Exterior of the amenity building at Knutsford Northbound, taken awkwardly from the car park. This pic evidences the front of the lower level extension on the Northbound side in addition to one end of the food court footbridge, evidencing Moto’s previous corporate logo. Knutsford is a very old, Moto operated building on the M6 between J18-J19. It’s one of the oldest motorway buildings in England being built by Top Rank in 1963. When first opened, the site consisted of two car parks and one amenity building, built across the M6 with a set of stairs at either side giving customers access to the upper level from outside. Knutsford wasn’t a disabled accessible motorway services when first built, but Knutsford was much more “fancy” with a large buffet restaurant and impressive views of the M6. Two similar buildings can be found on the M6 at Keele and Charnock Richard, which are both 1963 builds, but those two were constructed by Motorway Services ltd Fortes, meaning Knutsford, although similar, has always appeared somewhat different to those two sites. Since opening, extensions have been made either side, bringing toilet facilities indoors, and adding an additional, small dining area at each side to cater for the growing demand of the site due to its situation along the main route between Birmingham and Manchester. It’s still not the largest place, but the extensions have enabled more brand partners to operate from the site. There were developing plans to reconstruct junction 19, which is situated directly next to Knutsford services, which would’ve meant the amenity building could be demolished and replaced with new buildings, which would be much easier for Moto to maintain. Additionally, new buildings would look much more presentable than the current site. Anyhow, these plans never came to fruition & the existing old building remains in poor condition. It’s fair to say the site has lost its sparkle and despite Moto adding some new facilities here (a Changing Places toilet, KFC and Pret A Manger) it’s still a shabby looking place, especially compared to Stafford North down the M6 (a 1996 built Moto site). However, the old building is characterful and shows evidence of a time when operators carefully considered the architecture of their buildings. Knutsford Northbound was moderately busy during my visit. I expected it to be more crowded due to the time of day being lunchtime, but it’s lower custom levels meant photos were easier to take for me. Knutsford North is signposted thoroughly from the M6 Northbound and can be accessed directly off the motorway.

Photo taken on 10/02/2024 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Knutsford, Moto, M6 (England)