Leicester Forest East

Leicester Forest East
Welcome Break
13 more photos in the gallery
Road:	M1 between J21 and J21a
Address:	Welcome Break Leicester Forest East Motorway Services Area Hinckley Road Leicester Forest East Leicester Leicestershire LE3 3GB
Telephone number:	01162 386801
Signposted from the road?	Yes
Opened:	1966
Previous operators:	Ross
Grid reference:	SK538026
Services type:	Single site built upon the motorway.
Visit Leicester Forest East/Welcome Break's official website Facebook Page

An old and small service area with all the restaurants on the bridge, packed in between two junctions. Its age is hidden by the many facelifts it has received, although it's due to close soon. It forms a gateway to The National Forest, and as such it has information boards and viewpoints.

Main Page | Photo Gallery | Location, Map and Directions

Facilities

General: Meeting Room, Local Information, BT Openzone, Traffic Information, Welcome Break Gaming, Picnic Tables, Showers
Restaurants: Burger King, Starbucks, Eat In, KFC
Shops: WH Smith, Waitrose, Fonebitz
Fuel: BP (pump types unknown)
Motel: Days Inn (northbound only)

Parking Prices

First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £8 and caravans, coaches and HGVs £20. These prices include a £2/£7 food voucher respectively.

Prices can be paid in the shop and restaurant, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.

Trivia

A view of the iconic bridge

Leicester Forest East is a very old service area, and by the turn of the millennium it had become dire and had been extended so far that it was now entirely concrete and asphalt.

Since then, the services have been completely refurbished. It's far from perfect - there just isn't the room to give it the extension it needs - but it feels and looks so much nicer.

During the early days of the services, you would have been able to walk along the promenade and terrace alongside the bridge, but these have both closed due to health and safety. The most unique thing about the services is that as you leave the northbound steps off the bridge you are thrown in to the shop, although this may have changed since it became a WH Smith. This was simply down to a lack of space.

Many people ask about the name 'Leicester Forest East', given that the services are west of Leicester and there is no Leicester Forest. The answer is that they are located east of the village of Leicester Forest East, which itself is east of Leicester Forest West. Clever, eh?

The services were designed along with this bit of the M1, which both opened in 1965. There is a Highways Agency works depot on the northbound exit and the local press described the services as "Leicestershire's best known landmark".

There is a Geocaching point located on the southbound emergency access road. The Days Inn motel opened in December 1999 and was the first at a Welcome Break.

In 2009 the services hit media attention after the adjacent hotel was used as overflow digs by Leicester University.

The toilets were refurbished in June 2010

Future

See details: The Rise and Fall of Leicester Forest East

The services are currently in a fairly dangerous position, as there are busy junctions either side and the M1 is four lanes with no hard shoulder through the services. The Highways Agency want to widen the M1 here yet again and they want to expand J21, both of which would require the services to be closed as they would be too dangerous. This was due to happen in 2010, but it has now been put back to 2017.

Amongst other things, a Facebook Group has been set up.

Survey Results

In 2008 the northbound services won a five star loo award.

In 2007, the northbound services won a five star loo award. The southbound site was rated four stars.

In 2006, both sides of the services won a five-star loo award.

Also in 2006, the services were rated three out of five 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: Anonymous Not sure if you are aware of this but this BP garage is not owned or operated by Welcome Break. Its run by BP themselves and hopefully the manager of the forecourt directed you to the right place! Posted: 29 Jun 2010, 22:07 didi Well what can I say? Filled up at the BP garage northbound and ended up paying for petrol twice!!! Its nearly three weeks now and I an still owed £52 refund due to back to my card! Spoke to the manager at BP service station and contacted head office customer services via email and had to resort to phoning local police thinking it is some sort of a scam. Soooooooooo not happy Avoid at all costs Posted: 24 Jun 2010, 23:31 Anonymous My husband had an accident with an arctic lorry coming out of the services & was hit 3 times. He was v. fortunate to be alive. Unfortunately, I have heard on the radio today (15/6/10) that an unfortunate person in a car has just been killed at the same spot. My heart goes out to his family. Although the service station seems lovely, I do believe it is an accident spot. Foreign/ European Arctic lorries seem to have a blind spot & due to them needing to get into the 3rd lane (changing lanes to go towards the port, Dover)... unfortunately more tragedies will keep on occurring. So yes, I do believe there is proof that it is a danger spot for accidents, not only for accidents but also a fatality. Does anyone know of other fatalaties in this same spot? Posted: 15 Jun 2010, 15:35 Serena I have many a childhood memory of Leicester Forest East as we used to stop there when going to see my aunts and uncles in Nottingham at least once a month until I was about 10 or so. I remember when the bridge was a waitress service restaurant and we'd always have a table next to the window so that me and my brother could watch the cars going past underneath us. Highlight of the trip that was! In fact a year before my dad passed away in 2005, we went back up to Nottingham again, just the two of us, and stopped at LFE for old times' sake. My dad remarked that it was the first time he'd ever sat next to the window as me and my brother always had to have those seats back than! Posted: 22 Nov 2008, 21:48 Cher What can I say, this is my favourite motorway services, yes it's old and a bit tired but it's got everything you need from a service station and it's design was and still is unique. I don't have any statistics on how many accidents occur that are related to people using this area - can anyone provide proof that it is an accident spot??? This is a place I have been visiting since my early teens, first with my family and then throughout my teens with friends in cars or on motorbikes, it was the place to go for a coffee and a bite to eat (Watford Gap was the other option) I still stop for a coffee and a reminisce. I am sure there are other like minded people in this area who feel saddened by it's future closure, perhaps we should chain ourselves to this monument and make our feelings known as the bulldozers arrive....come on you 40 somethings. Posted: 18 Oct 2008, 23:45 davehammer I love LFE, many a good stop there on the way back from Alton Towers. Plus the BP station on the southbound carriageway is so quaint and old school. Not like the huge BP Connect 'Do your weekly shop' jobs that adorn most other MSA's. Posted: 13 Jul 2008, 22:36 Johnny Stopped here on a weekday afternoon and had a very nice pasta, only problem was the price: £6 . Posted: 26 Feb 2007, 20:25 Admin Post your comments and reviews for Leicester Forest East here, or you can return to Leicester Forest East. Posted: 08 Jan 2006, 12:02
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.

Main Page | Photo Gallery | Location, Map and Directions