Guide to Family Farm services

'Family Farm' is the name given to the busier northbound service area at the top of the A34. The one on the opposite side has developed its own identity, and is documented under Weston-on-the-Green.

Facilities

Catering: Starbucks Drive Thru, KFC Drive Thru Outdoor Space: Grass verges only Forecourt: BP, M&S Food, Wild Bean Café, Free Cash Machine

Parking Prices

Short stay customer parking is available for cars at all facilities.

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

Contact Details

Trivia and History

Although the businesses here tend to prefer the geographic name 'Weston-on-the-Green', the road signs are clear that the service area is named 'Family Farm', a fact upheld by BP. The name stems from the farm that sits behind the Starbucks on the other side of the road. It's unusual, but not impossible, for a service area to be named after a farm.

Until the opening of the M40 in January 1991, this road was just the A43 Bicester Road: a single carriageway, local route. A package of changes associated with the new motorway saw it renumbered and upgraded to a dual carriageway, ahead of a huge increase in long-distance traffic. The new road layout meant the existing service area was now on the southbound side of the road.

Knowing all this, Happy Eater planned a restaurant and petrol station next to the new northbound carriageway. This opened in Summer 1991, built on a field that was shaped by the old road being straightened many decades previously. There was a BP forecourt with a garage.

A 1986 report concluded that the opening of Family Farm made the route "full", and that, other than Cherwell Valley already planned, there was no need for any more service areas in Oxfordshire. Until Cherwell Valley did open in March 1994, Family Farm was the last service area before Birmingham, an impressive boast that made it very useful.

Changes

By 1996 this had become another branch of Little ChefHistory, with a Burger King soon added in an extension that involved a new lobby area and dividing the restaurant area into two. It stood out for its lighter brickwork and taller roof. With a Little Chef and forecourt on either side of the road, the complex looked like a coherent service area.

There were plans to build a Travelodge on the grass next to the forecourt, which was owned by Happy Eater, but this was refused permission in 1995.

The BP forecourt was demolished and re-built in around 2000, as it was considered to be too small. The garage closed for many years, and then opened as Weston Garage, and is now Quick Fix.

The northbound Little Chef appeared to be performing well; much better than its neighbour over the road. It was selected to be refurbished to Little Chef's new look, Wonderfully British in 2011. The branch lasted until Euro Garages took over, and they then closed it in July 2017 to convert it to one of their Starbucks.

Euro Garages submitted plans to build a drive thru lane around their existing northbound Starbucks store in 2018. This was amended in 2020 to include an additional drive thru restaurant on the parcel of land between the car park and the BP filling station. This was originally planned to be occupied by Greggs was changed to KFC.

The KFC Drive Thru opened on 18 December 2020.

Alternatives

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