Abandoned Motorway Service Station - M1 Leicester 

I’m responsible for those lights being on 😂 the site is still live as the boilers in the abandoned building provide the heating for the hotel, I’ve got loads of pictures of the inside of this if you are interested

Markfield Services biggest problem was that it was not signposted on the motorway itself. I seem to recall that this was because the land that it was on was not owned by the Department of Transport. Hence, they did not consider it to be a motorway services and did not signpost it on the motorway. Unless you were a local or happened to be using that junction anyway, you wouldn't know it was there.

"Maybe one day it'll become an Insurance claim following an Arson attack or maybe redeveloped into luxury flats" That last bit got me lol

I’m from Leicester (and was actually born in Leicester Forest East) and I only ever visited that service station once. It was horrible. Have never felt so unwelcome or that I was in the wrong place. It just had a really bad vibe for some reason.

They should make it retro, with Granada branding and original sit down service. Add a garden centre and you would have a nice destination to go to.

A lovely bit of knowledge for a Wednesday. No matter where you go in this country, no matter how disused somewhere is. Travel Lodge prevails 💪🏼😂 Thanks JPH ☕️ 👍🏼

I thought I'd submitted a Super Thanks before, but I don't see it. Auto Shenanigans is a part of my weekly wind-down... thanks for your amazing videos, Jon! ♥️

I lived in Markfield for many years. These services were without any doubt, the most miserable depressing place you could possibly imagine. Bit like Leicester....

Looking on street view, you enter towards the Travelodge and you see the closed building. As you get closer to Travelodge you are greeted by a Coffee Nation sign and an open Burger King!

It’s hard to tell if some service stations are abandoned or not 😂

I think the reason the Markfield site closed down was because the A50 was rerouted via Castle Donington, taking all the traffic from the East Midlands to places like Stoke on Trent with it. Previously the A50 ran past the site up through Burton to Uttoxeter, but wasn't convenient for people trying to get to and from Nottingham, only Leicester and Northampton. Euro Garages has at least two other sites in the immediate area, at the roundabout up the now A511 towards Coalville. As EG sites go it was pretty rundown as others have mentioned, but it was always possible to park your truck there for a while.

My mum worked at the Petrol station their until it closed. Was a run down mess, and staff always felt in danger in their as the station was so hidden from view. Eurogarages shut that site down as they were more interested in their new Asda Garage at Ashby De La Zouch, that has recently completed phase one of its build and now they are going to build a lorry park on the field next to McDonalds and the Hotel.

Drive past this quite a lot, always wondered what happened to it! It’s crazy that big companies can just sit on such real estate and let it rot away 🤷‍♂️

Motorways went from perfect open clear fast roadways to, well, we know the joy today.

Arson? - I'd never have considered that as a tool in the property developers basket 😂

Always amazes me how quickly nature reclaims land. The petrol station looks like its been closed a lot longer than 2020

I have stayed in that Travelodge recently and its spooky staying on a closed motorway services... bring on the zombies!

Stayed at Markfield Travelodge and it’s a depressing place with everything shut. Staff were lovely but they can’t make it more exciting!

My Dad worked there for about 10 years as on-site maintenance. He got some great perks when it was part of Granada.

Moto probably just turned their attentions to their Donington Park Services at J24A (not sure when that opened). Despite living nearby (J24) and travelling past this junction many times, I don't remember ever seeing a sign on the Motorway itself to say there were services at this junction so no wonder it didn't get many visitors.

Big fan of the urbex element Jon...

Arrr yes ...I remember the days when a stop off at a motorway services was a pure delight .... I think 😂

I used to work in the Leicester area and don't remember Markfield as a 'motorway service station', it was just a petrol station and cafe on the A50 near the M1 junction.

I absolutely love how you use Gran Turismo menu music in your videos. Great touch.

This is rapidly becoming my favourite channel, obviously why wouldn’t it? Cheers.

Hope you check out more abandoned locations, love this aspect of the channel!

In early days I remember doing a u turn on the new M6, no traffic, no central barriers 😱

I stayed at the Travelodge in August 2020 and had a wander around the outside of this service station too. It was fascinating seeing the signs and chairs in the Burger King through the barrier. The Travelodge is the only one I've stayed in that still uses keys for the doors instead of key cards.

Loving these alternate deep dive Wednesday videos

I love these videos , I’m addicted 👍🏼

Wonder if someone like Gridserve would go for it. Has some potential i would say as an EV charge hub.

thanks so much for this...well in

I remember getting petrol at at the BP there just before the lockdowns started. The people running it were given notice of eviction and the sight was going to be redeveloped, with new fast food outlets etc . The previous restaurants and facilities had been shut years before though. I wonder why the redevelopment has never happened ?

You have just got to love this guy!

Lived here for decades, close to Markfield, had no idea this was ever a motorway stop

Thanks for another cracking vlog 🎉

I grew up in the next village and remember when it was built; me and my mate used to play the arcade machines after school and in later years, my sister ended up as manager for the Burger King.

Brilliant, as always !!

My man just keeps pumping out the shenanigans

The best site on RU-vid to date 👍🏻

Love your informative and to the point explanations. Just enough humour. Very entertaining

Thank you for this I wasn't aware there had been a second services near Leicester

Perhaps as automobiles have gotten more comfortable, quiet and capable of longer distances between petrol stops, there just aren't enough people stopping any more. I recall seeing the same thing in the southwestern USA in 2015-2019. Have not made any long distance trips since 2020, sadly. Thanks, Jon.

Hadn’t realised it had closed but am not surprised as Leicester Forest East - only a few minutes south - is a really good service station with a lot of food choices. Who doesn’t love having a Harry Ramsden’s while watching the cars zooming beneath you ! 😄

Yeah, I remember getting pie, chips and a doughnut from a service station once. Got to the cashier and I said, "I'm sorry, I've only got a £50 note" she said, "it's OK, just put the doughnut back"

I always start your videos going what's the first thing he will say to crack me up today "... and instead seen as somewhere to have piss" wins today 😆

cool video fella 👍 old service station footage & interesting abandoned site 😀

Ah, Leicester Markfield! Never went, being a Leicestershire local, but seeing as it's off the motorway rather than Leicester Forest East which is just down the road, it's not surprising that it didn't last forever (although I thought it had lasted longer than 2014!)

Brilliant term, 'room temperature coffee'.

Very good video cheers.

"You can go as fast as you like, you know". In the early hours of 11 June 1964, AC Cars took a 4.8-litre Ford-powered Cobra Coupé GT car on to the M1 motorway to do a high-speed test run before the Le Mans 24 Hours. The team's driver, Jack Sears, recorded 185mph on the motorway. Sears explains: “The speed limit was introduced in July 1967, three years after the furore. Labour politician Barbara Castle was the Minister for Transport when the speed limits were introduced, but it had been a Conservative government at the time of the M1 test.

I sometimes park up in my truck overnight there.. some massive rats lurking around..

Thanks!

As ever, a jovial & entertaining script. Plus informative in many ways. Always worth watching all the way till the end 👍

Had an Olympic breakfast or two over the years at the site in my youth, great video !!!

I have to say thanks for yet another beautifully crafted gem of a video. You never fail to make me smile, something that's for definite a good thing given the current climate!

I clicked on the button specifically designed to show that I appreciated this clip. I had already subscribed so I left that button well alone.

0:49 Oh the memories, I remember those times. The ones I remember were run by Forte, later to become Trusthouse Forte.

Another good video 🚗🚙🚘👍👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Awesome video

Good job I watched this video I didn’t know it had shut…spent many a miserable night on here in my truck…cheers man.

This is the best video I've ever seen about anything

well done again AS

Enjoying your videos thanks. I spend many hours using our motorway network as a Chauffeur covering 50k miles a year, the majority on motorways. So getting some enlightening info on our motorways is great to use to while away the time I'm stuck in traffic( M62, M60, M1, M6 et all). Speaking of service stations, maybe you should visit Birch services, E/B on the M62, and admire the way the have chopped down some beautiful trees there, that have been growing quietly and minding their own business for the last 50 years absorbing lots and lot of that nasty CO2, to make way for some (as yet still not finished after 12 months) EV charging stations, and see if you can spot the irony.......

Fantastic

Good vlog john made smill john

Thanks

I did stop at the Travel Lodge a few months back, i'd not been to the Service station for a few years so i couldn't believe how run down the rest of the site was. thanks for the video on this. :)

Very interesting vids mate with humour like it 😁😁

I stopped and had a break there once when I didn’t have enough time left to get to LFE. Nice to know the back story of it.

It's interesting seeing how centralized roadside services appear in the UK from an American perspective. Here, it's a bit of a mixed bag. There are state funded rest stops on the interstate which are simply meant for stretching and using the bathroom, and then there's sprawling roads ("stroads") that have your hotels, fast food, and gas stations. There's even buildings that combine the latter two, which appear at random. Good video.

Hey hey x love your content and channel

This was my 'goto' services most days back in the day, when I wanted a quieter place to stop for refreshments and a brief sleep on the way home. Much more pleasant than Leicester Forest East mainly because most travellers didn't know it was there. In fact, I didn't know it had gone until your video - but that's because I stopped travelling the route many years ago.

Glad you could visit and show a recent view of the services! Moto operated the Costa store themselves and closed it themselves after “disappointing trade”. Motorway Services Online has some images of what it looked like before it was bordered up. It was fenced off but it seems they’ve removed it. The future seems to be EG typically demolishing it and building a Starbucks drive thru.

Used to make regular trips up to Coalville and Ashby and that was my go to filling station for LPG. Had no idea it had closed down.

@ 1:07 "Seen as somewhere to have a p155" LOL. This is how I regard most motorway service stations, (with the exception of Tebay and Stafford)

I was waiting for a video on this, went there recently with a mate and couldnt believe you missed it in your m1 video! Lol 😂

Old service station promo shots are like old air travel marketing. An exciting and aspirational idea reduced to a depressing experience when it isn't a living hell.

As a markfield resident, its so strange seeing this place how it is now as i completely forgot about it. I remember my mum taking me and my sister there after school sometimes. But i cant really remember anything about the place apart from the maze like exit and the carwash.

It's a prime site to open as an electric forecourt. There is a lack of high-speed chargepoints close to the M1 north of Rugby.

Very pleased to see this pop up today after mentioning it last year and receiving a "careful what you wish for reply"! I used to stay at the Travelodge regularly as it's close to Donington park circuit and it's very cheap. It was fine as long as you got food elsewhere before returning. The main services building wasn't boarded up for most of that time and as you say everything was still in place as if it had just closed for the day and would reopen soon! I think the last time I stayed was 2019 when it was starting to deteriorate but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it is now. There used to be a similar abandoned Euro garages services (without the hotel) on the A303 in Hampshire but about 5 years ago, it was demolished, rebuilt with new buildings and reopened. Also I just remembered, Markfield services used to be home to a Starling that used to be a perfect mimic of emergency vehicle sirens!! Very strange to hear but probably long since deceased. I don't think Starlings live long!

Fascinating Jon. Used this services regularly back in the day - think they were a Happy Eater before becoming a Little Chef. Had a big proper sit down restaurant for freshly cooked breakfast. Found it convenient as it wasn't as busy as Leicester Forest East. Guess that's why it closed. Didn't know it was shut - Feel I've lost part of my history.

nice video

I've driven past that place hundreds and hundreds of times, either when driving north/south on the M1 or east/west on the A50, and it was *never* sign-posted properly. Mostly you'd only ever see the entrance to it if you were leaving the roundabout to head towards Coalville. I drove past it over the Christmas/New Year period and never even realised it had closed. It was always the poor relation to Leicester Forest East.

I have vague memories of this. Living local, just down the A511 near Ashby, but can only just about remember a BK. Had no idea it closed despite being nearby and working for Moto!

Shame you could not get in for a look, but another interesting video my friend.

Granada was the Manchester based ITV franchise owner and programme maker - Remember World in Action, Sherlock Holmes, Coronation Street, The Royle Family, The Jewel in the Crown, Brideshead Revisited, University Challenge and The Krypton Factor.

It's like your reading my mind to come up with video topics.

Went most weekends in the cricket season. I didnt realise it has been shut so long but shows how time flies😮

You're bang on with your derogatory comments about modern service stations- ! 🤣 I still rue the days which saw the demise of transport caffs; good solid food & drink at decent prices. 😁

I was looking at this in Google maps a few days ago and surprised to see it all closed up, I'm guessing it must still be owned by Euro Garages because it's exactly the sort of location the likes of Gridserve are looking for their EV charging hubs like the one they are building up at J29a. Oddly although living in the area on and off for most my life it never really crossed my mind it was a motorway services.

Nice!

I drive past this a lot on the M1 and see it marked as [NO FUEL] under the name on waze, cool to finally see it

ah the lovely music from the car service menu on gran turismo 4.

Very interesting. I actually used the fuel station to buy a drink when I cycled from central Leicester to band near Coalville, back in late 2019. It seemed very confusing due to lack of signage of how to get out...

Leicester east is one of my fav services

This service station and the subsequent googling I did about it is actually what led me to your channel in the first place - the every service station vids that you did 😁 good to see it covered! I think there are gates there preventing you getting near to the building now?

The motorway service station of the 1960's may have perhaps been the glamorous destination that you describe. You don't look old enough to remember the 1970's,. However, I not only look old enough, I actually remember the 1970's. Vividly. That ten years smelled. It smelled bad. It also rusted, and is, in many people's opinion, a contender for the decade with the most bad decisions and worst taste of all time. You may regard a modern service station as a place to, "take a piss," but at least the whole service station doesn't smell of urine, as it did in the 1970's. The chips were limp and grey. The tea supported an oil slick. The decor was lurid and tired simultaneously in a way that I think is now hard to imagine. What was not plastic was rust, and the cold damp left interesting stains inside and out. It made one long to get outside and inhale the exhaust fumes and smell of petrol. The idea that anywhere on a motorway in the 1970's should be remembered with fond affection leaves me concerned for the fate of humanity. By contrast, modern services are clean, warm, dry; with mercifully well maintained and perfumed toilets. Let's have none of this romanticised nonsense. We fought long and hard to have edible junk food at such establishments. It's people like you that are the real threat to Western Democracy. Otherwise, well done for an interesting and insightful documentary. Subjects of such vital interest deserve further airing. Thank you again.

Of course there are the [official] Leicester Forest "Welcome Break" services a few miles south. I got stuck there for a couple of hours early one Sunday morning back in 1975. Such was the nightlife in Leicester at the time that people used to drive out, dine on fish and chips and drive back. Coach drivers who took a break there with passengers used to get their meal on the house...

Hey I live right by this one. Used to be the go to for burger king as a kid