Thrussington services
A46 northbound between Leicester and Newark
Signposted from the road.
LE7 4TF
map and directions
Single site located between junctions on one side of the road.
The main service area at Thrussington is on the northbound side of the A46, where there is a café and a petrol station. There is also a café and hotel on the southbound side, but these aren't regarded as a service area.
Facilities
Catering: Six Hills Café Outdoor Space: Grass verge only (care needed) Forecourt: Shell, Select, Deli by Shell, Costa Express
Parking Prices
Short stay customer car parking is available. HGVs can access the forecourt, but no formal parking is provided.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Fosse Way
Thrussington
Leicester
Leicestershire
LE7 4TF
Trivia and History
Most of the history here is to be found on the southbound side of the A46. It was originally called Green Acres services, and even had a small Amoco petrol station.
The facility was taken over by Roadchef in July 1974, who promoted it as Thrussington services. They called it "an important link in our chain", and developed it with an 80-seat restaurant, shop and forecourt, for which they held a 21-year lease. This included surplus land, which they were hoping to sublet.
Roadchef sold their lease to Little Chef in around 1979, who operated it as their Thrussington branch.
A Little Chef Lodge opened in 1987, which soon became a Travelodge. Little Chef, being part of Forte at the time, did look at building a new petrol station, but this didn't happen. The restaurant was one of many Little Chefs selected for closure in September 2012, but it has since become Jaanu Café and Restaurant. The Travelodge followed the Little Chef, with it closing in 2013, and it is now called OYO Sunrise Hotel.
Northbound History
On the northbound side, the forecourt was originally called North Hill Garage, and was a smaller facility next to two properties. In 1990, this was demolished and replaced by the current service station, known as Six Hill services. It was initially branded Elf, later Total, and has been Shell since November 2012. The café remains, and is a converted bungalow with parking in the back garden. In 1988 there was planning permission to replace it with a motel.
Six Hills Café was included in the Highways Agency's 2006 truckstop guide, where it was shown as having a café in the daytime, but parking for cars only. At night eight HGV parking spaces were made available.
A report in 2008 suggested that a number of southbound drivers were stopping in the lay-by and running across the road, even though according to the agents this is "not something to be encouraged".
A further proposal to replace the café with a hotel was refused in 2008, as the presence of the new service area at Leicester North was considered to offer enough facilities for the road.
Shell submitted plans in 2021 to redevelop their forecourt here, reducing the number of pumps available and adding a larger sales building and four Shell Recharge electric vehicle charging bays. These plans were later withdrawn in September 2022 owing to several concerns from National Highways.
Alternatives
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| Leicester North (5 miles) | Services on the A46 | Winthorpe (28 miles) |