Tunbridge Wells services
A21 by the Tunbridge Wells Bypass
Signposted from the road.
TN12 7HE
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
The former Blue Boys Inn pub stands next to this petrol station.
Facilities
Catering: Burger King Drive Thru Outdoor Space: Picnic area next to car park Charging Points: bp pulse 150kW CCS Forecourt: BP, M&S Food, Wild Bean Café, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Short stay customer parking is available for all vehicles.
Parking and use of the bp forecourt is limited to 30 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:
Hastings Road
Matfield
Tonbridge
Kent
TN12 7HE
Trivia and History
The Blue Boys Inn Pub was based on a 16th century farmhouse, becoming registered as an ale house in 1736. It offered refreshment and repairs at the start of the turnpike. The pub was apparently named after the uniform of King George IV's outriders, who sought assistance at the Inn after the King's coach shed a wheel. In the 1950s coach parking (labelled on maps as a 'coach station') was provided behind the pub.
In the late 1980s the coach parking became a motorhome site. After 1994, several plans were made by Aquaries Investments and Margram to build a service station here. One of the plans involved building a restaurant in the pub car park, while another planned a drive thru restaurant in the north-east corner.
The sudden need for the services came from the opening of the Tunbridge Wells Bypass to Kipping's Cross, which left very few petrol stations on the A21. The site eventually opened in 2006 named Tunbridge Wells services as one of BP's BP Connect sites featuring a Wild Bean Café, and included the construction of a new roundabout named Blue Boys.
The filling station soon gained a M&S Simply Food store. A BP Pulse electric vehicle charger was also added to the site in December 2023.
Expansion
In May 2020, McDonald's submitted plans to build a McDonald's Drive Thru here for the second time, this time by building on the existing filling station car park. This plan was withdrawn in July 2020 following strong objections from neighbouring residents and businesses.
MFG then proposed building 10 electric vehicle charging points and a new-build Greggs on land to the east of the service area, by the exit. This would have created an unusual situation where two rivals (MFG and BP Express) will together be providing different facilities at the same service area. MFG's proposal was later withdrawn.
Future of the Blue Boys Inn
In the early 2000s, the pub went on to become Monsoon Spice. This closed in around 2008. In 2009, the car park gained a hand car wash and snack bar. In 2011, the site then became Blue Boys Café with the hand car wash remaining and the snack bar being removed. Both the café and hand car wash closed a year later with the building becoming heavily dilapidated.
Since the closure in 2012, several plans have been made to make use of the pub. In 2013, there were two plans: one to adapt the pub to become a drive thru, and the other to demolish it and replace it with a two-storey McDonald's drive thru. Part of the building was demolished in April 2014.
The pub became a Grade II listed building in May 2014.
It was eventually agreed that the pub could be converted into a Burger King drive thru. This opened on 2 April 2019.
Alternatives
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| Chimes (23 miles) Clacket Lane (M25 west, 21 miles) Thurrock (M25 north, 32 miles) Swanley (A20 eastbound, 27 miles) | Services on the A21 | none |