Rownhams

Rownhams
Roadchef
39 more photos in the gallery
Road:	M27 between J3 and J4
Address:	Motor Way Service Station Rownhams Lane Rownhams Southampton Hampshire SO16 8AP
Telephone number:	02380 734480
Signposted from the road?	As McDonald's/Costa
Opened:	1976 (westbound) 1987? (eastbound)
Grid reference:	SU388177
Services type:	Two sites located between junctions, connected by pedestrian subway.
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The only 'proper' services on the entire south coast route, Rownhams feels fairly rural but it's located on a very busy stretch of motorway. Not only does it cater for west-east traffic, but it also carries north-south traffic heading between Southampton on the M271 at J3 and London and The Midlands on the M3 at J4. Despite this, the services are usually fairly quiet and it shows its age. They form an unofficial gateway to the New Forest.

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Facilities

General: BT WiFi, Picnic Tables, Traffic Information, Truck Wash
Restaurants: McDonald's (westbound only), Restbite, Costa
Shops: WHSmith (with Costa Express Krispy Kreme)
Fuel: BP (with: Wild Bean Café AdBlue Containers LPG)
Motel: Days Inn^{[book rooms]} (westbound only)

Parking Prices

First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £10 and HGVs, caravans and coaches £21, or £23 to include a £10 food voucher.

Prices are paid using PayByPhone - more details or in the shop or restaurant. The location code is 5260 (westbound) and 5259 (eastbound).

The fees are strictly enforced by CP Plus.

Trivia & History

Two distinctly different designs make up the services. The parking areas and access roads were built with the M27, and the amenity buildings developed afterwards.

At night, sometimes one of the buildings are closed, bringing the subway back into use.

BP operate the filling stations here.

Westbound

The westbound services also forms one of five bases for Boarhunt, a local recovery service. If there are significant delays at Southampton's docks most lorries are told to wait at the services.

Despite the location, the services are regularly referred to by Roadchef as being on the "M27 northbound".

Recently, the services were refurbished, as part of Roadchef's plan to 'revamp' 6 of their sites. Because of this, a 24-hour McDonald's has opened.

Building

The 'side' entrance to the westbound building

The older of the two sides, Rownhams westbound opened a short while after the M27 and consists of a white building with several hexagonal points, brown tinted windows and bare brick indoors. It is designed to be relatively well camouflaged, with the whole complex being lower than that of the motorway and the main entrance being unusually discreet for a service station.

Although this hasn't been taken as seriously over time, the success of the screening was compromised most in 2008 when the M27 was widened and the majority of the trees that separated it from the services were removed, creating a large tarmac area. Part of this achievement had already been compromised when the original dreams for a grass roof were written off as being too expensive.

Eastbound traffic could access the site through a subway, rather than a traditional bridge, which came out at the former coach entrance to the services, which is now very quiet. This could be some indication of what Hatfield would have looked like.

Despite planning permission suggesting otherwise, it doesn't look like this building has ever been extended. One early 2000s plan would have added a curved aluminium roof to the building. A plaque inside marks the opening of a "RoadChef development" on the 1st July 1985, but it's not clear what this is - it could even be the eastbound services.

Branding and Layout

The toilets are at the front (nearest the car park, one by each entrance), and the restaurant is at the back, which extends further than it looks. Within this, a coffee shop was introduced to the middle and then moved closer to the aisle.

The eastern end of the restaurant was syphoned off to become a Wimpy bar, then The Burger Company. The exact history here isn't clear as proposals have been put forward through the 2000s to add McDonald's, Wimpy, Costa and Dr Beak's Chicken to the fringes of the restaurant, and many of these didn't materialise, but it looks like one former seating area has now become a boardroom. In any case, by each entrance an extra shop was introduced - one was called Surf Shack and became a temporary Costa which is still there, albeit it closed, and the other was replaced in favour of this mysterious supplementary restaurant. During these changes, the extent of an atrium room that was within the restaurant was reduced.

A motel was built here in 1989, passing between RoadChef Lodge, Travel Inn, Premier Inn and then Days Inn, built next to the former coach park. Eastbound traffic was directed to the motel, using the westbound HGV parking, by a series of markings taking them through the rear access and over the bridge, although it is now difficult to follow.

For some years, a portacabin existed by the front of the services providing tourist information. A play area was added in 1993 and removed in 2011.

Developments

In Spring 2012 McDonald's was introduced to the services, taking the opportunity to reface the front of the building, creating a more prominent entrance and changing the layout of the interior to create a larger Costa area and smaller restaurant, with the lobby directing customers in to the restaurant area rather than the toilets.

Eastbound

The more typical eastbound services

The eastbound building has a more traditional late-'80s brick and glass building. The 10-year advantage it has over its westbound counterpart makes it look much better kept. It is actually higher up than its surroundings, but the darker colours mean it still blends in. It's much smaller than the other side, but this is almost a given seeing as it was built to relieve it.

As a result of the smaller restaurant area, no fast food service has been added, although The Burger Company is advertised so presumably its products are still sold. There haven't been any plans to introduce McDonald's either, although Costa has been moved closer to the entrance.

Until it was built, all the car park took you to was a pathway through to the other side. This is still there, but rarely used.

In 2000 and again in 2006, there were plans to build a lodge in the gap by the car park, but this never happened. The road signs still suggest there is a lodge here, and previously people would have been able to visit the westbound lodge via the rear access, but the markings for this have faded and the official advice is now to turn around at the next junction (which cannot actually be done, but never mind).

Survey Results

In May 2012, Visit England rated the northbound services as 2 stars and southbound as 3 stars. In August 2011, both sides received 2 stars.

Alternatives