Motorway Services Online

Latest revision as of 12:42, 4 February 2025

Location:

M42 at J2
(also accessible to traffic on the A441)

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

Access/Layout:

Single site located at a junction.

One of Britain's two-storey service areas; Hopwood Park shows off with its upper levels, large windows and garden space.

Facilities

Catering: Burger King, Chopstix Noodle Bar, KFC, Starbucks, Subway, The Good Breakfast, f'real Milkshakes, Jolly Rancher Slush, Krispy Kreme, The Phat Pasty Co., Rollover, Starbucks on the Go, Starbucks Drive Thru Shops: Little Waitrose & Partners, WHSmith Amenities: Changing Places, Game Zone, Showers Outdoor Space: Nature reserve and grass space at back of car park; Children's Play Area; public footpath connections Charging Points: Applegreen Electric 150kW CCS; GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 50kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2; Tesla Supercharger 150kW CCS Forecourt: Welcome Break, The Phat Pasty Co., f'real Milkshakes, Rollover, Starbucks on the Go

Parking Prices

First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 for a further 24 hours and HGVs, caravans and coaches must pay £34 (or £36 to include a £12 meal voucher).

Prices can be paid in the shop or by using Evology Parking. The location code is 79400.

The fees are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.

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

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Welcome Break Service Area
Junction 2 M42
Redditch Road
Alvechurch
Birmingham
Worcestershire
B48 7AU

🌍 Official Welcome Break/Hopwood Park website
Facebook Page
Foursquare Page
📞 Telephone number: 01214 474000
📌 what3words: ///idea.lines.improving
more map options

Trivia and Design

See also: History:Hopwood Park

Hopwood Park became a poster child for modern service area design. While a few other service areas to open around this time had large windows, open dining areas, fountains and scenic walks, very few combined them all as well as Hopwood Park did. It's also one of the only service areas with two public storeys in its amenity building, as well as an extra shop unit that was designed to emulate the shopping centres being built by their competitors.

Over the following decade, the rate of motorway service area construction slowed down considerably. As a result, Hopwood Park stood out for a long time, although there are now a fair number of service areas with a similar 'windows and fountains' design.

There is a public footpath running through the service area, leading to Stonehouse Lane. Some drivers use this route as a dog walk.

A Ben & Jerry's kiosk was trialled here, opening on 13 July 2021, but was removed later in the year. An Ice Cream Treats kiosk was later added for the 2024 summer season following this trial, positioned in the same location next to the retail stores.

The Good Breakfast unit was refurbished in March 2023, reopening on 30 March with an additional Chopstix Noodle Bar offering.

Eight Applegreen Electric chargers were installed at the site in October 2023, adding a third charging option for EV drivers here. An additional twelve Tesla Superchargers were also later added in early 2024, bringing the total EV chargers on site to 52.

A 2022 study found that the service area had a turn-in rate of around 3%; a tiny figure that would suggest many people don't want to stop.

Alternatives

Previous:		Next:
Frankley (M5 north, 10 miles) Strensham (M5 south, 31 miles)	Services on the M42	Tamworth (27 miles) Warwick (M40, 22 miles) Corley (M6 east, 25 miles)
Keele (M6 north, 54 miles) Telford (M54, 42 miles)	Welcome Break services	Warwick (M40, 22 miles) Corley (M6 east, 25 miles)

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Main Page | Photo Gallery | Location, Map and Directions

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Services
 |type = motorway
-|image = Hopwood 2019.jpg
+|image = Hopwood Park 2024.jpg
 |operator = Welcome Break
 |road = [[M42]] at J2{{newline}}(also accessible to traffic on the A441)
 |postcode = B48 7AU
-|telephone = 01214 474000
 |signposted = Yes
-|stype = Single site located at a junction.
+|stype = Single site located at a junction
 |rating = Hopwood
 |coords = 52.363644, -1.94591
 |briefroad = M42 at J2
-|markerpost = 009 }}
+|markerpost = 0009 }}
-A service area with its own picnic tables, play area, walking path and a small field. The toilets are on the second storey (except disabled).
+One of Britain's two-storey service areas; Hopwood Park shows off with its upper levels, large windows and garden space.
 ==Facilities==
-{{facilities| Restaurants | {{Burger King}}, {{Harry Ramsden's}}, {{KFC}}, {{Starbucks}}, {{Subway}}, {{Costa Express}}, {{Krispy Kreme}}, {{Starbucks on the Go}}, {{Yorkshire Tea}}, {{Starbucks Drive Thru}} }}
+{{facilities| Catering | {{Burger King}}, {{Chopstix Noodle Bar}}, {{KFC}}, {{Starbucks}}, {{Subway}}, {{The Good Breakfast}}, f'real Milkshakes, Jolly Rancher Slush, {{Krispy Kreme}}, {{Phat Pasty}}, {{Rollover}}, {{Starbucks on the Go}}, {{Starbucks|drivethru=yes}} }}
-{{facilities| Shops | {{Waitrose|little=yes}}, {{WHSmith}} }}
+{{facilities| Shops | {{Little Waitrose}}, {{WHSmith}} }}
-{{facilities| Amenities | {{Changing Places}}, {{Children's Play Area}}, {{Ecotricity}}, Nature Reserve, Showers, {{Tesla}}, [[Welcome Break Gaming]] }}
+{{facilities| Amenities | {{Changing Places}}, {{Game Zone}}, Showers }}
-{{facilities| Motel | none }}
+{{facilities| Outdoor Space | Nature reserve and grass space at back of car park; {{Children's Play Area}}; public footpath connections }}
-{{facilities| Forecourt | fuelgood, The Great British Bakery, Welcome Break Coffee, {{Costa Express}}, {{Krispy Kreme}}, Air1 AdBlue }}
+{{facilities| Charging Points | Applegreen Electric 150kW CCS; GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 50kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2; Tesla Supercharger 150kW CCS }}
+{{facilities| Forecourt | {{Welcome Break}}, {{Phat Pasty}}, f'real Milkshakes, {{Rollover}}, {{Starbucks on the Go}} }}
 ==Parking Prices==
-First two hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 for a further 24 hours and HGVs, caravans and coaches must pay £29 (or £31 to include a £10 meal voucher).
+First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 for a further 24 hours and HGVs, caravans and coaches must pay £34 (or £36 to include a £12 meal voucher).
+Prices can be paid in the shop or by using [https://evologyparking.com/app/ Evology Parking]. The location code is 79400.
+The fees are strictly enforced by [[ParkingEye]].
-Prices can be paid in the shop, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by [[ParkingEye]].
+{{Parking Disclaimer}}
 ==Contact Details==
@@ Line 37: / Line 41: @@
 B48 7AU
 |telephone = 01214 474000
-|gridref = SP037739
+|website = https://welcomebreak.co.uk/locations/hopwood-park/ Official Welcome Break/Hopwood Park website
-|website = http://www.welcomebreak.co.uk/locations/hopwood-park/ Official Welcome Break Website
 |facebook = wbhopwoodpark
 |foursquare = 511e6a3945b029c63b9dd78b
+|3words = idea.lines.improving
 }}
-==Trivia and History==
+==Trivia and Design==
-{{Gallery
+[[File:Hopwood Park model.jpg|250px|thumb|right|alt=Service station model.|A model of the service area was built and displayed inside it.]]
-|image = Hopwood Park model.jpg
+{{fulldetails|History:Hopwood Park}}
-|size = 250
+Hopwood Park became a poster child for modern service area design. While a few other service areas to open around this time had large windows, open dining areas, fountains and scenic walks, very few combined them all as well as Hopwood Park did. It's also one of the only service areas with two public storeys in its amenity building, as well as an extra shop unit that was designed to emulate the shopping centres being built by their competitors.
-|caption = The model of the services which is on display inside it.
-|keydates = {{Key Date | 1999 | Services opened }} }}
-There is a public footpath leading to Stonehouse Lane.
-When the M42 was planned in the 1970s, there were many different plans for services on it, including a possible site at Portway near M42 J3. These were put aside and there was an urgent need to fill the gap where several routes aligned between J3a and J7. Unfortunately this was too difficult to work with, so instead developers looked at alternative places which could at least serve some traffic.
-One alternative plan, drawn up in early 1998, took up a similar area, but with a much older design. The access would have been off a new roundabout on the A441, with a petrol station at the north end. The cross-shaped building would have been in the centre with a fan-shaped, landscaped car park facing east, by a motel and balancing pond.
-===Opening===
-{{Quote|Judging by the comments, we are probably among the best in the country.|Manager Neil Austin, 2000}}
-Hopwood Park was opened on 23 August 1999 by TV chef James Martin, and it cost £25 million to build. Its design is very similar to that of [[Oxford]], which was opened at roughly the same time, and [[South Mimms]] which was rebuilt at this time following a large fire.
-However, Hopwood Park was a little different: boosted by an on-site nature reserve and an enthusiastic manager, it became one of the first services to really challenge the negative perception of motorway services. The manager invited critic [[Egon Ronay]], and welcomed Central TV when they wanted to produce a fly-on-the-wall documentary. The service in [[Red Hen]] was praised particularly.
-When built, the seating area had 750 seats and the car park 500 car spaces, 36 HGV spaces and 14 coach spaces. It opened with a McCoys shop.
+Over the following decade, the rate of motorway service area construction slowed down considerably. As a result, Hopwood Park stood out for a long time, although there are now a fair number of service areas with a similar 'windows and fountains' design.
-===Later Facilities===
+There is a public footpath running through the service area, leading to Stonehouse Lane. Some drivers use this route as a dog walk.
-Hopwood Park was the first service area to get live traffic information, as part of a joint trial between the Highways Agency and Welcome Break.
-In 2005, Hopwood Park won Best Provision of Group Facilities, the first time a motorway service area has ever won such an award. The Coffee Primo unit was also been nominated for 'Best Beverage Experience'. The next year, [[Which%3F Magazine|Holiday Which?]] rated the services as 5/5. They said it had helpful staff and a good variety of food in a smart café, but it didn't win, Tebay on the M6 did.
+A [[Ben & Jerry's]] kiosk was trialled here, opening on 13 July 2021, but was removed later in the year. An Ice Cream Treats kiosk was later added for the 2024 summer season following this trial, positioned in the same location next to the retail stores.
-When the [[Waitrose]] store opened here, it replaced the Petroleum Menswear store. Hopwood was one of few services to have an individual outlet operating within it. The filling station also used to have a Waitrose store within it (the only forecourt Waitrose store on the motorway network), but this was later replaced by the standard [[Select]]/[[Deli2go]] combination. In 2019, [[Applegreen]] removed Shell's brands and introduced their own 'fuelgood'.
+The Good Breakfast unit was refurbished in March 2023, reopening on 30 March with an additional [[Chopstix Noodle Bar]] offering.
-The [[Starbucks Drive Thru]] here was planned to open in late 2015 but eventually opened in August 2016.
+Eight Applegreen Electric chargers were installed at the site in October 2023, adding a third charging option for EV drivers here. An additional twelve Tesla Superchargers were also later added in early 2024, bringing the total EV chargers on site to 52.
-In July 2015, Hopwood Park was one of the first three services to gain a Tesla Supercharger.
+A 2022 study found that the service area had a [[turn-in rate]] of around 3%; a tiny figure that would suggest many people don't want to stop.
 ==Alternatives==
 {{Succession start}}
-{{Succession|1|M42| ''none on M42''{{newline}}[[Frankley]] (M5 north, 10 miles){{newline}}[[Strensham]] (M5 south, 31 miles) |
+{{Succession|1|M42| [[Frankley]] (M5 north, 10 miles){{newline}}[[Strensham]] (M5 south, 31 miles) |
 [[Tamworth]] (27 miles){{newline}}[[Warwick]] (M40, 22 miles){{newline}}[[Corley]] (M6 east, 25 miles) }}
-{{Succession|2|Welcome Break| ''none on M42''{{newline}}[[Keele]] (M6 north, 54 miles){{newline}}[[Telford]] (M54, 42 miles) |
+{{Succession|2|Welcome Break| [[Keele]] (M6 north, 54 miles){{newline}}[[Telford]] (M54, 42 miles) |
-''none on M42''{{newline}}[[Warwick]] (M40, 22 miles){{newline}}[[Corley]] (M6 east, 25 miles) }}
+[[Warwick]] (M40, 22 miles){{newline}}[[Corley]] (M6 east, 25 miles) }}
 </table>
 {{bottomnav}}
-[[Category:1990s]][[Category:M42]]
+[[Category:1990s]][[Category:M42]][[Category:Pilot Services]][[Category:Services on TV]]