Capelgate and Bentley services
A12 at J32A
Signposted from the road.
IP9 2JJ
map and directions
Two sites located between junctions, with no public connection between them.
A complicated history of several sites clustered around a junction. While it is technically possible to move between northbound and southbound here, it's not an official route.
Facilities
Northbound (Capelgate) Facilities
Catering: Cappadocia Outdoor Space: Tiny grass verge only; public footpath connection Forecourt: JET, Londis, Costa Express, Dunkin' Donuts, Rollover
None of the northbound facilities are accessible to HGVs.
Southbound (Bentley) Facilities
Catering: Starbucks Amenities: Travelodge Outdoor Space: Grass verge behind coffee shop Charging Points: EV Point 50kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2 Forecourt: BP, Costcutter, Costa Express, Rollover
Only the southbound forecourt is accessible to HGVs.
Parking Prices
Short stay customer car parking is available on both sides.
No HGV access is available northbound. The southbound side can be used by HGVs, but there are no formal parking spaces.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
đą Address:
Capelgate Services
A 12
London Road
Capel St. Mary
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP9 2JJ
Trivia and Design
When the bypass of Capel St Mary opened in the 1960s, there was a flat crossroads here. A pair of garages opened: the northbound one was accessed from The Street, immediately north of the junction, and the southbound garage was positioned directly on the road, before the junction.
Capelgate History
The northbound filling station was originally a garage known as Pinetree Garage.
The garage was demolished in 1980 and a new filling station and sales shop were built. With the opening of the new underpass, the exit to The Street was closed, and became part of the facility.
The filling station was previously branded Jet with a Costcutter Express store. The site was sold to Murco in 2010, with the site becoming more commonly known as Capelgate Filling Station. Murco was acquired by MFG in late 2014, and by summer 2015 it had rebranded back to JET.
MFG rebranded the shop to Londis in 2016. They refurbished this store in November 2022, introducing a new Dunkin' Donuts offering.
MFG intend to build eight electric vehicle charging points on the grass behind their forecourt.
Bentley History
The southbound filling station is known as Bentley service station. When the new Ipswich Road was built around the service area, it was provided with an access to the facility.
It used to be directly operated by BP as one of their BP Connect sites. A Wild Bean Café was added in 2009.
The site was sold to an independent operator in 2014. They removed the Wild Bean Café and briefly added a Mace store. This was replaced by a SPAR store in 2015, before being de-branded in early 2021. The store is now supplied with Costcutter produce, with the only mention of the brand being on the MID sign.
Restaurant History
Forte built a Little ChefHistory on either side of the road in 1986, joining to both the existing filling stations and making use of the space made available by the new road layout. These each gained a Coffee Stop in 1994 and Burger Kings in 1996. The southbound Little ChefHistory also gained a Travelodge in around 1992.
Both restaurants closed in 2012, as part of R Capital's axe of sites deemed to be underperforming. The northbound restaurant reopened in December 2014 as Cappadocia Turkish restaurant, whilst the southbound restaurant went on to become a Starbucks store, which opened in late 2012. This Starbucks store was later sold to Euro Garages who planned to add a Subway store at one point.
There was once a third restaurant, immediately to the south of here, at the previously junction. This was built in the early 1980s as a Happy Eater. It initially competed with the two Little Chefs, and then pretended to compete while they were both owned by the same company.
Eventually it had to be converted to become a third Little Chef in 1998, but it only lasted like this until 2000, when it inevitably closed. The building went on to become the Harvest Moon Café until 2017, when it was converted into Zaynab Indian restaurant.
Alternatives
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| Colchester (10 miles) | Services on the A12 | Orwell (A14 westbound, 7 miles) Martlesham Heath (13 miles) Beacon Hill (A14, 11 miles) |