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Content:
Fleet
From Motorway Services Online
| Fleet | |
| Welcome Break | |
 View pictures (12) | |
| Road: | M3 between J4a and J5 |
| Address: | Welcome Break M3 Services Fleet Services Fleet Hampshire GU51 1AA |
| Telephone number: | 01252 621656 |
| Signposted from the road? | Yes |
| Opened: | 1973 |
| Previous operators: | Trusthouse Forte |
| Grid reference: | SU798558 |
| Services type: | Two sites located between junctions, connected by an internal bridge. |
| Visit Fleet/Welcome Break's official website Facebook Page | |
Built in the middle of a forest, Fleet is a popular service area on the main route between London and the South West. It can get quite busy during holiday times and is one of few services to offer McDonalds as well as KFC and Burger King.
Contents |
Facilities
General: Meeting Room, BT Openzone, Gamezone, Traffic Information, Showers
Restaurants: Burger King, Coffee Primo, Eat In, KFC, McDonalds
Shops: WH Smith, Waitrose
Fuel: Shell (pumps include LPG)
Motel: Days Inn (southbound only)
Parking Prices
First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £8 and caravans, coaches and HGVs £22.50. These prices include a £2/£10 food voucher respectively.
Prices can be paid from the pay & display booths in each car park, or from the shop within the services.
Trivia
For quite a while Fleet was the only service area on the M3, and even today it's the only 'proper' services for south-western traffic for the next 130 miles.
It's one of two Welcome Break services which have a McDonalds. In 1995 Welcome Break announced that following its success they were going to open a McDonalds at all of their services, but this process was stopped after Welcome Break was bought by Granada who already had a deal with Burger King.
The footbridge at Fleet was built with this section of motorway, but the rest of the services weren't built for a few years, so for a while we were left with a bridge connecting two sides of wasteland.
Fleet were one of the first services to try out Welcome Break's new look in 2006. It also appears to have quite a lot of Facebook groups - I count eight, most of which are complimentary.
On BBC Southern Counties Radio, Jeremy Clarkson described the "Fleet cheat" where you use the services' back exit to avoid queues on the motorway, but he was told there were now rising bollards in use, to which he suggested getting a Hummvee. They also featured in an early episode of 'Waterloo Road'.
Survey Results
In 2008 the services won a five star loo award.
In 2006 and again in 2007, the toilets at the petrol station were given a three-star loo award. The services themselves were rated four-star.
The services were inspected by the AA on the 24th and 25th of March 2007. These are their results:
| Category: | Rating: |
| Road safety and parking: | Acceptable |
| Outdoor facilities: | Very Poor |
| Access and indoor facilities: | Very Poor |
| Catering: | Acceptable |
| Shop: | Very Good |
| Family Friendliness: | Very Poor |
| Service: | Good |
| Hygiene: | Good |
| Pricing: | Poor |
The services were said to be well signed and supervised, with a good shop and clean facilities. The biggest problem raised was the lack of disabled access. The lack of outside space and cold snacks were also highlighted.
In 1992 the services won the entire Loo of the Year competition.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| none on M3 South Mimms (M25 north, 52 miles) Clacket Lane (M25 south, 48 miles) Pease Pottage (M23 south, 51 miles) Toddington (M1 north, 18 miles) | Services on the M3 |
Winchester (25 miles) Popham (A303, 18 miles) |
| South Mimms (M25 north, 52 miles) | Welcome Break services | none |
Comments and Reviews
AA survey results from the Automobile Association, you can view the full report and what they were looking for in this PDF document.
