I guess those are the two route suggestions that uncle Google came up with. The shorter one, via the A43 and the A34, is not going to be the most pleasant of rides. I'm not aware of cycle lanes on either of them (other than the gutter margins) and they're both busy busy truck riddled through routes. The only good thing you can say about the A34 is that it's often jammed solid so at least you'd be riding past stationary traffic.
The other one, via national route 6, is much more back roads and if you ditch the bit through Milton Keynes (route via Stoney Stratford, Nash and Gt Horwood instead) it'll be much more traffic free (not zero as they're rat run roads feeding MK). Further on down it includes some of the roads I've been out running on this morning.
One somewhat left field route suggestion would be to head towards Long Buckby (about 20 miles from Kettering) and pick up the canal towpath there. Follow it to Braunston where it joins with the Oxford canal and then head south. It'll take you right into Oxford. I've not done the whole length of it but I have run substantial chunks of it and the towpath is in reasonable condition.
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