Guide to Leeming Bar rest area

What used to be an independent service area has embraced the new era by becoming a Moto official motorway rest area, but recent events seem to have hit it hard. Be prepared that it's more than a mile away from the nearest junction, along what is at least a fast and pleasant road.

Facilities

Catering: Costa Coffee, McDonald's Drive Thru Shops: none Amenities: Changing Places, Free Cash Machine, Showers Outdoor Space: No grass space; picnic tables Charging Points: GRIDSERVE Electric Highway HPC 350kW CCS, 100kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2 Forecourt: BP, Shop, Costa Express, Rollover

Parking Prices

First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 and HGVs, caravans and motorhomes £18. There is no meal voucher option for HGVs.

Prices are paid using NexusPay. The location code is 1985 for cars and 1986 for HGVs.

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 Design

See also: History:Leeming Bar

Leeming Bar may be much further from the motorway junction than one might expect, and the journey takes motorists past the unofficial service area at Coneygarth. Ordnance Survey began marking Coneygarth as a regular motorway service area in 2019, while some scales show the actual site at Leeming Bar as only a "motel".

The road signs at A1(M) J51 imply that HGVs should use the nearby truckstop at Coneygarth, while everybody else should drive down to Leeming Bar. In practice, all traffic can choose either option.

As befits its history as a former independent A-road service area, the layout of Leeming Bar is very unusual. It is all built around a large, derelict hotel building, joined to a former café and public toilets area by its disused lobby, plus a separate shop and a staff building with a very overgrown driveway. At the front is a very small car park and coach park, along with a newer HGV parking area and a very old petrol station, all connected to the old A1 slip road.

There is then a separate McDonald's hidden around the back, with an access road that looks like it was waiting to serve more facilities, occasionally serving as an overflow parking area. There is another parking area designated "residents only" by some battered signs, and another designated hotel parking area that is mostly unused. The direction signs are also predictably inconsistent, with Moto continuing to update what was already there. The McDonald's is leased rather than directly operated, which is rare for a motorway food offer, and partly explains its hidden position.

Moto Upgrade

Since 1961 Leeming Bar had been run as a family-run hotel, but in 2014 it was taken over by motorway operator Moto, with a view to turning it into a large motorway service area.

Moto registered their first plan to upgrade the service area in 2015. This would have involved building a large new car park by the McDonald's, which would have continued where it is. The old car park would have been grassed over, the HGV park would have been expanded, and coach parking replaced the manager's accommodation. The petrol station would have been re-built, and a large nature reserve would have been built between the new lorry park and new building.

The main part of the hotel would have been converted to a Travelodge, with most of the structure, including the old café and restaurant, being demolished. The old shop would be left alone. A large, new amenity building with a low roof and a glass front would be positioned between the car park and nature reserve. Inside, Greggs, M&S, WHSmith and toilets would be along the back wall, with seating, Costa and a "hot food counter" along the front. Moto made minor refinements to the plan in 2019, showing that they still had it in mind.

In 2020, Moto stated that they were waiting for news on Welcome Break's proposal for Kirby Hill and Moto's own proposal for Ripon before deciding whether to proceed with upgrading Leeming Bar. In the end Kirby Hill was awarded planning permission and Ripon wasn't.

As part of a review of their facilities in this region, in May 2021 Moto's agents stated that their intention for Leeming Bar was for it to "remain as a rest area albeit the signage is to be upgraded to reflect what would be provided for a motorway service area".

Despite that ambition for Leeming Bar to be treated as if it were any other motorway service area, Moto closed the vast majority of the facilities in December 2020, amid tightening Coronavirus restrictions across the country. The facilities remained closed throughout the very busy summer of 2021 before just the Costa reopened in autumn 2021, with the small WHSmith store permanently closing.

While Leeming may be proud of its heritage and unusual layout, the limited facilities, remote location and increasing competition appear to have dampened any enthusiasm for investing in it. A statement from Moto in August 2022 said that they would battle the planned Catterick services by investing in Scotch Corner, but no mention was made of Leeming Bar. Moto confirmed in October 2024 that they would now be demolishing both the motel and the nearby bungalow, while leaving the Costa and the shop parts.

Despite this apparent decline, Moto added six high-powered GRIDSERVE charging points to the service area in April 2023. Electric car drivers are more likely to deviate from their route given the current limited provision, meaning that charging points can appear in unexpected places.

Alternatives

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