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Watford Gap
MSO Home - Services List - Watford Gap
RoadChef services, M1 between J16 and J17
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Road: M1
Junction: Between J16 and J17
Operator: RoadChef
Location: Northamptonshire NN6 7UZ
Telephone: 01327 879001
Signed from the motorway? Yes
Previous operators: Blue Boar
Previous names: none
Services type: Two sites located between junctions, connected by a pedestrian footbridge.
Official website: Visit RoadChef's official website
One of those services which everyone talks about but you never use, Watford Gap is a nice service station in a nasty casing. It generally picks up mixed reviews and has been refurbished several times.
Choose a section: Main Page | Location, Map & Directions
Photo taken by 'Two Chevrons Apart'.
Facilities:
General: Cash Machine, Pay Phones, Business Lounge, Game Arcade, BT Openzone, Showers
Food/Drink: Costa Coffee, RestBite, Wimpy
Shopping: WH Smith, Fonebitz
Fuel: BP (pump types unknown)
Motel: Premier Inn
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 by Steve Fareham. It's used under this Creative Commons |
 | Inside the services, featuring branded 'RoadChef' bins. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2005 by 'Two Chevrons Apart'. |
 | The petrol station. Photo taken whilst travelling northbound in 2007 by Steve Fareham. It's used under this Creative Commons |
Trivia:
The traditional 'gateway to the north', Watford Gap is Britain's oldest and quite possibly most notorious service area. It is named after the nearby area, more specifically the nearby village of Watford, however this is often mixed up with the much larger Watford found further down the M1.
Watford (the small one) has a long-running transport history. It sits off Watling Street, the Roman Road which is today part of the A5 and formed an important pre-motorway route between London and Birmingham. It is also near the Great Union Canal (again, London to Birmingham), the West Coast Main Line (surprise, surprise, London to Birmingham) and most recently Britain's first motorway, the M1, which originally ran from London to Birmingham and passes through the village. When you consider all this, it would only make sense to make this the home of our first service station.
The services sit against the mainline and they opened on the same day as the motorway, 2nd November 1959. It is built on a disused farm, and when it was due to open the buildings weren't ready so food was sold from temporary old sheds.
Blue Boar were the original operator and this came to be as they ran a hotel on the A5 and claimed that the opening of the motorway would ruin their business, so they were offered the services as compensation. Blue Boar continued to run the services and built three others, until 1999 where they were bought by RoadChef.
When the services opened they became a prominent landmark for drivers and their fine-dining eating experiences meant that they were very popular. They were such a novelty that they reached their maximum capacity on their first day! The original plan was that Watford Gap would become a lorries-only service station and the second one, Newport Pagnell down the road, would be for cars. However, at the time Blue Boar didn't want to build another service area and they didn't want to send half their traffic to someone else, so the plans never went ahead.
Roy Harper once released a song titled Watford Gap with the chorus "Watford Gap, Watford Gap, grease on the plates, it's a load of crap." It was on his album 'Bullinamingvase', however it was dropped as a member of his EMI board also worked for Blue Boar! Consequently a full version of the song is very hard to get hold of.
The services seem to sit on an invisible line accross the country which divides the north from the south. Southerners claim that there is no culture or sophistication north of Watford Gap, and northerners claim that the line forms the boundary of humour, humility and humanity. People will also refer to things as being "the best ____ this side of Watford Gap", however this is often shortened to just Watford, not at all helped by the signs on the M1 which read 'Watford & The North', potentially implying that Watford is the last place in the south. These expressions are generally unheard of anywhere beyond Surrey, Derby and The West Midlands.
Watford Gap was where RoadChef tried WH Smith, it is a success and it will soon be rolled out at all their services. RoadChef also own (and Blue Boar also owned) the more modern Northampton services down the road.
Survey results:
In 2006, Holiday Which? rated the services at 3/5.
Parking Prices:
Vehicle: | For up to 2 hours: | For 2 hours to 24 hours: |
| Cars: | FREE | unknown |
| HGVs & Carvans: | FREE | unknown |
| Coaches: | FREE | unknown |
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:
- Tibshelf RoadChef services on the M1, 67 miles to the north.
- Leicester Forest East Welcome Break services on the M1, 24 miles to the north.
- Norton Canes RoadChef services on the M6 Toll, 54 miles to the north.
- Corley Welcome Break services on the M6, 23 miles to the north.
- Northampton RoadChef services on the M1, 10 miles to the south.
Main Page | Location, Map & Directions