Guide to Woodall services

It's Yorkshire's oldest service area, still providing facilities as the M1 passes Sheffield.

Facilities

Catering: on both sides: Burger King, Chopstix Noodle Bar, KFC, Starbucks, Subway, The Good Breakfast, Jolly Rancher Slush, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks on the Go
plus northbound only: Starbucks Drive Thru, Hershey's Freeze, Reese's Freeze
and southbound only: f'real Milkshakes, The Phat Pasty Co., Rollover Shops: on both sides: WHSmith
and southbound only: Waitrose & Partners, Top Gift Amenities: on both sides: Game Zone, Showers
and southbound only: Days Inn, Revolution Laundry Outdoor Space: northbound only: Large grass space behind building
and southbound only: Grass area next to building Charging Points: on both sides: Applegreen Electric 180kW CCS; GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 40kW CCS, 40kW CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2
and southbound only: Tesla Supercharger 150kW Forecourt: Welcome Break, The Phat Pasty Co., f'real Milkshakes, Rollover, Starbucks on the Go, LPG (Calor)

Parking Prices

First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 for a further 24 hours and HGVs, caravans and coaches must pay £34 (or £36 to include a £12 meal voucher).

Prices can be paid in the shop or by using Evology Parking. The location code is 79396.

The fees are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.

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

Contact Details

Trivia and Design

Northern Powergrid increased the electricity capacity at Woodall in 2023, with works commencing on the southbound side in October 2023 for the site to become a charging hub with eight new high-powered Applegreen Electric chargers.

The Yorkshire village of Wales is positioned less than two miles north of the service area. This gives rise to a whole load of trick trivia questions, as Woodall can claim to be the closest service area to a Welsh border.

History

See also: M1 Service Area Planning

Three possible sites were examined before the services were built: Killamarsh, Wales and Woodall. The Ministry liked the Wales site, but the local authority said it was too close to the village. Its proximity to Sprotbrough was a concern too. The chosen site was known throughout the planning process as "Killamarsh".

The site was opened to bids in early 1964. It was the first to use a formula to dictate the size of the parking areas: there needed to be 1.75 seats for every car parking space, 1.2 seats for every HGV parking space, and 30 seats for every coach parking space. There also needed to be at least 30 toilets and 20 fuel pumps on each side.

Responses were received from Fortes and Highway Restaurants Ltd (a consortium between Trust Houses, Blue Star and Burmah). Fortes's rent offer would prove to be more lucrative if the road would prove to be busy, and on this basis they won the bid.

Originally the restaurant had orange settees with a brown, Scandinavian-style strip-wood ceiling. A screen sectioned off an area for lorry drivers. The buildings were relatively long and thin, with most of the subsequent extensions adding to the front. The kitchen was being used to provide the council's 'Meals on Wheels' service in 1970.

The large rounded part of the southbound building was the transport café. It became a Little Chef in around 1982. The Granary next door had a pine ceiling, exposed brick and wood dividers.

The service area was the scene of a violent football clash in January 1986, where a number of injuries were caused. Such incidents were common at service areas at the time.

As with most Welcome Break service areas, David Fisher was commissioned to paint some artwork, which was displayed all around the southbound lobby. At Woodall the mural was dedicated to Harry Brearley, the Sheffield man who is credited with inventing stainless steel. It has since been removed.

The footbridge would have been connected to the main building at each end, but it is a separate structure in its own right. Given the exposed location, this can make it feel rather cold and bleak. A rearrangement on the southbound side saw the bridge's connection to the main building blocked off, meaning customers had to leave via a second exit and follow a winding path round to the main entrance.

The breakdown unit was taken on by the RAC's Motorway Rescue Services in 1988.

Concern was caused by the plan to widen the M1 between J28 and J32, which was announced in 1989. Forte were unable to build a hotel in case this was impacted by the roadworks. When the road was eventually widened in 2016, it was done on a small scale and didn't impact the service area.

Developments

McDonald's were allowed to open a restaurant in 1995, using space they leased in the middle of the building. It was next door to a KFC and The Granary restaurant. On the southbound side, the Little Chef became Red Hen in 1997, and was alongside Burger King and La Brioche Doree. This meant it was one of the only service stations with Burger King, KFC and McDonald's all available. La Brioche Doree soon became Coffee Primo.

The Granary restaurants became Eat In serveries, before being broken up into fast food units.

The forecourts were converted to Welcome Break branding in early 2020.

The McDonald's closed due to COVID-19 on 21 March 2020, and did not reopen. After the lease lapsed, it was converted to a Burger King and a Chopstix Noodle Bar/The Good Breakfast hybrid unit, which opened in early 2021. These could form a single food court, instead of having the separate McDonald's dining area stuck awkwardly in the middle.

The southbound WHSmith store received a 'premium' upgrade in March 2022, with new branding, fixtures and fittings. Food to go ranges were added from The Good Bakery, f'real Milkshakes and Slush Puppie. Slush Puppie was later replaced with Jolly Rancher, along with the addition of Rollover products.

Four Applegreen Electric charging points were added to the northbound car park in late 2022, adding a third charging option for electric vehicle owners here. A further eight chargers were later installed on the southbound side in December 2023, along with a new substation to power them.

Welcome Break are now seeking to build a drive thru Starbucks on the southbound side, next to the main building.

Alternatives

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