Colsterworth services
A1, at the Colsterworth exit
(also accessible to traffic on the A151 and B676)
Signposted from the road.
NG33 5JR
map and directions
Series of sites arranged around a junction..
The Colsterworth Roundabout being removed has opened the gates to a whole host of facilities. The northbound forecourt is signed from the northbound side; the southbound forecourt and service area are signposted from both sides; and an additional truckstop is signed from both sides of the road as 'lorry parking'.
Facilities
Northbound
Catering: China Moon Chinese Restaurant Forecourt: BP, Hursts, Costa Express, Rollover, AdBlue Containers
Southbound
Colsterworth Services
Catering: Burger King Drive Thru, Greggs, Subway Amenities: Meeting Room, Truck Wash : Travelodge Forecourt: Esso, SPAR, Starbucks on the Go, AdBlue4You
Jubilee Garage
Catering: McDonald's Drive Thru Forecourt: BP, Londis, Tchibo
Parking Prices
Overnight parking is available in the southbound 'Colsterworth Services', where the first two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £8 and HGVs £16, or £18 to include a food voucher.
Prices can be paid through the phone, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by CP Plus.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Moto Hospitality
Colsterworth
Grantham
Lincolnshire
NG33 5JR
Trivia and History
This was once a roundabout that was a hub of services activity, which is told below.
Two Happy Eaters were built on either side of the A1, to the north of the Colsterworth Roundabout with the southbound side (the north-east quadrant) gaining an Esso garage (named The Jubilee Garage), and a Travelodge motel.
A Total garage was later added on the northbound side.
Granada Activity
Granada decided to go head-on with Forte's Happy Eater by building a large restaurant in the south-east corner of this roundabout. It was accessed from the A1 southbound but with a road back up to the roundabout, and utilised a former truckstop.
The Granada services had a Granada Country Kitchen Restaurant, shop, arcade, Granada Lodge and filling station.
The main building took an L-shape, as was common at the time, with the motel completing a C-shape. In the centre was a quad, originally looking smart with the light paving contrasting against the dark building, but it quickly faded.
A bay window, good for the restaurant but unusual for a service area, provided a view of the A1. A narrow corridor provided access to the HGV parking.
Granada Changes
Following a deal with AJ's, the Country Kitchen was replaced with one of their family restaurants. Following a deal with Burger King, this was added too.
Granada next acquired Fortes, which gave them access to Little ChefHistory, Happy Eater, Travelodge and Welcome Break. With this range of catering, Granada ended their deal with AJ's, and the Colsterworth restaurant closed.
With Granada inheriting Grantham North, which is ten miles up the A1, Colsterworth came to be nicknamed "Grantham South".
Northern Closure
As part of their acquisition, Granada now owned the two Happy Eaters to the north of the roundabout, and in 1997 they changed these to Little Chefs. Just a year later, both of these closed, as well as the motel.
The northbound Happy Eater became the China Moon Chinese restaurant with the southbound Happy Eater and motel now laying derelict.
Main Restaurant Re-opens
With Granada closing the two northern restaurants, they opened a large Little Chef in the main, newer, Colsterworth building, next to the existing Burger King. The Granada Lodge would have become a Travelodge.
All of Granada's brands were merged with Compass, causing the services to be re-branded Moto. Compass sold Little Chef and Travelodge, but Moto kept control of the land. Moto also kept Grantham North.
The Granada branding at the site was replaced by the Little Chef logo.
In 2006, Coffee Tempo! was added to the services. This became Little Chef Express in 2012 which closed in 2018.
Recent Changes
In 2014, the forecourt was re-branded to BP. Under MRH ownership, a Hursts store was added.
The Jubilee Garage was re-branded to Jet. However, in 2017 the Jubilee Garage was rebranded to BP. In 2018, plans to demolish the former Happy Eater and Travelodge situated behind the Jubilee Garage emerged. McDonald's plan to demolish the two buildings and erect a single storey building with drive-thru lane and children's play area to replace them. Planning permission was approved in January 2019 and the restaurant is opened in October 2019.
The restaurants in the main amenity building were sold to Euro Garages in 2017 who had a year to re-brand the Little Chef following their purchase of the rights to the brand for one year only. At the last moment they changed it to EG Diner, which closed in October 2018. During autumn 2019, the main amenity building underwent major refurbishment works. As part of these works, the bay window facing the A1 was removed and a refurbished Burger King Drive Thru opened alongside a new addition of Greggs. The former Subway store in the forecourt also closed and relocated to the main amenity building as part of these works.
Moto still owned the main southbound filling station for a while, however it is on a long term lease to ROC. They handed it to Euro Garages in late 2013, making Euro Garages the main operator here.
Alternatives
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| Ram Jam (northbound, 5 miles) Stibbington (19 miles) | Services on the A1 | Ponton Main (A1 northbound, 3 miles) Grantham North (11 miles) |