Keele services
M6 between J15 and J16
Signposted from the road.
ST5 5HG
map and directions
Single site built upon the motorway.
One of the UK's oldest service areas has been refurbished many times. The fast food is located on the bridge; an area which is only accessible by steps.
Facilities
Catering: Burger King, KFC, Starbucks, Subway, The Good Breakfast, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks on the Go, Starbucks Drive Thru
Shops: Top Gift, Waitrose & Partners, WHSmith
Amenities: on both sides: Game Zone, Showers
and southbound only: Changing Places
Outdoor Space: Tiny grass verge in far corner of car parks
Charging Points: GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 50kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2; Tesla Supercharger 120kW CCS
Forecourt: on both sides: Welcome Break, Texaco Pumps, The Phat Pasty Co., Rollover, Starbucks on the Go
and southbound only: f'real Milkshakes, LPG (Calor)
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 £32 for up to 24 hours (or £34 to include a £12 meal voucher).
Prices can be paid in the shop, with instructions in each car park. They 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:
Trusthouse Forte Welcome Break
Keele Motorway Services Area
Three Mile Lane
Keele
Newcastle
Staffordshire
ST5 5HG
- 🌍 Official Welcome Break/Keele website
- Facebook Page
- Foursquare Page
- 📞 Telephone number: 01782 626221
Trivia and Design
See also: History:Keele
As one of the country's oldest service areas, Keele was built with its facilities on the bridge and lots of windows facing the road. It now has much larger ground floor areas. The bridge was rebuilt after a major fire above the motorway. An escalator helps with southbound access, but there are only steps back down.
At night, lorries are unofficially allowed to park at the back of the northbound car park as there is a severe shortage of space. In April 2019, Welcome Break were granted permission to build an additional secure HGV parking area for 100 lorries in the south-eastern corner of the northbound service area to resolve this issue. It will be similar to the development at Corley North which opened in 2020.
Museum Piece
On the southbound approach to the service area, there was a sign in the central reservation of the M6 advising of the facilities. This was the result of an experiment in the late 1970s that was never continued, but it was also in a difficult position to remove and wasn't causing any safety issues, so it hung on. By the early 2010s the sign was virtually illegible to passing traffic, and its proud boast of "facilities for the disabled" sounded very outdated (and also misleading, given that Keele is one of the least accessible service areas). Its age, and unusual position, attracted considerable interest among road sign fans.
This sign fell off its posts in April 2024, and the national highway authority finally made arrangements to collect it and have it scrapped. A staff member realised that this was an old and unusual sign, and arranged to have it taken to Aldridge Transport Museum, who are now looking after it. The sign is believed to be the first blue motorway sign to be preserved in this way; one of the oldest motorway signs in the country not to be scrapped; and the first item of motorway service station history to be archived in this way.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Stafford (M6 northbound, 10 miles) Stafford (M6 southbound, 11 miles) Derby & Burton (A50, 33 miles) | Services on the M6 | Sandbach (15 miles) Derby & Burton (A50, 45 miles) |
| Corley (60 miles) Hopwood Park (M42, 56 miles) Telford (M54, 43 miles) Derby (A50, 42 miles) | Welcome Break services | Charnock Richard (53 miles) Burtonwood (M62 west, 40 miles) Derby (A50, 53 miles) |
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