Motorway Services Online

Location:

A31 between Southampton and Ringwood

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

Access/Layout:

Two sites located within a junction, connected by a one mile public road.

A smaller service area on the A31 in the New Forest. Although this is a dual-sided service area, there are different facilities on either side of the road and an underpass between the two.

Please note: The eastbound 'Forest Edge' forecourt is temporarily closed, and traffic needs to use the underpass to access the main site.

Facilities

COVID-19 update: Most service stations are open with fewer facilities. General advice here.
Catering: McDonald's Drive Thru Forecourt: westbound only: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express, AdBlue Containers

Parking Prices

Short stay customer parking is available for cars. No HGV parking is available.

Parking within the McDonald's car park is limited to 90 minutes maximum stay and is strictly enforced by MET Parking.

This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Filling Station
Picket Post
Ringwood
Hampshire
BH24 3HN

🗺 Grid reference: SU190061

🌍 Operators (Official Websites):

Trivia and History

The westbound petrol station in 1977, showing the old road layout and a lot of traffic.

Picket Post is the name of the Burley exit on the A31, named after the post which marked it. This attracted a number of facilities such as the Kettle Tea House, but they were all demolished when the A31 was widened in 1969.

The westbound side is based on an old garage, which was joined by a Shell garage in the 1970s. The old garage building is still there but is derelict, and now lost within the undergrowth. The new forecourt would have been accessible to traffic on both sides via the gap in the dual carriageway, but this was closed in the 1980s and replaced by the longer underpass which is used today.

Plans to expand the eastbound facilities date back to 1978 when Southern Counties Hotels planned to build a hotel to the east of the filling station. This land was eventually used in 1986 when the Picket Post branch of Happy Eater and another Shell forecourt, this one known as Forest Edge. The newer Forest Edge is larger and open longer hours.

The Happy Eater later became a Little ChefHistory in 1996 and closed in February 2012. A McDonald's opened in the old building in April 2014.

Alternatives

Previous:		Next:
Rufus Stone (westbound, 6 miles) Rownhams (M27, 15 miles)	Services on the A31	Ringwood (A31 westbound, 3 miles) Kilmington Cross (A35, 65 miles)