Guide to Southways services

Southways services was a service area provided on the A1 Leeming Lane in the 1970s. It was one of the first facilities to open on this section of the A1.

By 1973, there was a forecourt on either side of the road, with southbound being branded Shell. At this stage the Sinderby branch of Little ChefHistory opened to the south of the southbound forecourt.

Despite the nearby junction with the B6267, northbound traffic was unable to access this, and this side of the service area operated in isolation with only the nearby farm, caravan park and bungalow for company. The southbound service area did have its own connection to the B6267, allowing local traffic to use the restaurant.

The northbound forecourt was the first to close. The land would later be used by Quernhow Cafe, which was advertised as a truckstop with accommodation.

It was announced that the A1 would be replaced by a motorway in 1989. This threatened to make such a small service area redundant. The Jopling Family Trust did register a proposal to upgrade Southways to a full motorway service area, but this was just one of many proposals and they didn't carry it through.

The A1 upgrade was postponed, and in 2002 Little Chef actually closed their nearby Rainton South branch to allow them to focus on Sinderby. This positivity changed in 2004 when Permira closed a number of branches, generally those which didn't have a hotel. The southbound forecourt, now branded BP, closed soon after.

Both the restaurant and forecourt were left derelict until 2009, when they were demolished to make way for the new A1(M) motorway.

Area Map

This is an automatically generated map of the surrounding area. You can use the button on the right to switch between a map and an aerial photo. Historic maps may be available at SABRE Maps.

🗺 Grid reference: SE337805 | See GeoHack for modern layers