Charnock Richard Services is a

motorway service area Motorway service areas in the United Kingdom and Ireland, also known as services or service stations, are rest areas where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop or stay in an on-site overnight hotel. The va ...

between Junctions 27 and 28 of the M6 in England. The services are in the

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

borough of Chorley and were the first on the M6 when they opened in 1963. Originally operated by

Trust House Forte Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Granada in 1996. Its head office was in the London Borough of Camden. ...

, the services are currently operated by

Welcome Break Welcome Break is a British motorway service station operator that operates 35 motorway service stations in the UK. It is the second-largest motorway service area operator behind Moto. It also operates hotels and motels. It is a subsidiary of ...

History

In August 1961 the contract was awarded to Motorway Services, owned by Blue Star Garages and

Forte Forte or Forté may refer to: Music *Forte (music), a musical dynamic meaning "loudly" or "strong" * Forte number, an ordering given to every pitch class set * Forte (notation program), a suite of musical score notation programs * Forte (vocal ...

. The nearby 29 mile section of M6 opened Monday 29 July 1963. It was the first motorway service area to have a bridge over the motorway.

Keele services Keele services is a motorway service station, between junctions 15 and 16 of the M6 motorway near Keele in England. Operated by Welcome Break, it was built in 1963 and was designed by Terence Verity of Verity Associates. The nearest towns are ...

was an exact copy of Charnock Richard; Keele opened on Friday 15 November 1963.

Design

The services complex was designed by Terence Verity of Verity Associates. The fast-food

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

are located on the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the motorway, rather than restaurants on each side. The

bridge restaurant A bridge restaurant or restaurant bridge is a restaurant, usually indoors, built like a bridge over a road, mostly over freeways or motorways. It usually provides access from both sides of the road without the need of crossing the road by tunnel or ...

, which had been converted to a

Little Chef Little Chef was a chain of restaurants in the United Kingdom, founded in 1958 by entrepreneur Sam Alper, who was inspired by American diners. The chain was famous for the "Olympic Breakfast" – its version of a full English – as well as it ...

, was removed in the late 1990s and replaced with Burger King and KFC units at opposite ends of the bridge with a seating area in the middle. This layout remains the same today. The southbound side has an unusual layout for motorway service areas in the UK, insofar as the fuel forecourt is sited at the top of the entry slip road, on arrival at the complex. The more commonly used layout places the fuel forecourt as the last facility before motorists rejoin the motorway. The design of motorway service areas was still experimental at the time the site was built in the early 1960s, and this arrangement was not repeated.

Satisfaction

The 2019 ''Motorway Services User Survey'' found that the southbound side of Charnock Richard was in the worst five motorway services in the United Kingdom for customer satisfaction. The 2022 Transport Focus survey calculated a 93% satisfaction score for the northbound services and 83% for the southbound services, making it the third-worst in the UK.

References

External links

Welcome Break Motorway Services – Charnock Richard – M6 MotorwayMotorway Services Online – Charnock Richard
M6 motorway service stations Welcome Break motorway service stations Transport in Lancashire Buildings and structures in the Borough of Chorley {{Lancashire-struct-stub