Guide to Kinross services

The M90's only dedicated service area is actually a tourist information centre in disguise.

Facilities

Catering: Burger King, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Costa Express, f'real Milkshakes, Krispy Kreme, M&S Coffee to Go, Tango Ice Blast Shops: M&S Simply Food, WHSmith Amenities: Travelodge, Full Hou$e, Showers Outdoor Space: Large grass area next to car park; Picnic Area Charging Points: GRIDSERVE Electric Highway HPC 350kW CCS, 100kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2 Forecourt: BP, Shop, Costa Express

Parking Prices

First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 and HGVs, caravans and motorhomes £27. HGVs can pay £30 to include a £10 food voucher.

Prices are paid in the shop or by using JustPark. The location code is 625135.

HGVs can also pay by using SNAP. The location code is 13468.

The fees are strictly enforced by GroupNexus.

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

Contact Details

Trivia and History

Strictly speaking, Kinross is the most northern motorway service area in the UK. No such point is ever simple and, in this case, Broxden is further north and it does have a sign on the motorway, but Broxden isn't officially a motorway service area, so Kinross holds on to its title.

At the back of the car park is an ancillary building which is now used as a dog groomers - certainly unique for a motorway service area.

Opening

The service area has unusual origins.

It was built by Tayside Regional Council as what they called a "motorway information centre". They said it was aiming to take advantage of the tourism in the area, with four more sites planned for Scottish A-roads. It was branded Turfhills Tourist Centre and opened on 29 May 1979, at a cost of £16,000. It offered tourists caravanning, camping, a restaurant, petrol and go-karting.

One of those tourists was Granada's managing director, who was on a fishing holiday to Pitlochry. He thought the site had potential, and by 1981 Granada had purchased it. At the time they said it was being managed by "a locally based consortium".

Granada added a garden room to the restaurant and opened a Granada Lodge in 1987 on a spare plot of land. A large caravan parking area was converted into the HGV parking. An official report said Kinross could handle 20 HGVs - the lowest capacity of any motorway service area in the country (as of 1983).

By the time Granada were involved, it was definitely classed as a motorway service area. Given its unusual roots, Kinross was one of the first motorway service areas not to provide any breakdown facilities. It was also left with an unusual internal layout, where the restaurant and toilets are at opposite ends of one long and narrow corridor, running along the very front and up the side of the building. The restaurant area has push-doors separating it from the main walkway, which looks even stranger now it has been broken up. Outside, the building sits on a little island surrounded by tarmac, despite there being a huge amount of unused space on the other side of the car park.

The outbuilding at the south end was originally advertised as an 'information bureau'. It was extended and became a craft store and is now the dog groomers.

Reconstruction

In 2010, Moto announced plans to rebuild the entire service area, replacing the amenity building with something much more modern and at the same time moving the petrol station and reorganising the car park. Moto claimed it would have helped Kinross town take more advantage of tourism in the area.

As part of the work, the entrance to the service area would have been converted into a roundabout, a change which had been recommended for a while. The new building would have included eight retail units, which Moto claimed would have been rented out with the income covering the cost of the new roundabout. A sign was erected encouraging prospective tenants to come forward.

The work was expected to be completed in 2013, but was postponed indefinitely. The sign was still there until 2018, despite the postponement.

Sticking With It

An M&S Simply Food store eventually opened inside the old building instead, by mixing it in with the Costa and the Burger King in the restaurant area. A Greggs was positioned in a kiosk outside the entrance, opening on 3 March 2017, and there's no sign of any effort to make space for it in the building.

Moto gave the amenity building a minor refurbishment in early 2022, redecorating the main corridor and updating the toilet and shower facilities. A new electric vehicle charging hub was also added in summer 2023, with the chargers going live in October 2023.

Alternatives

Visitor Feedback

Visitors can leave public feedback on their experience by logging into the CommentBox app. You can do so quickly below:

Views expressed in these comments are those of the individual contributor. User accounts are managed by CommentBox.io. Registration helps prevent automated spam.
We ask the companies named to check here, but we can't force them to do so.

Main Page | Photo Gallery | Location, Map and Directions