Rushden is a town in Northamptonshire. It forms single urban area with the neighbouring town of Higham Ferrers. Neighbouring villages include Irchester, Wymington, Podington and Stanwick. Rushden is the fifth largest town in Northamptonshire and the largest town in the district of East Northamptonshire. Rushden and the surrounding area is informally known as Rushdenshire.

Get in

By car

• A6 -> now by passes the town and provides access to Bedford to the south and Kettering to the north

• M1 Northampton -> 10 miles away on A45

Parking is free in most town centre car parks.

By train

The nearest railway station is at nearby Wellingborough, fast trains run to and from London, Luton, Bedford, Leicester and Kettering. Station is around 10-15 mins by car or taxi from Rushden town centre. By public transport the X46 bus service runs between Rushden and Wellingborough town centre - the railway station is about 10-15 walk from the town centre.

By plane

The nearest airports are as follows, with distances and approximate journey time road:

London Luton 45 miles 1 hour; Birmingham 60 miles 1 hr 15 mins; East Midlands 65 miles 1 hr 15 mins; London Stansted 70 miles 1 hr 30 mins; London Heathrow 75 miles 1 hr 30 mins; London Gatwick 110 miles 2 hours

By bus

There are two main bus services - the M50 connects with Bedford, Sharnbrook and Kettering and X46 connects with Welllingborough, Northampton, Raunds and Higham Ferrers.

See

Museums and Heritage

• Rushden Museum. Located in Rushden Hall Park, open in the summer at weekends. 
• Rushden Historic Transport Museum, Station Approach, NN10 0AW, ☏ +44 1933 353111, museum@rhts.co.uk. Located in the preserved Rushden railway station, there are numerous transport displays. Also houses a real ale bar. The railway line will shortly be extended to Higham Ferrers. 
• Rushden Hall Historic house, HQ of town council and sometimes open for exhibitions. Rooms available for hire for weddings and other events.
• St Mary's Church. A beautiful medieval church with a 200 foot tall spire located in the centre of Rushden 
• 1 Chichele College, ☏ +44 1933 655401. A medieval college now in ruins. It is located in the adjoining town of Higham Ferrers. It is owned by English Heritage. Free. 
• Santa Pod. A racetrack which is in the nearby village of Podington to the south. 

Parks and nature

• Rushden Hall Park Located near to the town centre, as well as Rushden Hall and Rushden Museum, it has a children's playground, a small stream with woods and many tree lined paths. In the summer, it hosts numerous free concerts.
• Irchester Park. A large country park in the nearby village of Irchester. 
• Rushden-Higham Pocket Park A wildlife haven along the site of a disused railway.
• Stanwick Lakes. An adventure playground and wildlife centre in the nearby village of Stanwick. 
• Jubilee Park Situated in the south of Rushden includes a skateboarding ramp.
• Spencer Park Located just north of Rushden town centre includes a small stream and children's playground.

Do

• Splash Leisure Pool. The Splash Leisure Pool in Rushden offers great fun for all the family. Facilities include: 25 metre pool, Beach pool with water features including jacuzzi, flume, teaching pool and a cafe 
• Wacky Warehouse Indoor play area for children, located in the Needle & Awl pub in Northampton Road.
• Santa Pod A racetrack which is in the nearby village of Podington to the south.
• The Pemberton Centre - a leisure and conference centre which has a wide range of sports facilities for all the family within its multi-purpose sports hall and squash court plus the dance studio and Aspirations gym.

Sport

• AFC Rushden and Diamonds Football Club - formed in 2011 following the demise of Rushden and Diamonds. They play in division 1 of the united counties league, currently playing in the nearby town of Wellingborough groundsharing with Wellingborough Town F.C at the Dog and Duck stadium
• Rushden and Higham Football Club Hayden Road, Rushden, NN10 0HX. (+44 1933 410036). They play in Division One of the United Counties League.
• Rushden and Higham Rugby Club play at Manor Park, Bedford Road, Rushden, NN10 0AS. (+44 1933 312071)
• Rushden Town Bowling Club, 144 Northampton Road, NN10 6AN, ☏ +44 1933 312680. ) 
• Rushden Town Cricket Club Club Short Stocks, Rushden, NN10 0AB. (+44 1933 353522)

Buy

Rushden has a long High Street which has a mixture of both independent retailers plus chain stores.

• Osborne's Traditional toy shop said to be the oldest in the county.
• Rushden Music Independent business selling musical instruments.
• Sherwood Antiques Old fashioned antique shop situated in Little Street about 5–10 minutes walk from the town centre.
• Several chain stores including Boots, WHSmith, Asda, Iceland, Wilkinson in the town centre.

Higham Ferrers also has its own High Street with a small selection of mainly independent retailers.

• Out of town stores located just off the Northampton Road include Wickes, Lidl, Waitrose which also has a large non food section i.e. John Lewis items.

Eat

General

• Wimpy, 14 High Street, NN10 0PR, ☏ +44 1933 395364. 

Thai

• Thainn, 26 High Street South, NN10 0QX, ☏ +44 1933 313248. 

Indian

• The Curry Garden, 24 Church Street, NN10 9YT, ☏ +44 1933 314121. 
• Teza, 24 High Street South, NN10 0QX, ☏ +44 1933 353555. 
• Cafe Bangla, 86 High Street, NN10 0PQ, ☏ +44 1933 411994. 

American

• Buddies USA, Located on the A45 eastbound, NN10 6AP, ☏ +44 1933 410470. 

Italian

• Pizzeria Venezia, 28 Church Street, NN10 9YT, ☏ +44 1933 317443. Italian 

Drink

Rushden Town Centre

• Wheatsheaf Inn, 1 High Street South, NN10 0QU, ☏ +44 1933 312214. 
• Rose and Crown, 73 High Street

North Rushden

• Needle & Awl Northampton Road

South Rushden

• The Compasses High Street South

Higham Ferrers

• The Carriage House 158 Queen Street
• King Edward VII Inn Market Square

Sleep

• Travelodge, Located on the A45 eastbound, NN10 6AP. 
• Green Dragon, 4 College Street. Higham Ferrers 
• Sharnbrook Hotel - on the A6 about 5 miles south of Rushden

Go next

Attractions

• Wicksteed Park large theme park in Kettering (8 miles north) aimed for young children
• Rockingham Castle medieval castle in the village of Rockingham near Corby - hosts several events throughout the year
• Kirby HallEnglish Heritage property near Corby, vast mansion with gardens, famous for its peacocks

Towns and cities

• Cambridge, 40 miles to the east of Rushden is one of England's most famous academic cities, many historic colleges, punting on the River Cam is a popular pastime. About an hour by car.
• Northampton about 13 miles west, county town, modern cathedral
• Milton Keynes about 18 miles south west, famous for a huge shopping centre and concrete cows
• Peterborough about 28 miles away, famous medieval cathedral, large shopping centre, Nene Valley railway, Flag fen Bronze Age excavation site
• Bedford about 13 miles south, famous for its association with the writer John Bunyan
• London about an hour away by train from Bedford or Wellingborough stations.