Rugby, Warwickshire

Rugby is a large town in the British county of Warwickshire. It is located at the far eastern extent of the county, close to the borders with Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. Rugby is most famous for the contact sport of the same name, which originated in the town. The closest settlements to Rugby are Nuneaton, Coventry and Leamington Spa.

Services

Rugby's town centre is built around a high street which, unusually, forks and splits into two. Both parts of the high street are now pedestrianised and play host to a number of small shops, charity shops and a few outlets of larger chains. Nearby in the town centre there is a small shopping arcade which houses branches of several national chains. A branch of the American-owned supermarket chain ASDA is presently being built in the same part of town. Rugby also has a free museum and a small park adjacent to the town's church located centrally.

Transport and Layout

Rugby's road system is dominated by the A426 dual carriageway which enters the town from the north, linking it to the M6 motorway. Rugby is also the end of the M45 motorway, which in turn connects to the M1 for journeys to London. A new road named the Rugby Western Relief Road is presently under construction to relieve pressure on the contested town centre. Like most British towns, Rugby is laid out in a radial pattern, with roads running out from the centre. However, usually, Rugby lacks any form of ring road.

The West Coast Main Line railway runs through the town. Rugby's sole surviving railway station is on this route. The station has recently undergone considerable expansion, as well as changes to permit faster running for non-stop services. Formerly there was a second station in Rugby on the Great Central Railway. The platform of this station remains in situ to this day, and large parts of the GCR alignment are now in use as a walkway. Rugby was also once the starting point of branches to Leicester, Market Harborough and Leamington Spa. Short stubs of the latter two remain, the first as a headshunt and the second to serve an industrial area. No track remains of the Leicester branch, although a sizable viaduct remains in place.