M11 Birchanger Green Services
Opened: 1995 Original owner: Welcome Break Current Owner: Welcome Break Trivia: Reputed cost to build was £10,000,000 One of the first Welcome Breaks to feature (in 1995) a Cafe Primo (before now they had been Cafe Forte) and a MacDonalds. Welcome Break had negotiated a long term turnover related lease with MacDonalds, who ran the MacDonalds stores with the MSA. This was different to Granada’s tie up with Burger King, which was a franchise. Located very near the entrance to London Stanstead Airport, off what was the worst motorway junction in the country for congestion (the junction has since been improved to divert Airport traffic via a sub junction.) Mentioned in a poem written by a local about the...
Full ReviewM61 Bolton West Services
Opened : 1971 Original owner: Kenning Motor Group Latter owner: Pavillion(Formerly Rank) Even Latter owner: Granada Current Owner: First Original Name: Anderton Services Later name: Rivington Services Trivia: Sold off by Granada as part of the agreement they made when they purchased Pavillion. Granada sold “Rivington” (Bolton West) and Magor for 8.3 Million pounds. After the sale, a Husband and wife team who worked at Magor then moved to run this site. First invested 1.2 Million after aquiring the site to build a new hotel, and renamed the site “Bolton West” This MSA must have had the most changes in ownership of any MSA (see header above) It has also had 3 names- a record as far as we know...
Full ReviewM5 Strensham Services
Opened: 1965 Original owner: Take-a-Break Current Owner: RoadChef Location: Between Junctions 7 and 8 Picture: Picture of Strensham in 1974 showing the original footbridge. (Picture by Michael Evans) Then: Trivia: Redeveloped in 1995 Photo post redevelopment in 1995 (Northbound) – (Photo with thanks to Michael Evans) Current: Starting July 2008, Strensham opened an expeimental MacDonalds restaurant. Prior to this there were only 4 MacDonalds on the Motorway Network. The Strensham restaurant is to be operated on different terms and if sucessful, will result in 24 more restaurants opening at Roadchef sites. The difference is the Franchising model in use. The current 4 are typical individual concerns....
Full ReviewM5 Gordano Services
Opened: 1973 Original owner: Forte Current Owner: Welcome Break Then: Trivia: Current: Gordano is a single site services, i.e. the one site serves both sides. It lives on a roundabout, so you have local traffic aswell. Its quite small given the local traffic volume- but it was not frustratingly busy, however I imagine if 4 coaches rolled up at the same time it wouldn’t be the best of places, but the staff cope with the peaks and dips in customers very well. On the other hand, the car park is quite large, and if you had a trailer or caravan, etc. it would be easy to get yourself parked. Entering the building there is a small central lobby, off...
Full ReviewM5 Exeter Services
Opened: 1977 Original owner: Current Owner: Moto Then: Trivia: Malcolm Surl writes: “The coach park was originally designed so that entrance was on the north (industrial estate) side and exit on the south (motorway) side with coaches parking facing the services. The north entrance was barriered off at least ten years ago in an effort to stop HGV’s from mis-using the coach park. Hence, until this Summer’s re-vamp, coaches had to straddle both lanes and make a very awkward right turn to enter via the old south side exit, park facing away from the building and dice with death to exit via a slip on the east side – dice with death as the angle of the slip meant...
Full ReviewM5 Sedgemoor Services
Opened: 1970 Original owner: None Original Name: Brent Knoll Rest Area Converted to an MSA in 1986/7 Current Owner: Welcome Break(North) RoadChef (South) Then: Trivia: Opened as Brent Knoll Rest and Picnic Area in about 1970. As a result of vandalism, untidiness and unauthorized trading at the rest area, the Department of Transport invited Trusthouse Forte (who ran Gordano services further north), and RoadChef (who ran Taunton Deane to the south) to manage the north and southbound sites. By 1985 it was felt that there was sufficient demand to create a true MSA and so the DoT accepted both THF and Roadchefs proposals to develop their own halves of the site. Consequentially, the northbound site opened in 1987 and...
Full Review