Willowtree

Willowtree and Cawledge

Rontec

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Location:

A1 at Alnwick, Northumberland

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

NE66 2HA

map and directions

Access/Layout:

Series of sites arranged around a junction..

There are two services at the Alnwick exit on the A1 which until recently were operated by two separate companies.

Facilities

There is one facility on either side of the A1, and both are accessible via the underpass.

Willowtree Facilities

The Willowtree site is closer to the A1 northbound.

Amenities: Picnic Area Forecourt: Esso, Morrisons Daily, Food to Go, Costa Express, Air1 AdBlue, LPG (FloGas), Car Wash, Jet Wash, Free Cash Machine

Cawledge Facilities

The larger Cawledge site is closer to the A1 southbound and forms part of the Cawledge Business Park.

Catering: Template:Website, McDonald's Drive Thru Amenities: Children's Play Area (available at both The Hogs Head Inn and McDonald's) : Template:Website Template:Charging points Forecourt: BP, Morrisons Daily, Barista Bar, Food to Go, Costa Express, AdBlue4You, Jet Wash, Free Cash Machine

Parking Prices

Willowtree

Short stay customer parking is limited to 20 minutes maximum stay for cars. A coach parking bay is also available around the back of the sales building.

Cawledge

Short stay customer parking is available for cars at all facilities. Limited HGV parking is also provided on the forecourt whilst coach parking bays are provided in the The Hogs Head Inn car park.

This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.

Contact Details

🏢 Address:
Co-Operative Retail Services Ltd
Willowtree Service Station
Willowtree Industrial Estate
Alnwick
Northumberland
NE66 2HA

🌍 Operators & Official Websites:

• Drive-thru restaurant operated by McDonald's
• Pub-restaurant and hotel operated by The Inn Collection Group
• Forecourts operated by Rontec
  
  

Trivia and History

Willowtree site

The Willowtree forecourt in 1994, branded as Shell.

The Willowtree garage is named after the Willowtree Cottages, which it was built next to on a piece of land primed for development when the Alnwick Bypass was built. The forecourt was originally owned by Aln Motor Co Ltd, and then Ord's Of Amble and was branded BP. In the late 1970s there was a plan to build a hotel here.

A UPVC extension was added to the back of the sales building in 1992 adding the Willowtree Café. This was later demolished in 2003 and a brick-built extension was added instead.

Ord's of Amble rebranded the site to Shell with a Select branded store in 1994. They later sold the site to the Co-operative Group in around 2008 who rebranded the site back to BP and added their own branded Co-op Food store. The Willowtree Café also closed around this time.

The site rebranded to Total in 2012 before being removed a short time later in 2016, retaining the Total colour scheme. Co-operative Group then converted the site to their own-brand Co-op Petrol in 2017.

Rontec purchased the Willowtree forecourt from the Co-operative Group in November 2019 and rebranded the site to Esso and added a Morrisons Daily store. This became Rontec's second site at the same junction.

Cawledge site

The Cawledge forecourt with new Morrisons Daily store.

As part of the development of Cawledge Business Park in the 2000s, a large plot of land south of the main A1 junction was designated for retail and leisure use to accompany the new business park.

Developers of the business park Northumberland Estates were granted planning permission in 2002 for a garden centre, hotel and restaurant to be built on the land and gained further permission in 2007 to add a 54-bed hotel and restaurant. Permission for the hotel and restaurant was renewed in 2011 with construction commencing in the same year. The Hogs Head Inn eventually opened on 31 July 2012 with an official opening ceremony which saw the Duke of Northumberland pour the first pint in the bar. The hotel and restaurant was managed by Greenfields Moor Developments. The pub-restaurant gained a children's play area in 2014. The pub-restaurant was later sold to the Inn Collection Group.

During 2010, Northumberland Estates submitted further plans for a filling station and fast food drive-thru restaurant on the unused land. The filling station opened in June 2012 and was branded BP with a SPAR store and featured a Wild Bean Café however the site was closed by the end of 2012 following the tenant suffering a number of issues. At this point, the new Cawledge site also gained signage around the junction advertising the new facilities.

Rontec purchased the lease of the site from Northumberland Estates and reopened the forecourt on 15 February 2014. The site retained its BP branding however Rontec introduced their own-branded Shop'N Drive store. They also later added a Costa store, before rebranding the store back to SPAR in 2017.

Following the reopening of the forecourt, McDonald's submitted their own plans to build a drive-thru restaurant adjacent to the A1. Permission was granted in November 2014 with the McDonald's Drive Thru opening on 23 September 2015. An official opening ceremony was held with the Mayor of Alnwick Bill Grisdale attending.

Rontec rebranded the SPAR store to Morrisons Daily in early 2021, to match the Willowtree site, with the Costa store removed and replaced with a Morrisons Barista Bar and the West Cornwall Pasty Company offering replaced with Morrisons' own Food to Go range.

An IONITY charging hub was also added to the business park in early 2021 and is accessed opposite the entrance to The Hogs Head Inn. McDonald's also currently hold planning permission to install 2 InstaVolt electric vehicle charging points in their car park.

Many sources refer to this site as "Alnwick motorway service area", despite the A1 not being a motorway.

Alternatives

Previous:		Next:
Stannington (21 miles)	Services on the A1	Adderstone (13 miles)