Guide to Cornwall services

This page is about a service station called Cornwall. Other services in Cornwall can be found in the relevant sections of the A30 and A38 pages.

Cornwall's largest service area is so big, it takes the name of the entire county. It's a new development taking advantage of the big summer peaks.

Facilities

Catering: Atlantic Diner, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Krispy Kreme, McDonald's, Rowe's Cornish Bakers, Subway, Taco Bell, Costa Drive Thru Shops: Co-op Food, Mane Barber Hut, Mango Surf, Mountain Warehouse, Salt Rock Amenities: Holiday Inn Express, Changing Places, Players Lounge, Revolution Laundry, Showers Outdoor Space: Grass area behind hotel; Picnic Area Charging Points: GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 50kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 7kW Type 2 Forecourt: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express, Dunkin' Donuts, Rollover, Tango Ice Blast

Parking Prices

First 2 hours free for HGVs, coaches, motorhomes and caravans and first 4 hours free for cars.

After which cars must pay £5 for up to 6 hours, £8 for up to 12 hours parking and £10 for up to 24 hours parking. HGVs, coaches, campervans and caravans must pay £18 for up to 24 hours parking.

Hotel guests must give their vehicle registration number at reception to receive free parking during their stay.

Prices can be paid using the pay machines located in each car park. These fees are strictly enforced by Smart Parking.

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

Contact Details

Trivia and History

This land had previously been earmarked for a service area. Planning permission was refused for a caravan park with a filling station and hotel in 1976.

Planning and Opening

After the A30 bypass of Victoria was built in the early 2000s, a Little ChefHistory and petrol station in the town (known as 'Mid Cornwall services') received a significant drop in trade. To make up for it, a large service area was proposed at the junction with the new road.

Outline plans for the current service area were put forward in 2007. The original layout had the entrance to the site in the north-west corner with HGV, caravan and coach parking areas the first to be met at the south end of the site. Between the HGV and caravan parking areas was the main road which continued to a roundabout at the centre of the site: to the left of the roundabout was the filling station, exit straight ahead and car parking, amenity building and hotel to the right.

The amenity building was originally set to include a Burger King, Tourist Information Centre and 2 additional drive-thru lanes but these were all scrapped. On the left side of the amenity building, space had been left for two drive-thru lanes. The site had been called Cornish Gateway services, but opened as Cornwall services.

The service area was officially opened on 1 July 2014, but the amenity building and BP filling station were open from 24 June. The amenity building opened with units from Costa, McDonald's, WHSmith and Subway alongside units unique to the service area such as the Cornish Kitchen restaurant, Players Lounge gaming area, Indoor Active climbing centre and indoor soft play area, Mango Surfing shop, Salt Rock shop, Sausage & Roll kiosk and Open Oven Pizza kiosk. The filling station was operated by MRH and featured a SPAR store.

Developments and Changes

Rowe's Cornish Bakers' first kiosk at a service area replaced the Sausage & Roll kiosk here on 5 March 2016, timed to match St Piran's Day.

An external unit was added outside the amenity building, which opened on 8 July 2016 as a craft hut called Woody's. The external unit was later taken over by Teddy Freddy's Barber Hut who opened in October 2019.

MRH were acquired by MFG in 2018. MFG intended to rebrand the forecourt shop to Budgens in summer 2019, with 'Budgens opening soon' signs on the store for a time, but this plan was dropped in favour of a Londis. The Londis then received a minor refurbishment in April 2022 with a number of new grab and go options being added to the store.

Construction started on a Holiday Inn Express hotel in 2019, which was due to open on 29 February 2020 but was pushed back to April 2020. It was then further delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually opening its doors on 4 July 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic also resulted in the closure of Cornish Kitchen, which closed permanently in March 2020. Cornwall's only Greggs store replaced it in October 2020.

Further Changes

A Costa Drive Thru was added at the back of the services in August 2020, adjacent to the HGV parking area.

On 3 January 2021, the Clip n' Climb section of Indoor Active was removed, being replaced by a Co-op Food store which opened on 18 March 2021. Following the success of the store, the WHSmith store closed and was replaced by the Mountain Warehouse on 19 April 2022.

A GRIDSERVE electric vehicle charging hub was added at the bottom of the car park in 2022, with the chargers going live in early 2023. These will be powered by a range of solar panels facing the A30.

The Indoor Active soft play area, along with the Cornish Pizza Kitchen, both closed on 31 December 2022. The Indoor Active unit was replaced with a relocated Players Lounge whilst the Cornish Pizza Kitchen reopened in early 2023 as Miami's, operated by the same owners as the Mango Surfing store. The existing Players Lounge unit was replaced by Cornwall's first Taco Bell restaurant, opening on 15 May 2023.

The forecourt was sold to Shell in March 2023, to placate the Competition and Markets Authority. It closed in late March 2023 and reopened in mid-April 2023 with a new Select store and deli by Shell hot food offering.

Miami's later rebranded to Koala Karlous on 22 July 2024, a B-Corp sustainable coffee shop brand. A Krispy Kreme airstream was also added next to Teddy Freddy's on 26 July 2024, just in time for the summer holidays. Koala Karlous closed after the summer season, citing low trade. The unit has since become home to Atlantic Diner and is back under the same management as the Mango Surfing unit.

Alternatives

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