Newport Pagnell
| Newport Pagnell | |
| Welcome Break | |
 | |
| Road: | M1 between J14 and J15 |
| Address: | Granada Services Newport Pagnell Motorway Services Area M1 Newport Pagnell Buckinghamshire MK16 8DS |
| Telephone number: | 01908 217722 |
| Signposted from the road? | Yes |
| Opened: | 1960 |
| Previous operators: | Motorway Services Ltd, Trusthouse Forte |
| Grid reference: | SP858435 |
| Services type: | Two sites located between junctions, connected by an internal bridge. |
| Visit Newport Pagnell/Welcome Break's official website Facebook Page | |
One of the oldest services around, Newport Pagnell has done a lot with the little space it has. There isn't a lot of space, especially for southbound lorries, but the hotel has a very 1950s look to it and has received thumbs up for this.
Contents |
Facilities
General: BT Openzone, Welcome Break Gaming, Traffic Information, Showers
Restaurants: Burger King, Starbucks, Eat In, KFC
Shops: WH Smith, Fonebitz
Fuel: Shell (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
Newport Pagnell is often claimed to be the first motorway service area. The truth is that Watford Gap opened almost a whole year before it, but its design wasn't very conventional. When the services opened they formed the headquarters of certain segments of the Forte business, and today Welcome Break's HQ is only a few miles away in the nearby village.
It had one of the last remaining Welcome Lodges, becoming Days Inn in April 2009. There were plans for the motel to be rebuilt before being rebranded but this never went ahead, so the motel has retained its 1950s American-inspired design. Although the motel is immediately adjacent to the services, it's technically not part of them, and for this reason it is allowed to sell alcohol whereas at most other services it is strictly illegal.
The services received a lot of media attention in September 2007 when a coach took the southbound entrance at 50mph, mistaking it for a junction. It clipped the curb and came to a rest again the building. 30 out of the 33 passengers were hurt, 6 seriously, and the driver was later charged for drink driving and dangerous driving. There's more information and pictures on the BBC website.
In The Smiths' song 'Is It Really So Strange?', one of the lines is "I lost my bag at Newport Pagnell", referring to the services. They have also featured in a few scenes of the BBC's 'EastEnders'.
This was also the test site for WH Smith.
Early Days
The services opened on the 15th August 1960 under the name 'Motorway Services Ltd', which was a join venture between Forte (catering) and Blue Star (fuel). Trusthouse Forte later took over the whole site.
The original plan was that Watford Gap would serve lorries whilst Newport Pagnell served cars, but it didn't work on several grounds: Blue Boar didn't want to build a second site and any other operator wouldn't want to send half their traffic to someone else, plus if a car driver desperately needed service area facilities but was outside a lorries-only service area it would be a bit silly not to let them in.
When Fortes did open the services in 1960, they were under strict instructions to make the building dull and to separate it from the main carriageway with a lot of trees. When the Government came to make their final inspection, they found that both rules had been broken and the site was seen as a "possible distraction" to drivers. Despite this, the services opened as normal and clearly haven't been seen as that much of a distraction by drivers.
The services are crammed into the local area, however the northbound site has sprawled into the field next to it. Sadly, the same isn't true for the southbound services and they have a huge shortage of space. Recent development means that the northbound site won't be able to expand any further either.
Survey Results
In 2008 the services won a five star loo award.
In 2007, Newport Pagnell northbound won a five star loo award. The southbound side won a four star one.
In 2006, both sides of Newport Pagnell won a four star loo award.
Also in 2006, Holiday Which? rated the services at 2/5.
It was here in 2000 that Egon Ronay made the infamous quote "it's called 'all-day' because it tastes as if it had been hanging around all day".
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Toddington (15 miles) | Services on the M1 | Northampton (13 miles) |
| London Gateway (39 miles) South Mimms (M25 east, 33 miles) | Welcome Break services |
Leicester Forest East (45 miles) Corley (47 miles) |
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