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Leicester Forest East

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Welcome Break services, M1 between J21 and J21a

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Road: M1
Junction: Between J21 and J21a
Operator: Welcome Break
Location: Leicestershire LE3 3GB
Telephone: 01162 386801
Signed from the motorway? Yes
Previous operators: Ross
Previous names: none
Services type: Single site built upon the motorway.

Official website: Visit Leicester Forest East/Welcome Break's official website

An old and small service area with all the food facilities up on the bridge. Its age is hidden by the many facelifts it has received, although it's due to close soon. The main problem with the services is that the M1 around it has become very hectic, being four lanes wide at the time and having a junction less than a mile either side. It forms a gateway to The National Forest, and as such it has information boards and viewpoints. There is only one hotel and its on the northbound side, but southbound traffic can access it through the bridge.

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Facilities:

General: Cash Machine, Pay Phones, BT Openzone, Meeting Room, Local Information, Gamezone, HA Traffic Information, Showers
Food/Drink: Burger King, Coffee Primo, EAT IN, KFC
Shopping: WH Smith, Fonebitz
Fuel: BP (pump types unknown)
Motel: Days Inn

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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.

	The front of the services. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2007.
	A quality choice of places to eat, with the Coffee Primo Lounge located behind the fast food and the EAT IN and Coffee Primo Express behind me. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2007.
	The food hall. If they had a bit more space to play with this could have turned out really well. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2007.
	KFC, anyone? This tower is visible as you approach on the motorway and it used to hold Welcome Break's logo, but it was replaced with KFC as a ploy to get High Street-loving drivers to pull in. It worked, too! Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2007.
	The front of the services a year before the rest of the photos were taken. Ignoring the rain and the dodgy camera angle, you can really tell the difference. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2006.
	Standing in the doorway, still in 2006. This would have looked brilliant in the 1960s, but not so great today. Thankfully it's all been completley refurbished but the escalators remain, something which very few services have. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2006.

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Trivia:

Previously, this page read:
"If I could choose two words to describe these services, it would be 'dirty' and 'cramped'. There is only a tiny patch of grass, everything else is huge grey blocks sticking out from a drab building. You walk in the door and are almost literally thrown on to a dodgy escalator to the bridge. The actual bridge is very nice, but what the rest of the service area needs a coat of paint, and fast!"

Well, you can't say they haven't tried! I came back a year later and the services had been completley refurbished. They're far from perfect - there just isn't the room to give it the extension it needs - but it feels and looks so much nicer.

During the early days of the services, you would have been able to walk along the promenade and terrace alongside the bridge, but these have both closed due to health and safety. The most unique thing about the services is that as you leave the northbound steps off the bridge you are thrown in to the shop, although this may have changed since it became a WH Smith. A sneaky way to get more money out of you, I think!

Many people ask about the name 'Leicester Forest East', given that the services are west of Leicester and there is no Leicester Forest. The answer is that they are located east of the village of Leicester Forest East, which itself is east of Leicester Forest West. Clever, eh?

The services are currently in a fairly dangerous position, as there are busy junctions either side and the M1 is four lanes with no hard shoulder through the services. The Highways Agency want to widen the M1 here yet again and they want to expand J21, both of which would require the services to be closed as they would be too dangerous. This was due to happen in 2010, but it has now been put back to 2017. See The Rise and Fall of Leicester Forest East.

The services were designed along with this bit of the M1, which both opened in 1965. There is a Highways Agency works depot on the northbound exit and the local press described the services as "Leicestershire's best known landmark".

There is a Geocaching point located on the southbound emergency access road. The Days Inn motel opened in December 1999 and was the first at a Welcome Break.

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Survey results:

In 2008 the northbound services won a five star loo award.

In 2007, the northbound services won a five star loo award. The southbound site was rated four stars.

In 2006, both sides of the services won a five-star loo award.

Also in 2006, the services were rated three out of five by Holiday Which?

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Parking Prices:

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Alternatives:

• Woodall Welcome Break services on the M1, 56 miles to the north.
• Shardlow Welcome Break services on the A50, 21 miles to the north.
• Markfield Moto services on the M1, 6 miles to the north.
• Donington Park Moto services on the M1, 16 miles to the north.
• Leicester Extra services on the A46, 7 miles to the north.
• Newport Pagnell Welcome Break services on the M1, 45 miles to the south.
• Corley Welcome Break services on the M6, 26 miles to the south.
• Warwick Welcome Break services on the M40, 39 miles to the south.
• Watford Gap RoadChef services on the M1, 22 miles to the south.

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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: Serena I have many a childhood memory of Leicester Forest East as we used to stop there when going to see my aunts and uncles in Nottingham at least once a month until I was about 10 or so. I remember when the bridge was a waitress service restaurant and we'd always have a table next to the window so that me and my brother could watch the cars going past underneath us. Highlight of the trip that was! In fact a year before my dad passed away in 2005, we went back up to Nottingham again, just the two of us, and stopped at LFE for old times' sake. My dad remarked that it was the first time he'd ever sat next to the window as me and my brother always had to have those seats back than! I have many a childhood memory of Leicester Forest East as we used to stop there when going to see my aunts and uncles in Nottingham at least once a month until I was about 10 or so. I remember when the bridge was a waitress service restaurant and we'd always have a table next to the window so that me and my brother could watch the cars going past underneath us. Highlight of the trip that was! In fact a year before my dad passed away in 2005, we went back up to Nottingham again, just the two of us, and stopped at LFE for old times' sake. My dad remarked that it was the first time he'd ever sat next to the window as me and my brother always had to have those seats back than! Posted: 22 Nov 2008, 20:48 Cher What can I say, this is my favourite motorway services, yes it's old and a bit tired but it's got everything you need from a service station and it's design was and still is unique. I don't have any statistics on how many accidents occur that are related to people using this area - can anyone provide proof that it is an accident spot??? This is a place I have been visiting since my early teens, first with my family and then throughout my teens with friends in cars or on motorbikes, it was the place to go for a coffee and a bite to eat (Watford Gap was the other option) I still stop for a coffee and a reminisce. I am sure there are other like minded people in this area who feel saddened by it's future closure, perhaps we should chain ourselves to this monument and make our feelings known as the bulldozers arrive....come on you 40 somethings. What can I say, this is my favourite motorway services, yes it's old and a bit tired but it's got everything you need from a service station and it's design was and still is unique. I don't have any statistics on how many accidents occur that are related to people using this area - can anyone provide proof that it is an accident spot??? This is a place I have been visiting since my early teens, first with my family and then throughout my teens with friends in cars or on motorbikes, it was the place to go for a coffee and a bite to eat (Watford Gap was the other option) I still stop for a coffee and a reminisce. I am sure there are other like minded people in this area who feel saddened by it's future closure, perhaps we should chain ourselves to this monument and make our feelings known as the bulldozers arrive....come on you 40 somethings. Posted: 18 Oct 2008, 22:45 davehammer I love LFE, many a good stop there on the way back from Alton Towers. Plus the BP station on the southbound carriageway is so quaint and old school. Not like the huge BP Connect 'Do your weekly shop' jobs that adorn most other MSA's. I love LFE, many a good stop there on the way back from Alton Towers. Plus the BP station on the southbound carriageway is so quaint and old school. Not like the huge BP Connect 'Do your weekly shop' jobs that adorn most other MSA's. Posted: 13 Jul 2008, 21:36 Johnny Stopped here on a weekday afternoon and had a very nice pasta, only problem was the price: £6 . Stopped here on a weekday afternoon and had a very nice pasta, only problem was the price: £6 *bad&sad*. Posted: 26 Feb 2007, 19:25 Admin Post your comments and reviews for Leicester Forest East here, or click here to return to the Services List. Post your comments and reviews for Leicester Forest East here, or click [url=http://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/services/leicesterf/]here[/url] to return to the Services List. Posted: 08 Jan 2006, 11:02
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.

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