Membury

Membury
Welcome Break
5 more photos in the gallery
Road:	M4 between J14 and J15
Address:	Welcome Break M4 Services Membury Motorway Services Area Lambourn Hungerford Berkshire RG17 7TZ
Telephone number:	01488 674360
Signposted from the road?	As Waitrose/KFC
Opened:	1972
Previous operators:	Ross
Grid reference:	SU308760
Services type:	Two sites located between junctions, connected by a pedestrian footbridge.
Visit Membury/Welcome Break's official website

Membury consist of two slightly old buildings, each with a fair amount of grass and trees.

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Facilities

General: BT Openzone, Welcome Break Gaming, Traffic Information, Showers
Restaurants: Burger King, Starbucks, Eat In, KFC
Shops: WH Smith, Fonebitz, Waitrose (westbound only)
Fuel: BP (pump types unknown)
Motel: Days Inn^{[book rooms]}

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

Ross originally wanted the services to be a replica of their first site at Leicester Forest East, however they couldn't afford to manage the traffic on the M4 whilst the bridge was being built. The services are one of few to have two storeys, a legacy of the original plan.

Membury is built on the site of the old RAF Membury airfield. The car park layout is certainly unique - it consists of rows and if there aren't any spaces in the one you choose, you've had it.

The services have an abandoned restaurant in a separate building which used to be a Happy Eater, later a Little Chef and then a Red Hen.

Survey Results

In 2007, the westbound services won a four-star loo award. The eastbound side won a three-star loo award.

In 2006, the services won a four star loo award.

Also in 2006, Holiday Which? rated the services at 3/5.

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: deborah burleigh we stopped at the membury services tuesday 15th june and i was very disapointed i went in to the the baby changing room which was situated in the disabled toilet and found it very dirty i could not use the toilet and i had to clean the baby changing table before using it . if i had not had my partner with me i would have had to take my young son into the ladies and lie him on the floor while i used the toilet i was told that they check the toilets every hour well i can say that there was no way it had been checked for a very long time i did complain but was told the site manager was unavailable but she would pass on the message i did also leave a message on there web site but i have still not had a reply !! Posted: 09 Jun 2010, 21:01 Alan A really pleasant surprise. Stopped at the westbound services last week and it was really light, airy and well laid out. The windows for the various eateries all face away from the road over a landscaped area and the Eat In restaurant and seating are on the first floor and look right over the countryside. Food was tasty and the self service eat In was easy to use and no nasty queues despite being quite busy. The way a services should be. Not fancy but just done well making the best use of the site and older buildings. The seperate building that once housed the Happy Eater, then Little Chef then Red hen is quite empty and would provide Little Chef with a perfect opportunity to return to the motorway if they wished. I think they should! Posted: 11 Aug 2009, 19:53 Red herring Red hen should have been aptly named red herring it never took over or replaced Little chey despite the company having big ambition for this brand. They paid a advertising company a six figure sum to come up with the name Red Hen desipte the powers at be being told it would never take off but hey what do we public know Posted: 30 Aug 2008, 15:06 davehammer A random feature of Membury is/was that the Little Chef/Red Hen on the Eastbound carriageway was separate from the main buildings out in the Car Park. I believe it now lies disused. Posted: 27 Aug 2008, 19:18 Admin Post your comments and reviews for Membury here, or you can return to Membury. Posted: 08 Jan 2006, 12:14
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 Alan Simpson for the information used on this page.