Harborough Magna service station site, M6

Image: © Christopher Hilton Taken: 7 Jun 2021

When Britain's first motorways were built, sites for service stations were designated every 12 miles. Often only alternate sites were developed first, with the others to be filled in when traffic loads required this: in some cases (for example, Tibshelf on the M1) this did take place later but in others the sites were never developed and, due to changes in thinking about service station design, are unlikely to be. In these instances usually all that indicates the original plans are the stubs of slip roads, connected to nothing. Here, in the form of an extra-wide hard shoulder, can be seen the eastbound exit sliproad from Harborough Magna service station site, which would have filled the gap between Watford Gap on the M1 and Corley on the M6.

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