Monktonhall services
A1 at Old Craighall Junction (Edinburgh City Bypass)
A720 at the A1 roundabout
(also accessible to traffic on the B6415)
Signposted from the road.
EH21 8RE
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
This is the service area near Edinburgh. For the site on the A77, see Monkton.
The only official service area on the Scottish side of the A1, though the original facilities were recently demolished and replaced with a much smaller facility.
Facilities
Amenities: Showers Outdoor Space: Picnic Tables Charging Points: MFG EV Power 150kW CCS & 50kW CHAdeMO Forecourt: BP, Londis, Greggs, Miss Millie's Fried Chicken, Costa Express, Dunkin' Donuts, Rollover, Jet Wash
Parking Prices
First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which all vehicles must pay £1 per hour or £20 per 24 hours.
Prices are paid using the pay machine located next to the shower block, PayByPhone or SNAP. The PayByPhone location code is 686643 and the SNAP location code is 18843.
The fees are strictly enforced by Euro Car Parks.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Service Area
Old Craighall
Musselburgh
East Lothian
EH21 8RE
Trivia and History
The service area was opened as Edinburgh services, a name which still persists on some maps.
It was built by Granada in 1989 to coincide with the completion of the Edinburgh City Bypass and the A1 Musselburgh Bypass. It had a Granada Shop in the middle, Country Kitchen Restaurant on one side, and Granada Lodge on the other, with a courtyard in the middle.
The restaurant became Scotland's only AJ's in 1992. The shop became a Burger King, and then the AJ's was changed to a Little Chef by Granada in 1996. Little Chef generally called it Musselburgh, as did Moto.
There were plans for the Burger King to gain a drive thru in 2001, but this was dropped. There were also plans for an extension to the Travelodge building utilising some of what was the HGV parking area. This plan was accepted in 2005 but was never built.
Breaking Apart
Like the similarly-designed Colsterworth services, most of Musselburgh was sold off by Moto in 2002, along with the Little Chef brand, though for a while they operated the restaurant remotely by franchise arrangement.
The Little Chef here closed in 2010, leaving the main amenity building completely devoid of any facilities. The Travelodge was previously also operated by Moto, but Travelodge themselves would eventually take it over.
Despite its dilapidated state, the service area was still signed from the A1 and A720, but the symbols advertised just a hotel and petrol station. Travelodge then closed their hotel in early 2021, leaving just a filling station and a large, derelict area.
MRH took over operation of the filling station in October 2013 and changed the brand from Esso to BP. It is now operated by MFG following the merger of the two companies, and remained as the only signposted service area with a Hursts store. MFG called it Monktonhall services.
New Services
Work started to demolish the abandoned buildings in September 2021. There will be a new Costa Drive Thru positioned on the former hotel car park, along with four electric vehicle charging bays.
The plans were drawn up before the hotel closed, and a new hotel entrance was due to be constructed. The hotel was instead demolished with the rest of the buildings. Under a separate ongoing planning proposal, the former service area building will now be turned into a secured HGV parking area, with the former tourist information building becoming a shower block.
MFG then commenced redevelopment on their forecourt in June 2023, meaning the whole site was fully closed to the public. The new facility was officially opened by MSP Colin Beattie on 7 December 2023 and features six car pumps, four HGV fuelling lanes and MFG's 100th MFG EV Power charging hub with eight electric vehicle charging bays. A new sales building has also been constructed, branded as a Londis store, and contains the 500th franchised Greggs store in the UK along with Scotland's first Miss Millie's Fried Chicken restaurant and the usual MFG food to go offers.
The HGV parking area and shower block later opened in February 2024 following delays with conversion of the tourist information building. The Costa Drive Thru has since switched to a Starbucks Drive Thru following several local Costa stores nearby, with works currently ongoing.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Lindisfarne (60 miles) | Services on the A1 | none |
| Dreghorn (7 miles) | Services on the A720 | end of road |
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