Birch

Birch
Moto
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Road:	M62 between J18 and J19
Address:	Lancashire OL10 2HQ
Telephone number:	0161 463 0911 (westbound) 0161 643 0911 (eastbound)
Signposted from the road?	As Burger King/Costa/M&S
Opened:	1972
Previous operators:	Taverna, Granada
Previous names:	Manchester North
Grid reference:	SD847079
Services type:	Two sites located between junctions, connected by an external footbridge.
Visit Birch Westbound/Moto's official website Visit Birch Eastbound/Moto's official website Facebook Page

Two different services close to Manchester on the busy M62 - the eastbound services are quite old and small whereas the westbound side has since been fully rebuilt and is now much more modern.

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Facilities

General: Business Centre (eastbound only), Local Information, Showers, Wi-Fi, Traffic Information
Restaurants: Eat & Drink Co., Burger King, Costa Coffee, Krispy Kreme
Shops: WH Smith, Marks and Spencer Simply Food (westbound only), Fonebitz, Ladbrokes (eastbound only)
Fuel: Esso with pumps for Unleaded, Ultimate Unleaded and Diesel.
Motel: Travelodge^{[book rooms: west east]}

Parking Prices

First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £10 and HGVs £16, or £18 to include a £7.50 food voucher.

Prices can be paid through the phone, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by CP Plus.

Trivia

The newer westbound entrance.

The westbound amenity building was destroyed in a massive fire on the 9th October 2003. After losing large sums of cash in a slot machine, Jason New started kicking it to get his money back. He then went to the shop and bought a lighter, promptly setting fire to the machine. By one in the morning, the whole westbound side of the services were alight and evacuated. It took 70 fire-fighters four hours to bring the blaze under control.

Whilst the site was being rebuilt, temporary facilities were provided. The petrol station, motel and eastbound services were not affected but were evacuated for safety reasons.

The new services cater for 242 cars, 120 lorries and 30 coaches. When it was opened, Moto described the new building as being "the most modern on the motorway network". The parking prices used to have an unusual (and rather expensive) tier system, but it has now been reverted back to the standard 2-or-24 hours system.

In September 1975 there was a clash between Leeds United and Chelsea fans who stopped on either side of the road and met on the bridge. This resulted in smashed windows, uprooted trees and a total of £3,000 worth of damage.

Survey Results

In 2006 the westbound services won a four star loo award and the eastbound five stars.

Alternatives

Comments and Reviews

Showing the most recent responses only: for the full thread and the ability to edit your own posts, you need to view the topic in the forums.
Author: Message: Johnny I visited both sides on the 14th August at 12pm. On the eastbound side I was thinking "the best thing to do here would be to bulldoze it and start again". It's a good example of an old building being extended to the point where everything feels so disorganised, and the circuitous route to the toilets only confirms this. The toilets themselves seemed to be particularly small. Of course, bulldozing it and starting again is exactly what happened to the westbound side, and what an improvement it is. Despite the tight constraints it feels so much more modern and easy to use, and that has to be a good thing. More of this please! I was intrigued by what Moto were doing regarding M&S: the eastbound side is signposted as 'Costa BK M&S', and there are signs by the entrance suggesting that people looking for the M&S get back in their cars and drive across the bridge to the westbound side. No thanks. Posted: 19 Aug 2010, 21:07 Pennine Wanderer Stop here occasionally on route from yorkshire to manchester for work. Last week went in about 8am with a colleague. Ordered 2 English breakfasts from the Eat and drink Co. First we was told that the price had now increased by £1 so that was £6.99 for a breakfast that consisted of 2 sausagues, a small burnt rasher of bacon, a slice is disgusting fried bread, a cold hash brown, half a cold tomato, a mushy egg and some stone cold beans. Great value but perhaps the taste would make up for it? Erm, no! It was wholly disgusting. Everything was cold, the egg was an abomination and the bacon had acheived the amazing feat of being comptletley burnt and yet stone cold. We complained, not only that the breakfast had gone up £1 from the still advertised price of £5.99 but everything our plates was disgusting. The manager wasn't available and the supervisor of E&D co wasn't around either. We were refused our money back becuase we had eaten some of the items on the plate. A full complaint is going to Birch and Moto. A good way to describe Moto is 'rapists of the motorists wallets' Posted: 25 Jun 2010, 10:27 Anonymous [size=150]The telephone that it gives for Moto Services, Birch. does not exist. I needed to telephone you urgently today but keep getting 'no such number'. I have tried 0161 463 0911 many times without any luck. Hazel Tack Posted: 21 May 2010, 15:47 Anonymous Birch services is incredible. From the moment you pull off the motorway and begin panic braking to avoid the humiliation of death in a shrubbery, you know you're somewhere special. Don't talk to the RAC man, he's a time waster. The toilets are caked in the shit of destitute and hungover. Posted: 07 Oct 2009, 23:09 jason blakemore if you want a sandwich then do not buy it from the wh smith shop. A typical cheese and onion sandwich made by the rubbish ginsters brand will cost you a massive £2.99 instead go to the m&s simply food it only costs £1.50 and it tastes four times better and the bottled water is only 67p compared to £1.89 in smiths. astwice Posted: 19 Jun 2009, 15:11 The Con men at Birch Beware confidence tricksers claiming to be Italian businessmen who are short and cash and are having to sell their stock to get home. The jackets they try and fob you off with are plastic fakes of well known brands. Posted: 25 Nov 2008, 18:57 Brian I'ts ok but nothing special. Posted: 08 Feb 2007, 19:36 Admin Post your comments and reviews for Birch here, or you can return to Birch. Posted: 22 Aug 2005, 12:22
Showing the most recent responses only: for the full thread and the ability to edit your own posts, you need to view the topic in the forums.

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With thanks to the user 'Ziathon' for the information used on this page.