B6020

The B6020 is an important west-east route in central Nottinghamshire, linking several communities over an distance of nearly 10 miles.

The road starts at the western edge of Kirkby in Ashfield at a mini-roundabout with the B6018 and heads east. Passing over the Robin Hood railway line next to the station, we enter the town centre, and pass through many sets of traffic lights. The B6021 crosses here, and in fact multiplexes with our road as it attempts to find a viable route towards the north of town.

The road as we pass out of the town centre appears "arrow straight", a feature of the road we will see for some time. Just before leaving Kirkby, we cross a signalised crossroads with the A611 and into open countryside. The section between here and the B6139 is perfectly straight, and has an interesting feature - a "measured mile" - as advertised on signs and by way of white squares at each end. This is used to check the calibration of odometers (and speedometers), and is used by the Police (although anybody can use it to check the accuracy of their own speedometers).

We pass by woods and the B6139 junction, and into Ravenshead. This is a smart village, established by the Victorians and still popular with commuters today. Many commuters will use the A60 to Nottingham or Mansfield, and we cross this road at a signalised crossroads. At peak times queues can develop at all arms of the junction owing to its status as a main commuting route, but can be quiet at other times. We cross the A60 and continue straight on, along the north side of Ravenshead, with most development to our right.

Mansfield Road, Blidworth

On leaving Ravenshead, we encounter a pair of sharp bends before entering Blidworth. The first part of the village is the old part; as we head around a left hand bend in the centre of Blidworth, we see the new part, built to serve the colliery (now long gone). We are now travelling north for the first time, and we exit Blidworth at a forked junction, with the route taking the right fork, taking priority over the minor road. This minor road acts as an "avoiding route" for Rainworth, and it is actually a quicker journey to Ransom Wood than it is to use the B6020! We will carry on with the main route though, and on into Rainworth where we TOTSO left at a T-junction.

At Rainworth's centre, we find a rather odd arrangement, due to the fact that originally the main road here was the A617, before a bypass routed it to the north. The B6020 splits here and takes on the full length of the pre-bypass road through Rainworth.

The eastern portion of the old road, Kirklington Road, makes a beeline for the end of the bypass, turning left at the last minute to meet the A617 at a roundabout; the western section, also the B6020, is longer and also straight ahead, so we will continue along this part. Up to the edge of Rainworth, the road is straight again, but littered with speed ramps, installed to encourage use of the bypass. The road then briefly becomes a dual carriageway, with a gap in the reserve for Blidworth lane - the road avoiding Rainworth we mentioned earlier. The B6020 finally ends at a large roundabout with the A617 and A6191. This roundabout was intended to be a flyover, with the A617 passing over the roundabout. The flares in the carriageway of the Rainworth bypass provides evidence of this.