It’s the UK’s “most famous” petrol station, with celebrities, adding a virtual truth room and the mythical Roadchef.
The site, located along one of the country’s busiest highways, has even been a nightclub for a music icon.
Watford Gap Services, on a stretch of the M1 through Northamptonshire, is famous for its unique history, as well as being a meeting point for rock bands in the 1960s.
The complex was designed by Harry Weedon, the architect responsible for the famous Odeon film buildings, and opened in 1959.
Today, the structures themselves remain largely the same, although the interior is much more current.
The facility features virtual reality headsets that allow users to enter a casino or Michelin-starred restaurant or even walk down the track at the Grand National.
Back in the real world, now a bank of electric vehicle chargers and a diversity of department stores and restaurants, in addition to a mythical branch of Roadchef that has existed since the beginning of the services.
In fact, a waitress at the shop paid £1,000 for autographs she had collected from long-time music legends while arriving late.
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And what a lineup, with bands like Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and the Jimi Hendrix Experience, all fighting to tour the country.
As the story goes, Hendrix heard so much about Blue Boar (the company that originally ran the site) in the rock scene that he thought it was the name of a popular London nightclub.
In reality, however, it is a comfortable resting place for the excursion bus returning from an evening concert.
Roy Harper, a composer who later became a vocal critic of the state of the services, recalled: “Everyone would gather at Watford Gap because it was the only place after an exhibition where you were guaranteed to sit down for a while at 2am. “
That included even the most famous band of all time, the Beatles, who enjoyed a welcome break at Watford Gap on their return to Liverpool after gigs in the south in the days leading up to their superstar status.
Amanda Mason, Chief Marketing Officer at Roadchef, said: “Watford Gap Services is the jewel in the crown of Roadchef.
“Consumers are very attached to this and there are also people who live nearby who, when they were teenagers, would come in at night to see which stars were coming back from their delayed concerts.
“But as gateways to the north and south, both sites want to evolve.
“The reasons why other people want to stop at (rest, eat and refuel or recharge) will remain the same, but we want to ensure safe activity in the long term and make sure Watford Gap is travel-proof in the long term. “
This comes after the demolition of the sprawling 370-acre factory of a major brand in the UK, and plans have already been drawn up for its replacement.
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