London Gateway services is the southernmost
motorway service station
Motorway service areas (MSA) also known as services or service stations, are rest areas in the UK and Ireland where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel/recharge, rest, eat and drink, shop, use the toilet or stay in an on-site overnight hotel ...
on the
M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
– between
Junctions 2 and 4 – north of London, England. It is between
Arkley
Arkley is a village in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north-northwest of Charing Cross.
It consists of a long village strung out between Barnet and Stirling Corner, and composed of the ancient ...
and
Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northwest London. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex east of the ancient Watling Street in what is now the London Borough of Barnet but it is now informally considered to cover a wider area, inc ...
on the west side of the road, has a hotel, and, unusually, has an early ''give way'' on its northern approach.
History
It opened in 1969, run by
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 ...
, and was opened as Scratchwood Services. Its main approaches are those built for an abortive
junction 3 of the
M1 for a spur (as at junction 2) to link to the
A1.
On 6 September 1997, many people parked at the service station to witness the passing of the funeral hearse of
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
on its way along with the M1 from central London to her burial place in
Althorp
Althorp (popularly pronounced ) is a Grade I listed stately home and estate in the civil parish of Althorp, in West Northamptonshire, England of about . By road it is about northwest of the county town of Northampton and about northwest ...
,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
.
A reserved section of the current service area is a major long-distance
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Coac ...
service interchange.
Planning permission for a
Tesla Supercharger
The Tesla Supercharger network is an electric vehicle fast charging network built and operated by American vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Inc.
The Supercharger network was introduced on September 24, 2012, as the Tesla Tesla Model S, Model S en ...
, consisting of 32 stalls to be built at the site, was granted on 18 May 2018, but the stalls are yet to open.
The guns in both forward turrets on the museum ship , moored between
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...
and
London Bridge
The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
some 11.7 miles away in the centre of London, are elevated and trained on the London Gateway Motorway Services Area to illustrate the range of the ship's armament.
Layout
It has a separate, first, northbound approach, targeted at its hotel part, the roads of which are linked to the rest of the complex.
The entry and exit spur for the motorway's southbound carriageway cross (to and from) the services at a high point on the west side. The service station has an unusual ''give way'' for the entry spur mentioned (vehicles coming from the north must give way).
To the far south is a linked, controlled access,
emergency vehicle
An emergency vehicle is a vehicle used by emergency services. Emergency vehicles typically have specialized Emergency vehicle lighting, emergency lighting and Emergency vehicle equipment, vehicle equipment that allow emergency services to reach Ca ...
road to/from Ellesmere Avenue.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{Motorway service stations in the United Kingdom
1969 establishments in England
M1 motorway service stations
Welcome Break motorway service stations
Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Barnet