| Norton Canes | |
| Roadchef | |
 | |
| Road: | M6 Toll between JT6 and JT7 (also accessible via the A5 and B4154) |
| Address: | Road Chef Norton Canes M S A Bettys Lane Norton Canes Cannock Staffordshire WS11 9UX |
| Telephone number: | 01543 272540 |
| Signposted from the road? | Yes |
| Opened: | 2004 |
| Grid reference: | SK023074 |
| Services type: | Single site located between junctions with access to both sides. |
| Visit Norton Canes/Roadchef's official website Facebook Page Twitter: @Norton_Canes | |
Located off its own unnumbered junction, Norton Canes is one of the newest motorway services in the UK. It's very popular and very busy, and is well landscaped, with fountains and picnic benches located around it.
Contents |
Facilities
General: BT WiFi, Picnic Tables, Jackpot £500, Traffic Information
Restaurants: Restbite, The Burger Company, The Bread Kitchen, Costa
Shops: WHSmith (with Costa Express Krispy Kreme), Fone Bitz
Fuel: BP (with: Wild Bean Café)
Motel: Days Inn[book rooms]
Parking Prices
First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £10 and HGVs, caravans and coaches £19, or £21 to include a £10 food voucher.
Prices are paid using PayByPhone - more details or in the shop or restaurant. The location code is 5263.
The fees are strictly enforced by CP Plus.
Trivia
One of Roadchef's most profitable sites. When it opened it had a separate car park for local traffic, with a barrier separating the two (without it cars would be able to escape the toll by changing car parks). This meant it technically functioned as a local service area as well as a major MSA, even if it was never really used as such. By 2010 the local car park had been gated off with only authorised traffic able to access it.
The food is served in a new 'cook to order' and 'proper' style, taking 10 minutes to cook and pleasing the BBC's 'The Money Programme', but it costed nearly £50 to feed a family of four! It also featured in their 'Top Gear' in 2004.
The site occupies 68 acres, and it opened on the 9th March 2004, a few months after the motorway itself. When it opened it was described as "a new era in services". The parking areas can accommodate 350 cars, 52 lorries, 25 coaches and 6 caravans, in addition to a 110-space overflow car park (which is used much more than you'd think, see the photos).
The services were first proposed in 1993 as part of the toll road project and were initially rejected by the council on environmental grounds and because the plans were put forward before the M6 Toll had been finalised.
BP operate the filling station here.
Survey Results
In May 2012 and August 2011, Visit England rated the services as 4 stars.
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: | Very Good |
| Outdoor facilities: | Acceptable |
| Access and indoor facilities: | Good |
| Catering: | Acceptable |
| Shop: | Very Good |
| Family Friendliness: | Very Poor |
| Service: | Very Good |
| Hygiene: | Very Good |
| Pricing: | Very Poor |
| Final Score: | Acceptable |
The services were said to be spacious with a good variety of food, but the food was not tasty and required plastic cutlery, and for a new build it had no outdoor play area and a poor indoor one.
In 2006, Holiday Which? visited and rated the services at 4/5, they liked the individuality of the products for sale.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| none on M6 Toll Stafford (North) (M6 northbound, 20 miles) Stafford (South) (M6 southbound, 19 miles) Telford (M54, 21 miles) | Services on the M6 Toll |
none on M6 Toll Corley (M6, 29 miles) Warwick (M40, 47 miles) Tamworth (M42 north, 16 miles) |
| Sandbach (M6, 41 miles) Stafford (South) (M6 southbound, 19 miles) | Roadchef services | Watford Gap (M1 south, 50 miles) |
AA survey results from the Automobile Association, you can view the full report and what they were looking for in this PDF document.