Appleby Magna services
M42 and A42 at J11
(also accessible to traffic on the A444)
Signposted from the road.
DE12 7AP
map and directions
Single site located at a junction..
The service area consists of a filling station and McDonald's at the end of the M42, primarily serving the A444.
Facilities
Catering: McDonald's Drive Thru Forecourt: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express, Air1 AdBlue, Free Cash Machine
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Atherstone Road
Appleby Magna
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE12 7AP
Trivia and History
The service area was built on a farm called Appleby Field, positioned by a crossroads on what used to be the A453. The crossroads was replaced by the motorway junction, but the actual junction itself was right in the middle of where the petrol station now is. A Kelly's Kitchen restaurant was planned to open here in Autumn 1990, but was never built.
The filling station here was previously branded Total, and before that, Fina.
The planned HS2 eastern rail link will pass very close to this service station. It is likely that the entry junction will have to be modified to make space for it.
The landowner has applied for planning permission to build two InstaVolt electric vehicle charging points in the McDonald's car park.
Road Signs
Since it opened, there has been a debate between the landowners and various civil servants about whether the services could, or should, be signposted from the motorway. The argument has surfaced repeatedly since the 1990s. In December 2017 non-standard signs were added to the M42, but these may be changed.
If official signs are provided, Appleby Magna would become an MSA, even though it doesn't provide the required facilities. However, improved signage would benefit the landowner, and is also an opportunity to reduce the number of fatigue-related accidents on the A42.
Strictly speaking the signs point out that this is a "non-motorway" service area, even though it is signed from a motorway because that's what those signs are doing!
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Tamworth (8 miles) | Services on the M42 & A42 | Donington (15 miles) |
| Nuneaton (15 miles) | Services on the A444 | none |