Toddington

From Motorway Services Online

Toddington
Moto
View pictures (9)
Road:	M1 between J11 and J12
Address:	Moto Ltd Toddington Dunstable Bedfordshire LU5 6HR
Telephone number:	01525 878400
Signposted from the road?	As Costa/M&S
Opened:	1964
Previous operators:	Granada
Grid reference:	TL030287
Services type:	Two sites located between junctions, connected by a pedestrian footbridge.
Visit Toddington Northbound/Moto's official website Visit Toddington Southbound/Moto's official website Facebook Page

Enriched with facilities but not good looks, Toddington is a busy service area and the first in a while for traffic heading from the M25.

Main Page | Photos | Location, Map and Directions

Facilities

General: Children's Play Area, Showers, Wi-Fi
Restaurants: Eat & Drink Co., Burger King, Costa Coffee, Upper Crust, Krispy Kreme
Shops: WH Smith, Marks and Spencer Simply Food, Ladbrokes (southbound only), Barber Shop (southbound only)
Fuel: BP with pumps for Unleaded, Ultimate Unleaded, Diesel and Ultimate Diesel. LPG available southbound only.
Motel: Travelodge^{[book rooms]}

Parking Prices

First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £8 and HGVs £18, or £20 to include a £7.50 food voucher.

Prices can be paid through the phone, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by CP Plus.

Trivia

Toddington houses Moto's Head Office, meaning that the services have been the pilot test for many things including WH Smith, 'Power Naps' and Marks and Spencer Simply Food. It featured in the BBC's 'Top Gear' and until recently it had Scoop, Halfords, T2 and Birthdays stores, making it one of Moto's main retail sites.

This has been the case right from the early days: in 1974 Toddington was the first service station with a "free-flow snack supermarket layout", which was described by a design journal as an "interesting initiative" that promises "promises a much improved service to the public".

It was Granada's first service area, opening in 1965. It was the third service area to open on the M1, after Newport Pagnell.

Survey Results

The wide variety of shops was praised by Lord Adonis (Secretary of State for Transport) during his surprise visit in September 2009.

The services were inspected by the AA on the 24th and 25th of March 2007. These are their results:

The services were said to be well priced(!) with secure, clean facilities, but the staff were poor and there was very little to smile about outside. The AA said that the poor result could be down to the fact that the services were being refurbished at the time they were inspected and they would improve afterwards.

In 2006, Toddington was rated 4/5 by Holiday Which?

Also in 2006 the services won a five-star loo award.

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: davehammer Generic MSA if ever there was one. Toilets weren't very clean when I visited and there was a distinct lack of staff throughout the place. Posted: 03 Jan 2009, 16:12 Fathers I was recently in your EDC to have something to eat and drink which i found the food very Tasteless and not much of a Selection. The latte Coffee was not very nice either considering the price, i was very disappointed and wished that i had gone M&S and got a sandwich. Posted: 01 Oct 2008, 13:51 Ziathon Motos head office. If something new is rolled out here and is a success expect it to be at every moto Posted: 10 Jul 2006, 17:31 Admin Post your comments and reviews for Toddington here, or you can return to Toddington. Posted: 08 Jan 2006, 11:31
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 | Photos | Location, Map and Directions

With thanks to John and the user 'Ziathon' for the information used on this page.

AA survey results from the Automobile Association, you can view the full report and what they were looking for in this PDF document.