Exterior of Birch Westbound’s modern amenity building, appearing large and mostly made up of glass. The original building here would’ve looked like the building at Eastbound and was built in 1972 by Taverna. However, in October 2003, Jason New set fire to a slot machine, causing a significant fire which wrecked that building beyond repair. The hotel and petrol station remained as well as the footbridge but the entire amenity building was rebuilt in 2004. This new building was self-described by Moto as “the most modern on the motorway network”. Of course, it no longer is, but it appears in good condition and is extremely contemporary compared to Eastbound. The building isn’t very large, but Birch wouldn’t require large buildings and many facilities as it, normally, doesn’t experience a high footfall. Lots of brand advertisements are included from the exterior as well as “welcome to Moto Birch West”. There’s some green space around the site as well as some picnic benches. It was moderately busy during my visit, but was busier as I left the site.

Photo taken on 24/06/2023 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Birch, Moto, M6