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Lancaster

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Moto services, M6 between J32 and J33

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Road: M6
Junction: Between J32 and J33
Operator: Moto
Location: Lancashire LA2 9DU
Telephone: 01524 791775
Signed from the motorway? Yes
Previous operators: Rank, Pavilion, Granada
Previous names: Forton, Lancaster (Forton)
Services type: Two sites located between junctions, connected by an internal bridge.

Official website: Visit Lancaster/Moto's official website

Quite possibly the most iconic service station of all, Lancaster is famous for its large tower sticking out of the westbound building (there's more info in the trivia section). Today, Lancaster has been moved around quite a bit and the toilets are now upstairs. The tower is closed to the public.

Choose a section: Main Page | Location, Map & Directions

Photo taken by Roger May, it's used under this Creative Commons

licence.

Facilities:

General: Cash Machine, Pay Phones, Local Information, Children's Play Area, Showers
Food/Drink: Eat & Drink Company, Burger King, Caffè Ritazza
Shopping: WH Smith, Fonebitz, Marks and Spencer Simply Food
Fuel: BP with pumps for Unleaded, Ultimate Unleaded, Diesel, Ultimate Diesel and LPG
Motel: Travelodge

Photos:

Click on a photo to view the full size. If you have one to add, contact me. It's never too late to get your name in the limelight.

	Heading south on the M6, the tower comes into sight long before the signs, showing off its new colour scheme. It used to be a weathered white. Photo taken whilst travelling southbound in 2006 by Ian Wilson.
	Another look at the services. Photo taken whilst travelling southbound in 2006 by Ian Wilson.
	A close-up of the tower in its old colour scheme. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2006 by Thomas Hall.
	Another look at the tower. You can see where it gets its nickname 'Magic Mushroom services'! Photo taken whilst travelling southbound in 2005 by Roger May. It's used under this Creative Commons licence.
	Even if you look away from the tower, Forton still has that 60s feel. Here it looks like an old secondary school, not a Moto service station! Inside it retains that school-feeling by painting the floor yellow. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2006 by Tim Hallam. It's used under this Creative Commons licence.
	The outdoor seating, with the rolling hills of Lancashire in the background. Photo taken whilst travelling southbound in 2007 by M J Richardson. It's used under this Creative Commons licence.
	Back to the tower, and this is how it looked in 1981. It hasn't changed much, really. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 1981 by Robert Struthers. It's used under this Creative Commons licence.

Trivia:

Lancaster was opened in 1965 by Rank under the name 'Forton'. When Granada eventually grasped hold of the services, they renamed it to 'Lancaster' (along with other name changes such as Birch becoming 'Manchester North'). However, because Forton was so historic Granada noticed that when it changed to Lancaster there was a drop in trade. To sort this out, they renamed it yet again but this time to the ridiculous 'Lancaster (Forton)'. Now that people have become used to the change the '(Forton)' is starting to drop off and it's becoming just 'Lancaster'.

The tower is called 'The Pennine Tower', and when it opened it had a restaurant with a panoramic view. However, the tower fell short of the Health and Safety regulations for the number of emergency exits required in a public building, so it had to be closed. It's now only used for staff training and offices, but it's still a prominent local landmark. Allegedly it's possible to sneak inside if you know what you're doing.

The tower is unique to the services, but Rank built slightly smaller versions at other services of theirs such as Hilton Park and Aust, both of which have suffered exactly the same fate.

In early 2007, a Marks and Spencer store opened here, replacing the Ladbrokes and Little Chef. The Highways Agency have listed Lancaster as an "approved truckstop", something which surprisingly few services are.

Survey results:

In 2008 the services won a five star loo award.

In 2006 the services won a four star loo award.

Also in 2006, Holiday Which? rated the services at 4/5.

Parking Prices:

Vehicle:	For up to 2 hours:	For 2 to 24 hours:
Cars:	FREE	£8
HGVs & Carvans:	FREE	£13*
Coaches:	FREE	£13*
* For an extra £2, the price will include a £6 meal voucher. The above prices are intended to be a guide only. Tickets must be renewed after 24 hours, and can be obtained from the 'Pay & Display' meters located in each car park.

Alternatives:

Burton-in-Kendal Moto services on the M6 northbound, 14 miles to the north.
Southwaite Moto services on the M6, 64 miles to the north.
Killington Lake RoadChef services on the M6 southbound, 26 miles to the north.
Charnock Richard Welcome Break services on the M6, 24 miles to the south.
Birch Moto services on the M62, 41 miles to the south.
Bolton West First services on the M61, 28 miles to the south.
Blackburn with Darwen Extra/McDonalds services on the M65, 26 miles to the south.

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:

Anonymous

I tried today to sneak into the tower but all service doors were locked and the lift buttons would only respond for floors G and 1 - buttons 2 and 3 and U and D had no response. Gotta love those weird pentagon-shaped lifts anyway! Forton is so weird and wonderful

Posted: 17 Aug 2008, 22:48

Tom

We stopped there at approx 02.30 on 26th July having driven from Aberdeen with a caravan. On entering, the woman who was on duty was seated at a table eating and announced "We are closed as I'm eating. If it's coffee you want there's a machine over there". Needless to say we didn't stay and drove to the next service area. I will never use Moto Lancaster again as it appears that they have unpredicatable opening hours and are not customer service driven. I have reported this to Moto via their website but no reply has been forthcoming other than a computer generated acknowledgement.

Posted: 16 Aug 2007, 08:19

Admin

Post your comments and reviews for Lancaster here, or click here

to return to the Services List.

Posted: 08 Oct 2005, 11:13

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 | Location, Map & Directions

With thanks to the user 'fonebitzuk' for the information used on this page.

Latest Update: 3rd January 2009

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Lancaster