Guide to Toddington services

Enriched with facilities but not good looks, Toddington is a busy service area and the first in a while for traffic coming from the M25.

Facilities

Catering: on both sides: Burger King, Costa Coffee, Greggs, KFC, Costa Express, f'real Milkshakes, Krispy Kreme, M&S Coffee to Go, Urban Legend Doughnuts, Costa Drive Thru
plus northbound only: Pret A Manger, West Cornwall Pasty Co., Tango Ice Blast Shops: on both sides: M&S Simply Food, WHSmith
plus northbound only: Top Gift Amenities: on both sides: Travelodge, Changing Places, Full Hou$e, Revolution Laundry, Showers
plus northbound only: Lucky Coin, Truck Wash
and southbound only: &Play, Multi Faith Room Outdoor Space: Very little greenery - southbound side has some by the hotel Charging Points: on both sides: NomadPower 22kW CEE 5 Pin
plus northbound only: GRIDSERVE Electric Highway HPC 350kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2
and southbound only: GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 120kW CCS, 50kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2 Forecourt: BP, Shop, Greggs, Costa Express, f'real Milkshakes, Tango Ice Blast, Urban Legend Doughnuts

Parking Prices

First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 and HGVs, caravans and motorhomes £31. HGVs can pay £34 to include a £10 food voucher.

Prices are paid in the shop or by using JustPark. The location code is 625160 (northbound) and 625161 (southbound).

HGVs can also pay by using SNAP. The location code is 13455 (northbound) and 13477 (southbound).

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 History

See also: History:Toddington

In Spring 2018, Transport Focus calculated a 72% satisfaction score for the southbound service area, and 82% for the northbound service area, making it second-worst and sixth-worst respectively. Both sides remained in the bottom five in 2023.

The head office for Granada services and later Moto, this combined with it being a very busy service station has meant it has often been used as a test bed by the firms for new ideas. Previously Granada had used Heston and their London office in Golden Square.

Despite being one of the oldest service areas Moto owns, it's also one of their busiest and most profitable, helped by the fact that there aren't many service areas to the south-west. Plans for a new service area at Redbourn were objected to by Granada and refused.

The service area has an unusual place in TV history. It had a lengthy segment in the first ever episode of Top Gear, broadcast in 1977, in which Angela Rippon met customers and received mixed views in the restaurant. It then appeared again in the relaunched Top Gear, where it was the starting point for the first ever 'cheap car challenge' in 2004.

Like all service areas in England, a new 50-year lease was signed in 1982. This was valued at £2,312,000, making it the most valuable.

Recent Changes

The Little Chef here was the last to leave the motorway network, lasting until 2010. It may well have lasted a little longer as Moto wanted to set up a Costa stand at the entrance to the service area, but those plans were refused as inappropriate development, so Costa took over Little Chef instead.

The Barber Shop on the southbound side, situated in a portable building in the car park, closed in July 2010. It reopened in December 2011 as a Faith Room.

Fone Bitz used to have stores on both sides here however the southbound store closed in 2018. A northbound Cotton Traders store also closed in late 2019. The northbound Fone Bitz store was later replaced with a Top Gift store in 2021.

A KFC opened on the northbound side in January 2019. The southbound Chow unit later closed in early 2023 to make way for a southbound KFC restaurant too, with The Services King opening the new restaurant on 24 April 2023. Pret A Manger then replaced the former Arlo's restaurant space on the northbound side, opening on 20 November 2023.

Additional electric vehicle chargers were added to both sides in late 2023, with the northbound side becoming a super hub in December.

Alternatives

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