Gristhwaite (Thirsk) services
A168 between Thirsk and Dishforth
Signposted from the road.
YO7 3HN (northbound), YO7 3HW (southbound)
map and directions
Two sites staggered between junctions, with no public connection between them.
Two petrol stations on the link from the A1 to the A19 with a small identity crisis.
Facilities
Catering: Starbucks Drive Thru
Outdoor Space: Grass verges only (caution needed)
Charging Points: northbound only: Shell Recharge 50kW CCS & 50kW CHAdeMO
and southbound only: InstaVolt 120kW CCS & 50kW CHAdeMO
Forecourt: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express
Parking Prices
Short stay customer parking is available for cars. No HGV parking is available.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
đ˘ Address:
Gristhwaite
Topcliffe Road
Topcliffe
Thirsk
North Yorkshire
YO7 3HN / YO7 3HW
Trivia and History
The service area consists of two distinct halves, with northbound being the older of the two.
Northbound History
The northbound service area is built on a former brick and tile works. A garage was built here operated by Thirsk Motorway Services Ltd, named Midway services. There was a plan to add a motel here in 1974.
BP significantly expanded the site in 1976 under the name Halfway Garage, named after the Halfway House which is positioned behind it. The forecourt later became Fina, then Total, and in 2011 it changed to Shell, who now refer to the site as Gristhwaite.
There was a small cafĂŠ here, which in 1981 Little Chef wanted to replace with one of their restaurants, but the new diner actually opened as their sister brand, Happy Eater, who called it their Thirsk branch. This became a Little Chef in 1993 anyway, which closed in February 2012. It became Mama B's restaurant in late 2012, which closed in September 2013 due to low usage.
Euro Garages demolished the former restaurant building in April 2019 and built a Starbucks Drive Thru on the site, which opened on 12 December 2019. The original plans also included plans for two 'pod' units described as a 'food to-go' pod and a 'bakery' pod (possibly Greggs), but this idea was dropped.
Shell gained planning permission in March 2024 to add a minor extension to their existing sales building to house a new male toilet and storage area.
Southbound History
The original southbound petrol station was built in around 1988, with Diner 168 opening three years later. It promoted itself as being the last restaurant "for over 50 miles".
The forecourt was formerly operated by Malthurst and branded Jet. It was later acquired by MRH, who rebranded the site to BP in 2012.
Diner 168 closed in late 2018, following the owner's retirement. The site was sold in December 2018 and a Starbucks Drive Thru opened on 31 May 2019.
Work also began on two units on unused land adjacent to the existing car park in summer 2019. After planning issues, this was completed in autumn 2020. New plans to part-demolish the unit to make the unit into a restaurant add a drive-thru lane to the rear of the unit were approved in July 2021. Greggs later announced in July 2024 that they are set to open a store in one of the two units, with plans for their unit omitting any drive-thru lane drawings.
MFG commenced redevelopment works on the forecourt in January 2022, with the new filling station set to rebrand to Esso along with featuring a new canopy, larger Londis store, new high-speed pumps (including an AdBlue pump) and the installation of two new electric vehicle charging points. This was completed in May 2022, with the site expected to reopen that month, but the reopening was halted as MFG wanted to sell the site to placate the Competition and Markets Authority.
The site was mothballed for at least a year and for a while, it was not known who the site was owned by. While the old location was still listed on BP's website, things got complicated in 2023 when a new BP-branded site opened just three miles up the road, operated by MFG and promoted by both as 'Thirsk services'.
The forecourt eventually opened in late 2023/early 2024 under Shell ownership, with the shop providing their usual facilities. Shell again call it 'Thirsk'. They now intend to to add a Little Waitrose offering here.
InstaVolt added four new rapid EV chargers to the Starbucks car park in 2024, replacing their existing medium power chargers.
23.5 Degrees were acquired by Starbucks UK in October 2024, with the southbound store transferring into their company operated estate.
Alternatives
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| Thirsk (3 miles) Ingleby Arncliffe (A19 north, 16 miles) | Services on the A168 | Wetherby (A1(M) south, 19 miles) |