Membury services
M4 between J14 and J15
Signposted from the road.
RG17 7TZ
map and directions
Two sites located between junctions, connected by a pedestrian footbridge..
An obsession with curves and slopes creates this well-furnished but otherwise standard service area.
Facilities
Catering: on both sides: Burger King, KFC, Starbucks, Costa Express, Krispy Kreme, Tango Ice Blast, Yorkshire Tea, Starbucks Drive Thru
plus westbound only: Template:Harry Ramsden's
and eastbound only: Chopstix Noodle Bar, Subway
Shops: on both sides: Template:Fone Bitz, WHSmith
plus westbound only: Little Waitrose & Partners
and eastbound only: Waitrose & Partners
Amenities: on both sides: Template:Ecotricity, Showers, Template:Tesla
plus westbound only: Changing Places, Welcome Break Gaming
and eastbound only: Game Zone, Regus Express
: Days Inn
Forecourt: Shell, Select, Template:The Deli, Costa Express, Krispy Kreme, Rollover, Yorkshire Tea, Air1 AdBlue, Autogas LPG (eastbound only)
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 £27 (or £29 to include a £10 meal voucher).
Prices can be paid in the shop with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Welcome Break
M4 Services
Membury Motorway Services Area
Lambourn
Hungerford
Berkshire
RG17 7TZ
- 🌍 Official Welcome Break Website
- Facebook Page
- Foursquare Page
- 📞 Telephone number: 01488 674360
Trivia and Design
The upstairs dining area in the 1970s.
Membury is built on the site of the old RAF Membury airfield. There is a tribute to those who served there in World War II in the car park.
The services can be identified by the large transmitting signal situated next to it. Within the services is a mural painted by David Fisher, who was recruited by Forte to paint one for most of their services.
The filling station was, for a time, not owned by Welcome Break but was actually a BP corporate site, under the BP Connect brand. On 1 May 2017, the filling stations were handed back over to Welcome Break by BP and were re-branded to Shell, including the standard usual Deli2go offering.
The eastbound petrol station has an unusual layout whereby refuelling vehicles face what appears to be the wrong way. Not particularly remarkable, but slightly odd.
A Chopstix Noodle Bar opened on 22 June 2017.
The site is 40.75 acres in size.
History
The services opened in 1972. Ross originally wanted the services to be a replica of their first site at Leicester Forest East, however they couldn't afford to manage the traffic on the M4 whilst the bridge was being built. Even so, remnants of the idea can still be seen: both sides have a restaurant on a second floor which is accessed from a staircase, with the option of eating outdoors on a terrace. Moving the restaurant upstairs creates a rare bit of space in the rest of the services.
The distinctive building design with its high roof and open views was noted upon opening for being very noisy and exposed. The long corridors, running beneath the building to the second entrance, were initially a magnet for vandalism.
In 1977 Egon Ronay rated the services as "just acceptable". He found it clean and described it as an "architectural masterpiece", and it served "reasonable" convenience-based food.
Old Restaurants and Shops
When Forte acquired the services, they wanted to build a tie rack, dry goods shop and shirt shop. Instead the services gained a garden centre, unique to the motorway network, and on the upper level a coffee shop which offered a blend of waitress and self-service catering. The room had a brown, grey and orange décor with a thick striped carpet. This was possibly called The Buttery, and it used a numbering system to deliver hot food ordered from the counter. Fresh flowers and pictures served as decoration. Next door was a screened-off café, split over both levels, with ramps connecting the two.
Welcome Break later trialled a Halfords shop here, before Granada adopted them as a partner, and a toy shop.
The services have an extra building which used to be a Happy Eater, later a Little Chef and then a Red Hen. It closed with the demise of Red Hen; the westbound side became a training centre while the eastbound side was unchanged and appeared to contain a lot of the original furniture. Since 2012, a Starbucks Drive Thru and Regus Express meeting room have used the buildings.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Chieveley (11 miles) | Services on the M4 | Leigh Delamere (29 miles) |
| none nearby | Welcome Break services | none nearby on M4 Michaelwood (M5 north, 56 miles) Gordano (M5 south, 56 miles) |
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