Lancaster
| Lancaster | |
| Moto | |
| Road: | M6 between J32 and J33 |
| Address: | Granada Lancaster Forton Motorway Service Area M6 Bay Horse Lancaster Lancashire LA2 9DU |
| Telephone number: | 01524 791775 |
| Signposted from the road? | As Burger King/Costa/M&S |
| Opened: | 1965 |
| Previous operators: | Rank, Pavilion, Granada |
| Previous names: | Forton, Lancaster (Forton) |
| Grid reference: | SD502520 |
| Services type: | Two sites located between junctions, connected by an internal bridge. |
| Visit Lancaster Northbound/Moto's official website Visit Lancaster Southbound/Moto's official website Forton Services Website Facebook Page | |
Quite possibly the most iconic service station of all, Lancaster is famous for its large tower sticking out of the northbound building (see trivia). Today, Lancaster has been moved around quite a bit and the toilets are now upstairs. The tower is closed to the public.
Contents |
Facilities
General: Local Information, Children's Play Area, Showers, Wi-Fi
Restaurants: Eat & Drink Co., Burger King, Costa Coffee
Shops: WH Smith, Marks and Spencer Simply Food, Fonebitz
Fuel: BP with pumps for Unleaded, Ultimate Unleaded, Diesel, Ultimate Diesel, LPG and AdBlue
Motel: Travelodge[book rooms]
Parking Prices
First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £8 and HGVs £13, or £15 to include a £6 food voucher.
Prices can be paid through the phone, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by CP Plus.
Trivia
Lancaster was opened in 1965 by Rank under the name 'Forton'. When Granada eventually grasped hold of the services, they renamed it to 'Lancaster' (along with other name changes such as Birch becoming 'Manchester North'). Unusually, Granada later changed this to 'Lancaster (Forton)' - it's not clear whether dropping the name Forton resulted in a drop of trade or just upset a few of the services' fans. This name stuck around for about a decade, but Moto are now slowly dropping the 'Forton' part leaving just 'Lancaster'.
The tower is called 'The Pennine Tower', and when it opened it had a restaurant with a panoramic view. However, the tower fell short of the Health and Safety regulations regarding emergency exits, so it had to be closed. It's now only used for staff training and offices, but it's still a prominent local landmark.
The tower is unique to the services, but Rank built slightly smaller versions at other services of theirs such as Hilton Park, which has suffered exactly the same fate. People disagree on whether the building is listed or not.
A 2008 exhibition in Lancaster celebrating 50 years of the M6 included a replica of the restaurant inside the Pennine Tower as it would be if it were still trading today.
In early 2007, a Marks and Spencers store opened here, replacing the Ladbrokes and Little Chef. The services used to be listed by the Highways Agency as an "approved truckstop", but this is no longer the case.
For many years the name 'Forton services' was used on all example diagrams of road signs, including drawings of non-motorway signs.
Survey Results
In 2008 and again in 2009 the services won a five star loo award - one of few Motos to take part in the event
In 2006 the services won a four star loo award.
Also in 2006, Holiday Which? rated the services at 4/5.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Charnock Richard (24 miles) Bolton West (M61, 28 miles) Blackburn with Darwen (M65, 26 miles) | Services on the M6 |
Burton-in-Kendal (M6 northbound, 14 miles) Killington Lake (M6 southbound, 26 miles) Carnforth truckstop (13 miles |
| Lymm (48 miles) Birch (M62, 41 miles) | Moto services |
Burton-in-Kendal (M6 northbound, 14 miles) Southwaite (64 miles) |
Comments and Reviews
With thanks to the user 'fonebitzuk' for the information used on this page.
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