Lancaster (Forton) Services
| Lancaster (Forton) Services | |
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| The Pennine Tower | |
| County | Lancashire |
| Road | M6 |
| Coordinates | 53°57′39″N 2°45′34″W / 53.960779°N 2.759575°WCoordinates: 53°57′39″N 2°45′34″W / 53.960779°N 2.759575°W |
| Operator | Moto Hospitality |
| Previous operator(s) | Top Rank |
| Date opened | 1965[1] |
| Website | Moto |
 Lancaster (Forton) Services (Lancashire)
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Lancaster (Forton) services is a motorway service station, between junctions 32 and 33 of the M6 motorway in England. The nearest city is Lancaster, about seven miles (11 km) to the north. The station is operated by Moto.
Like many older service stations, it has an all-weather enclosed bridge which enables travellers to use both the northbound and southbound facilities. In 2005 this bridge had work carried out to strengthen it to withstand the impact of an HGV.[2]
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[edit] History
Opened in 1965 with the name Forton services, it was the second service station to open on the motorway (Charnock Richard being the first), and is named after the nearby village of Forton. The architect was T.P. Bennett and Son and it was originally operated by Top Rank.
The services is notable for an unusual hexagonal concrete tower on the northbound side, named The Pennine Tower, which originally housed an up-market restaurant and a sun deck. The tower was designed to resemble an Air Traffic Control Tower and is a prominent local landmark. The tower closed to the public in 1989 due to various health and safety concerns, and is only used for storage and occasional staff training.[3] The original pentagon-shaped elevators which serviced the tower are still used to service the ground floor and first floor of the building.
[edit] Facilities
The following facilities can be found at Lancaster:[4]
- Café Ritazza
- Burger King
- The Eat and Drink Co.
- Marks and Spencer Simply Food
- WHSmith
- Travelodge
- Toilets
- Kids Play Area
- Payphones
- Gaming area
- Cash Machine
- BP Fuel
- Fone Bitz
[edit] References
- ^ Motorway Services Trivia - Chronology - Accessed 26 January 2009
- ^ Highways Agency - Safety work strengthens footbridge at Forton Services on M6, Lancashire - Accessed 26 January 2009
- ^ Forton Services - Accessed 26 January 2009
- ^ Moto - Lancaster Accessed 26 January 2009
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Forton services |
- Moto page
- Lancaster Services - Motorway Services Online
- Motorway Services Trivia Website - Forton (Lancaster)
- Forton Services
| Previous: Charnock Richard |
Motorway service stations on the M6 Motorway |
Next: Burton-in-Kendal |
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