| Washington | |
| Moto | |
 | |
| Road: | A1(M) between J64 and J65 |
| Address: | Moto Service Area A1(M) Portobello Birtley County Durham DH3 2SJ |
| Telephone number: | 0191 4103436 |
| Signposted from the road? | As Costa/Burger King (northbound), Greggs/Costa/Burger King (southbound) |
| Opened: | 1970 (northbound) 1980s? (southbound) |
| Previous operators: | Taverna, Granada |
| Previous names: | Washington-Birtley |
| Grid reference: | NZ283550 |
| Services type: | Two sites located between junctions, connected by an internal bridge. |
| Visit Washington Northbound/Moto's official website Visit Washington Southbound/Moto's official website Facebook Page | |
A fairly old service area squished into the local area. The southbound site is actually located off the J64 exit sliproad, and traffic leaving the services has to cross this to rejoin the motorway.
Recently dropped its fuel prices so that it is one of very few services which are competing with local garages.
Contents |
Facilities
General: Local Information, Moto Free WiFi, Showers
Restaurants: Burger King, Costa, Eat & Drink Co., Greggs (southbound only)
Shops: WHSmith (with Costa Express Krispy Kreme)
Fuel: BP (with: Costa Express Krispy Kreme AdBlue Containers)
Motel: Travelodge[book rooms: north south]
Parking Prices
First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £11 and HGVs £18.50, or £20 to include a £9 food voucher.
Prices are paid using PayByPhone - more details. The location code is 2474 (northbound) and 2475 (southbound).
The fees are strictly enforced by CP Plus.
Trivia
The design was airport inspired, aiming for modern, pan-European travellers. As part of its desire to be futuristic, the food it offered was part cooked, then put into a vending machine, where customers could buy it and take it to a microwave along with cooking instructions.
The Highways Agency have listed Washington as an "approved truckstop", something which surprisingly few service areas are. Previously the Highways Agency's approved truckstop was the Nightowl Truckstops site at the rear of the services which accessed from the local road network.
Oh, and to any Americans who many be reading this, this is the real Washington we're talking about.
A Greggs outlet opened here on 14th March 2013 on the southbound side.
Survey Results
In May 2012, Visit England rated the services as 3 stars. In August 2011, they gave the southbound services 3 stars and northbound 2.
In 2006, the services won a five-star loo award.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Durham (11 miles) | Services on the A1(M) | Seaton Burn (A1, 16 miles) |
| Scotch Corner (A1, 34 miles) Barton Park Truckstop (32 miles) | Moto services | none nearby |
With thanks to the user 'alex' and Alan Simpson for the information used on this page.