Toddington services
| Toddington | |
| Moto | |
Facilities | Rating | Reviews | |
| Road: | M1 between J11 and J12 MAP AND DIRECTIONS |
| Address: | Moto Ltd Toddington Dunstable Bedfordshire LU5 6HR |
| Telephone number: | 01525 878400 |
| Signposted from the road? | Yes |
| Opened: | 1964 |
| Previous operators: | Granada |
| Grid reference: | TL030287 |
| Services type: | Two sites located between junctions, connected by a pedestrian footbridge. |
| Visit Toddington Northbound/Moto's official website Visit Toddington Southbound/Moto's official website Foursquare | |
Enriched with facilities but not good looks, Toddington is a busy service area and the first in a while for traffic heading from the M25.
Contents
Facilities
Catering: Burger King, Costa, Eat & Drink Co., Greggs, Costa Express, Krispy Kreme, West Cornwall Pasty Co (northbound only)
Shops: Fone Bitz, M&S Simply Food, WHSmith, Cotton Traders (northbound only)
Main Amenities: Ecotricity electric vehicle charging point, Full Hou$e, Lucky Coin, NomadPower, Showers
northbound only: Truck Wash
southbound only: Multi Faith Room, Changing Places
Motel: Travelodgebook
Forecourt: BP (with: BP Autogas LPG), Shop, Costa Express, Krispy Kreme, Air1 AdBlue, Greggs (northbound only), Costa (southbound only)
Parking Prices
First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 and HGVs, caravans and motorhomes £24.50, or £26 to include a £10 food voucher.
Prices are paid using PayByPhone - more details. The location code is 2469 (northbound) and 2470 (southbound).
The fees are strictly enforced by CP Plus.
Trivia and History
Full details: History:Toddington
The head office for Granada services and later Moto, this combined with it being a very busy service station has meant it has often been used as a test bed by the firms for new ideas. Previously Granada used Heston and their London office in Golden Square.
Even today it is arguably one of Moto's busiest sites, helped by the fact that there aren't many services to the south-west. Plans for services at Redbourn were objected to by Granada and refused.
Recent Changes
The Little Chef here was the last to leave the motorway network, lasting until 2010. It may well have lasted a little longer as Moto wanted to set up a Costa stand at the entrance to the services, but those plans were refused as inappropriate development, so Costa took over Little Chef instead.
In July 2010, The Barber Shop on the southbound side, situated in a portacabin in the car park, closed and reopened in December 2011 as a Faith Room.
Survey Results
Use with care. Outdated surveys have been included for interest only.
In 2015, the services were rated 4 stars by Visit England.
In May 2012 and August 2011, Visit England rated the services as 3 stars.
The wide variety of shops was praised by Lord Adonis (Secretary of State for Transport) during his surprise visit in September 2009.
The services were inspected by the AA on the 24th and 25th of March 2007. These are their results:
| Category: | Rating: |
| Road safety and parking: | Acceptable |
| Outdoor facilities: | Very Poor |
| Access and indoor facilities: | Good |
| Catering: | Acceptable |
| Shop: | Very Good |
| Family Friendliness: | Very Poor |
| Service: | Poor |
| Hygiene: | Acceptable |
| Pricing: | Acceptable |
| Final Score: | Poor |
The services were said to be well priced(!) with secure, clean facilities, but the staff were poor and there was very little to smile about outside. The AA said that the poor result could be down to the fact that the services were being refurbished at the time they were inspected and they would improve afterwards.
In 2006, Toddington was rated 4/5 by Holiday Which?
In 2005 and again in 2006 the services won a five-star loo award.
In 1991, a Which? survey rated the services as "average".
In 1977 Egon Ronay graded the waitress restaurant as "acceptable" and the self-service café as "poor". He said the services were very well maintained and ran, but catering relied on poor-quality convenience food.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| London Gateway (26 miles South Mimms (M25 east, 25 miles) Heston (M4 east, 38 miles) Reading (M4 west, 61 miles) | Services on the M1 | Newport Pagnell (15 miles) |
| none on M1 Heston (M4 east, 38 miles) Reading (M4 west, 61 miles) | Moto services | none nearby |
Visitor Feedback
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