Witney services
A40 at Ducklington Interchange
(also accessible to traffic on the A415)
Signposted from the road.
OX28 4EJ
map and directions
Series of sites arranged around a junction.
One of two service areas at the main interchange on the Witney Bypass: Witney is closer to the eastbound side and is more deeply embedded into the urban area.
Facilities
Catering: McDonald's Drive Thru Outdoor Space: Small grass area by site entrance Forecourt: Esso, Tesco Express, Costa Express, Car Wash, Jet Wash, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Short stay customer parking is available for cars. No HGV parking is available.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Tesco Express
Station Lane
Witney
Oxfordshire
OX28 4EJ
Trivia and Design
The plaque, situated on the front of the Tesco Express store, highlighting the building's accolade from 1993.
When the Witney Bypass opened in 1976, Oxfordshire County Council were unusually insistent that a lorry park be provided at Ducklington. The Department of Transport generally took the position that they didn't have the budget to provide A-road service areas, but at Ducklington they too were keen on the idea of funding a lorry park.
The rest area they had envisaged wasn't built, but two service areas were built instead positioned either side of the new junction - one on the Witney side and one on the Witney side.
BP had also proposed building their own service area along the bypass to the west of here at Asthall in 1992, but planning permission was refused.
Opening
Following a proposal from Shell, the service area eventually opened in 1993, as a Gulf filling station known as Station Lane Garage. It won a West Oxfordshire Design Award for its shop building. It's an unusual building which looks more like a business park: it has a tall roof with windows along it, and walls surfaced with Cotswold stone. The combined car and jet wash building uses the same stile, with the canopy over the jet wash area looking more like a barn.
The initial proposals for the Witney site included a hotel and restaurant too, and that restaurant eventually came in the form of a McDonald's Drive Thru which opened in 1997. This has a much more standard building that blends in with the retail area surrounding it. In the same year, Tesco purchased the forecourt and turned the site into one of their Esso/Tesco Express combination sites.
A Premier Inn was built a little further north of here, but is no longer considered to be part of the service area.
Despite the forecourt having a purpose-built entry directly from its namesake Station Lane, the road signs direct traffic past this, to the right turn further ahead. The signage around the area is generally confused, never really sure which facility it's trying to promote.
Alternatives
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| Eynsham (6 miles) Eynsham (Acre Hill) (6 miles) | Services on the A40 | Ross Spur (53 miles) Gloucester (M5 south, 36 miles) Strensham (M5 north, 46 miles) |