View topic - Watford Gap M1

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On the the 14th of December we pulled in at Watford Gap Service Area 10.30 pm. and found the service at the coffee bar to be very good, but the tables in the seating area were dirty and uncleaned from previous users, on going to the men toilets the
Wc's were in a terrible condition, with 7 of the w c's out of order and the only one without a sticker on the door was in such a state it was unusable.

After travelling on the Continent for a week where the toilets in all the locations we went to were in pristine condition and in working order,and,although we had to pay a small fee in some cases.
Come on UK we can do better than this.

Disgruntled traveller

I visited Watford Gap North 25 of December 2008. Well Done for Costa and WHSmiths team. Excellent job!

This was always a stopping point for most of us bands going north from London(back in the 1960's)It was bloody awful food and even worse coffee!! but,and i hope you won't think we were all spivs in London,there was always a lot of knocked off goods being sold in the lorry park!(oh,they were halcyon days back then!!)The police tended to turn a blind eye to most of the"acquired"goods being sold at"knockdown prices"(In fact,i've seen policemen have some of the aforementioned goods themselves!!Perhaps they were taking them away to use as"evidence"!!!!!)But the place still has a certain"nostalgic"feeling to it!(the food and drink has improved,slightly,but it's still nothing to get excited about!!)

I WAS THE SECOND CAR BEHIND THE TAPE A FEW MILES NORTH OF WATFORD GAP ON 2ND NOVEMBER 1959. ONCE THE TAPE WAS CUT I DROVE SOUTH BUT I NEEDED PETROL SO WENT INTO WATFORD GAP. I WAS THE FIRST MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC TO USE THE SERVICES AND A MEMBER OF THE SERVICES STAFF TOOK MY PHOTO. (I HAVEN'T GOT A COPY - DOES ANYONE HAVE ONE?)

The thing I remember most is the paper plates, plastic cups and plastic knives and forks. Eggs and chips had a whole new meaning when you had eaten half,the plate was easily eaten as well due to the fat . The reason, so far as I understand, was that there was no washing up facilities there . I bet that filled a lot of landfill but then we did not worry about it.
It was originally only supposed to be a lorry stop but Newport Pagnall was not open, so all vehicles went there.
Many the time I rode from the Busy Bee at Watford to Watford Gap and back, before there was a speed limit.

Visited both sides at 3pm on the 8th April. It was surprisingly calm for an M1 service area, and the northbound side had recently been refurbished and was looking very smart.

All in all, much better than I was expecting, though I can't help but wonder whether it would be much more popular if it didn't have a Wimpy.

Roy Harper's exact lyrics were:

"Watford Gap, Watford Gap
A plate of grease and a load of crap"

in fact, I might as well give the whole lyric:

"Just about a mile from where the motorways all merge
You can view the national edifice, a monumental splurge
It's the lonesome traveler's rotgut or bacteria's revenge
The great plastic spectacular descendant of Stonehenge
And the people come to worship on their death-defying wheels
Fancy-dressed as shovels for their death-defying meals

It's the Watford Gap, Watford Gap
A plate of grease and a load of crap

At one a.m. on Sunday you can hear the boys declare
That the other team were fairies and the ref was Fred Astaire
It's Chopper Ronnie's fan club on their weekly pilgrimage
To stick the hero's boot in all the way from Stamford Bridge
And without a solid concrete-burger no night is complete
Plastic cups of used bathwater wash away defeat

It's the Watford Gap, Watford Gap
A plate of grease and a load of crap

The traffic jam is rattling like a five-mile cornered snake
With fuming pieces falling off and steaming in its wake
The city's like a goolie in a groupie's stagnant womb
Spaghetti Junction's target in the vinegar strokes of doom
The countryside is ravaged like a syphilitic whore
Yodeling up the canyon is the dirty old Blue Boar

It's the Watford Gap, Watford Gap
A plate of grease and a load of crap"

Monday 6th September am. Southbound M1. Stopped there for the first time. An awful place! Tea was like dishwater.