Cherwell Valley

From Motorway Services Online

Cherwell Valley
Moto
View pictures (14)
Road:	M40 at J10 (also accessible to traffic on the A43 and the B430)
Address:	Moto Services Ltd Cherwell Valley Motorway Services Area Northampton Road Ardley Bicester Oxfordshire OX27 7RD
Telephone number:	01869 346060
Signposted from the road?	As Costa/M&S
Opened:	1994
Previous operators:	Granada
Grid reference:	SP551282
Services type:	Single site located at a junction.
Visit Cherwell Valley/Moto's official website Facebook Page

A large service area with many facilities, including a field round the back for dogs and children. The main problem with it is that the junction it's off is very busy and very complex.

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Facilities

General: Local Information, Picnic Area, Children's Play Area, Field, Showers, Wi-Fi
Restaurants: Eat & Drink Co., Burger King, Costa Coffee, Upper Crust, Krispy Kreme
Shops: WH Smith, Ladbrokes, Marks and Spencer Simply Food, Thorntons, Fonebitz
Fuel: Esso with pumps for Unleaded, Ultimate Unleaded, Diesel, Ultimate Diesel and AdBlue.
Motel: Travelodge^{[book rooms]}

Parking Prices

First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £8 and HGVs £19, or £21 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

Queueing outside the services

Cherwell Valley is a large service area and it's the first 'proper' one for traffic coming from the South Coast on the A34. Between the opening of the M40 in 1990 and the opening of the services in 1994, it was possible to drive from Dover to Telford (239 motorway miles) without passing any services.

Its biggest flaw is the junction it's on, which was recently remodelled following the upgrade of the A43. The new junction has five single-lane sliproads, four major exits and three tight roundabouts. One of the roundabouts causes a conflict between traffic heading from the M40 north to the A43 and traffic heading from the A43 to the M40 south, causing queues even outside rush hour. Even if you don't need a break when you see signs for the services, you will when you get there.

The services were one of the first to gain a Marks and Spencers store, which was recently extended along with the Travelodge to keep up with demand. Despite this, Moto tried to claim compensation off the Highways Agency for a loss of traffic due to the roadworks and the new junction layout. Moto lost the case.

The services were considered for six years, and they finally opened on the 31st March 1994 costing £20m and taking up 56 acres of land. Before then there were emergency fuel and toilet facilities located at the junction.

Survey Results

In 2006 the services won a five star loo award and were graded 4/5 by Holiday Which?.

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: chris stoped here on my way back from uni, the food and the service was terriable, and which bright spark decided a ladbrokes was needed at a service station? i also lost my wallet, so all in all i throughley enjoyed my visit!! Posted: 21 Dec 2009, 01:14 Grahame Stopped on the way to Bicester, No one in front of us to be served, there were no plates available, when they arrived they were stone cold, meal was thrown on them not placed staff very ignorant and unhelpful. Coffee machine not working, assistant did not help. Whole complex very cold everyone complaining and loud music rang out not suitable for a relaxing break. Will not stop there again. Posted: 08 Dec 2009, 20:42 chicken egg i visited m and s to stock up on a few things on my way home and i can only say was a fab store it is and the staff so friendley and helpful. many thanks Posted: 08 Nov 2009, 09:22 Johnny Whoever thought putting the toilets at the end of narrow corridor was a good idea clearly wasn't thinking. Obviously this corridor gets very busy, making it hard to get in and out of the disabled toilets which are located along it. This is made worse by the fact that disabled people are usually disabled, meaning they don't want to weave around crowds and may take longer when moving around. Other than that, the services were fine and very secluded. The first car park access road feels like you're entering someone's house! Posted: 24 Aug 2009, 16:21 mel hopkinson on getting a parking ticket for a night stop in my motorhome the fee was the same a hgv £19 pounds no water no electricity available i will be forwarding this email to the caravan club Posted: 24 Jul 2009, 20:32 Anonymous Stopped at this services on the way down to Eastbourne, the food is good from the M&S and the Travelodge is great. 10 out of 10! Posted: 13 Jun 2009, 09:20 MatthewB6323 Generally busy and efficient - but I was sold a loaf of bread in Marks and Spencer Simply Food there on Monday which turned out to be a day out of date. Better stocktaking is needed. Posted: 25 Mar 2009, 19:53 Wack0 Have been there a few times and had no problem with the junction -- in fact I have never had any problem with the junction ! Posted: 28 Dec 2008, 17:30 Vera I found the junction a pain but bearable. The services were clean as were the toilets. The food was expensive as always but nice to eat. They are probably one of the most well-placed services on the motorway network with the M40 north to Birmingham, M40 south to London, A34 south to Winchester and the South Coast and the A43 north to Northampton and the M1. For all this traffic visiting, I think the services are very well kept. Posted: 13 Dec 2008, 15:27 davehammer Visited last Friday on the way to Birmingham and I was generally impressed, though a member of staff barged past me as I was about to give my order in the self service and ordered herself some lunch. Getting into the place is a complete pain as the roundabout system is total lunacy. Posted: 19 Nov 2008, 00:01
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 'MatthewB6323' for the information used on this page.