Amenity building at Clacket Lane Eastbound in April 2024, complete with advertisement for SPAR, a large I-media screen & solar panels! Not the most grand entrance to a motorway services, but at least it’s clean & tidy. The entrance was modified in 2015 to accommodate for the new SPAR store. Clacket Lane was built in 1993 by Roadchef. When designing and constructing, Roadchef ensured the buildings here were in-keeping with the rural Kent/Surrey surroundings. To achieve this, the buildings have low ceilings, not many windows & roof trusses/beams on the ceiling. It’s never needed to be extended much despite the high custom levels the site receives due to it being built large (between 1993-2008, Westbound had the title of largest motorway services in the UK before Stop24 Folkestone opened). Clacket Lane plugged an 88 mile gap between motorway services on the M25 (Thurrock to South Mimms via Chalfont St Peter). There has never been many services on the M25 as it’s an orbital road, with the expectation that motorists will join other motorways which have motorway services on them. Clacket Lane opened with a burger bar called Route25 (after M25), Cafe Continental, Wimpy and a truckers cafe called Juggernauts. All the brands have since changed. Roadchef consider the site one of their more profitable places. The building design is said to be similar to that of a 90s supermarket. It’s a clean services & one which is easy to access from the motorway. Clacket Lane Eastbound is also, geographically, the closest motorway services to where I live! Despite how quiet the place looked on photo, Clacket Lane Eastbound was very busy during my visit, owing to the increased travel due to my visit being during the Easter holidays (a busier time for all motorway services). Clacket Lane is also situated on many different main routes (such as North/Midlands to Dover), picking up many customers. Clacket Lane is also well known for price inflation due to its “gateway to England” status, taking advantage of foreigners who aren’t familiar with brands at the site. Fuel here is consistently expensive, even compared to other motorway services. Clacket Lane East is accurately & clearly signposted from the M25 Anti-Clockwise so customers know when to leave the motorway to access the site.

Photo taken on 05/04/2024 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Clacket Lane, Roadchef, M25