance the B587 has three lanes - two up and one down. After passing through the village of Lount, the B587 TOTSOs to the left, due to the road's heritage thus far as the A453.

After TOTSOing, the B587 immediately passes the entrance to Staunton Harold Hall and soon after runs along a ridge, providing an excellent view of the hall off to the left. From there, the road begins to descend into Melbourne, through Woodhouses and past the dam for Staunton Harold Reservoir, gaining a 40mph speed limit in the process.

The road then TOTSOs twice (left then right) whilst making its way around Melbourne via Robinson's Hill and Cockshut Lane (a kind of natural bypass), before running down to Stanton by Bridge and the end of the road at the junction with the A514, which has to TOTSO here.

History

When originally classified, instead of turning towards Ashby and Lount near the modern A42, the B587 continued southeast as far as the (now unclassified) A447 at Pegg's Green. Later it was extended, multiplexing with the B585 through Whitwick and then ending on what was then the A50 at Markfield. This route survived the opening of the A42 but presumably was rerouted via Lount soon afterwards when the A453 which used to go that way was removed from the area.

At the other end of the road, the A514 originally ran through the centre of Melbourne, which meant the B587 was considerably shorter. It originally started at the bottom of Robinson's Hill, near Melbourne (the point where it currently TOTSOs left). The starting point moved when the A514 route was amended to take the direct route from Stanton to Ticknall, also resulting in the removal of the B5007, and the B587 took over the old route of the A514 through Melbourne to Stanton. The road had gained its current route around (rather than through) Melbourne by the 1990s.