Exterior of the amenity building at Clacket Lane Westbound, evidencing a very rare 90’s design of motorway services. Opposite the building is Days Inn. It opened in 1993 and was described by one newspaper as a “toned-down, Tesco-style bungalow” which isn’t wrong as the services seems somewhat disguised. Buildings at Clacket Lane were designed as such to be in-keeping with the leafy, rural surroundings. Neither buildings can be seen from the motorway. The site has always been operated by Roadchef & was their 10th site to open. Between 1993 and 2008, Clacket Lane West was said to be the largest services in the country, which seems odd as I’ve never thought of it being particularly big. It was overtaken by Folkestone in 2008. Roadchef advertise Costa, McD and LEON as these are the main high street brands Clacket Lane West now offers. The building, structurally, hasn’t changed at all since 1993 and has always been large enough given the custom levels Clacket Lane receives. Next to the toilets are Roman Artefacts which were dug up when Clacket Lane was constructed. They are displayed in a cabinet, which is arguably, quite easy to miss. Clacket Lane was fairly quiet during my visit. Unsure why as it was around 9am, however most road users who know the M25 would use Cobham now.

Photo taken on 21/12/2023 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Clacket Lane, Roadchef, M25