A43 Towcester Bypass at Abthorpe Roundabout
Signposted from the road.
NN12 6TQ
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
A story of two service areas: officially it's the site next to the roundabout which forms the main service area.
Facilities
Catering: McDonald's Drive Thru, Starbucks Amenities: Travelodge Outdoor Space: Small grass verges only; public footpath connections Forecourt: BP, M&S Simply Food, Wild Bean Café, Car Wash, Jet Wash, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Short stay customer parking is available for cars at all facilities. No HGV parking is available.
Parking within the McDonald's car park is limited to 90 minutes maximum stay and is strictly enforced by MET Parking.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Brackley Road
Towcester
Northamptonshire
SP682481
Trivia and History
The former northbound Little Chef is now a Starbucks.
Planning permission for two Margram service areas here was granted in 1986, with both sites opening in 1988 with a Mobil filling station and a Little Chef restaurant on either side. The northbound side also included a 32-bed Travelodge hotel.
Both the service areas were positioned at the start of the brand-new Towcester Bypass and were slightly offset, with the larger northbound one exiting onto the Abthorpe Roundabout and the southbound one being built across the historic alignment of the A43 whilst being set back from the road, to allow space for the A43 to be dualled.
Margram later planned to build a car showroom and workshop in the gap between the filling station and roundabout in 1991. This land was later used in 1996 when a McDonald's Drive Thru was built.
Slimming Down
It was clear throughout the 1990s that Margram favoured the northbound side more, with its better access, and as a result the Little ChefHistory restaurant received an extension in 1993. The filling station sales building received an extension and a new jet wash in 1995.
Following BP and Mobil's merger in 1997, both filling stations were rebranded to BP. The northbound filling station was also redeveloped in the same year and received a new forecourt, pumps, canopy, sales building and car and jet washes. The southbound filling station closed in 2000 and the forecourt shop was converted to become offices for a local taxi firm.
Since opening, the Travelodge has received several extensions: in 1990 it gained a further eight bedrooms and in 2001 gained a 22-bed two-storey annexe was built to the rear of the existing hotel.
Post-Chef Era
The southbound Little Chef closed in 2005 and became a branch of local restaurant chain 'Buddies USA Diner'. At this point, the road signs were changed to direct all southbound traffic to the northbound side by using the roundabout. Buddies USA Diner then itself closed in January 2019, later being re-purposed to house a food preparation company.
The northbound filling station gained a M&S Simply Food store in 2008.
The remaining Little Chef closed in August 2017 and reopened that October as a Euro Garages-operated Starbucks.
Alternatives
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| Brackley (9 miles) | Services on the A43 | Northampton (7 miles) |