Exterior of the small amenity building at EG’s Ilminster rest area, on the A303 at Southfields roundabout. It’s changed significantly since first opening in 1989. Other EG former Little Chef sites, such as Ilminster, are common to find along A-roads and where space allows, their interiors are transformed into mini food courts. On the A303, this can be seen at Podimore, Ilminster and Countess. This opened in 1989 as a Happy Easter restaurant, which became a Little Chef in 1996 with Burger King. Ilminster was always popular as it forms a final traffic break until the A303/A30 route reaches the M5 near Exeter. Due to growing popularity of Little Chef’s Ilminster site, it was transformed into Little Chef choices in 2002, offering Harry Ramsden’s and Cafe Ritazza, which both later closed and were replaced with a large Coffee Primo. The last refurbishment of Little Chef was in 2016, then it closed for good at the start of 2018, leaving the amenity building empty with just Burger King. Between 2018-2020, Ilminster’s amenity building was largely derelict and in need of transformation. Luckily, EG bought the site in 2018 and by 2020, they had fully refurbished the interior, adding a convenience store (no longer available), Greggs takeaway kiosk and Burger King restaurant with drive thru. There’s also a small customer seating area. Although no extensions were applied to Ilminster, it’s changed significantly from sit-down restaurant trade from Little Chef to franchised fast food units. Since the 2020 refurbishment, Ilminster has seen more customers and a higher turn-in rate from the A303. The car park is still rather small & also serves Travelodge and there’s limited green space at Ilminster. As I stayed overnight at the Travelodge, I could see when the site was busiest/quietest throughout the day. Before 9am the amenity building’s rather quiet and it remains fairly busy between 9-10:30pm, when it closes overnight. Ilminster is clearly signposted from the A303 with “Tiredness Can Kill” signs as there’s no rest area/services until Exeter, which is around 30 miles away.

Photo taken on 04/04/2024 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Ilminster, EG Group, A303, Burger King Drive Thru