Donington Park services
Encyclopedia
Donington Park services is a motorway service station off the M1 motorway
, A453
and A42
interchange
(junction 23a) near Kegworth
, England
.
and offers 20% discounts to all RAC
members. The site also has the world's smallest branch of Marks and Spencer Simply Food.
It shares its name with Donington Park
, a racing circuit, which is also next to East Midlands Airport - the former RAF Castle Donington. It is situated in the parish of Long Whatton and Diseworth, and the religious parish of St Michaels & All Angels, Diseworth
.
presented the BBC Radio 1
Early Morning Breakfast Show live from Donington Park Services.
's 2010 General Election coverage, it set up home in the Travelodge, and interviewed workers on-site in the run-up to the election from 7 April, to gauge public opinion
. The correspondent on-site was named Motorway Man. It is thought by psephologists
that 'swing voters' habituate such service stations, and many live nearby - North West Leicestershire
, the home seat is a marginal seat
. In previous elections, such voters were labelled Mondeo
Man.
The idea received a very negative critical response. One example is Grace Dent's scathing summary:
'No one cares about Motorway Man, the mythical creature that election strategists are claiming will swing the result, eg the Brit take on the US election's Joe The Plumber. "I'm living at Donington Park services on the M1 for a month," Newsnight's reporter Stephen Smith told us sadly in early-April, "I'll be interviewing Motorway Man!" Cue: thrice-weekly updates from inarticulate apolitical muggles sitting on motorway service benches. Call me old-fashioned but I want my pundits to be cleverer than me.
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
, A453
A453 road
The A453 road was formerly the main trunk road connecting the English cities of Nottingham and Birmingham. However, the middle section of this mainly single-carriageway road has largely been downgraded to B roads or unclassified roads following the construction of the parallel M42-A42 link around...
and A42
A42 road
The A42 is a major trunk road in the East Midlands region of the United Kingdom. It links junction 23A of the M1 motorway to junction 11 of the M42 motorway. The A42 is in effect a continuation of the M42, and its junctions are numbered accordingly....
interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
(junction 23a) near Kegworth
Kegworth
Kegworth is a large village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Characteristics
It is owned by MotoMoto Hospitality
Moto Hospitality is a company which operates 58 motorway service stations across the UK.Moto is owned by a consortium of shareholders including Australian Pension Funds and European and New Zealand Infrastructure Funds and is asset managed by Macquarie Investment Bank...
and offers 20% discounts to all RAC
RAC
-Companies:* Rent-A-Center, an American public furniture and electronics rent to own company* Royal Automobile Club, a private club in Pall Mall, London* RAC plc, a breakdown company in the United Kingdom...
members. The site also has the world's smallest branch of Marks and Spencer Simply Food.
It shares its name with Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...
, a racing circuit, which is also next to East Midlands Airport - the former RAF Castle Donington. It is situated in the parish of Long Whatton and Diseworth, and the religious parish of St Michaels & All Angels, Diseworth
Diseworth
Diseworth is a village in the English county of Leicestershire. It is south of East Midlands Airport and off Junction 23A of the M1 motorway.A village of some 670 residents, it is located 14 km to the north-west of Loughborough and 2.5 km to the south-east of Castle Donington...
.
History
It opened on 8 July 1999, being originally owned by Granada, which became Moto in 2001. It was one of the first to offer a whole set of non-food shops, similar to an airport, which now has been adopted as standard. The neighbouring airport has far fewer landside facilities for those awaiting arrivals (before check-in).Radio 1
On 25 April 2008 Greg JamesGreg James (DJ)
Greg James is a British radio DJ at BBC Radio 1.Having previously had experience at BBC Radio Norfolk and Galaxy North East, James started presenting the Early Breakfast show in October 2007, replacing the previous incumbents of the slot, JK and Joel...
presented the BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
Early Morning Breakfast Show live from Donington Park Services.
Newsnight
As an integral part of NewsnightNewsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
's 2010 General Election coverage, it set up home in the Travelodge, and interviewed workers on-site in the run-up to the election from 7 April, to gauge public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
. The correspondent on-site was named Motorway Man. It is thought by psephologists
Psephology
Psephology is that branch of political science which deals with the study and scientific analysis of elections. Psephology uses historical precinct voting data, public opinion polls, campaign finance information and similar statistical data. The term was coined in the United Kingdom in 1952 by...
that 'swing voters' habituate such service stations, and many live nearby - North West Leicestershire
North West Leicestershire (UK Parliament constituency)
North West Leicestershire is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, the home seat is a marginal seat
Marginal seat
A marginal seat, or swing seat, is a constituency held with a particularly small majority in a legislative election, generally conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat....
. In previous elections, such voters were labelled Mondeo
Ford Mondeo
The Mondeo was launched on 8 January 1993, and sales began on 22 March 1993. Available as a four-door saloon, a five-door hatchback, and a five-door estate, all models for the European market were produced at Ford's plant in the Belgian city of Genk...
Man.
The idea received a very negative critical response. One example is Grace Dent's scathing summary:
'No one cares about Motorway Man, the mythical creature that election strategists are claiming will swing the result, eg the Brit take on the US election's Joe The Plumber. "I'm living at Donington Park services on the M1 for a month," Newsnight's reporter Stephen Smith told us sadly in early-April, "I'll be interviewing Motorway Man!" Cue: thrice-weekly updates from inarticulate apolitical muggles sitting on motorway service benches. Call me old-fashioned but I want my pundits to be cleverer than me.
Download Festival
In early June every year the service station becomes a popular location for people from all over Europe attending the Download Festival to stop for a traditional "last supper" and to use the facilities before entering the festival site and suffering for up to 5 nights of no showers and porta-potties. It is also often the first stop on their exit from the festival for their first hot meal.Facilities
- Burger KingBurger KingBurger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
- Marks and Spencer Simply Food
- The Eat and Drink Co.
- WHSmith
- ThorntonsThorntonsThorntons is a UK chocolate company established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911. Thorntons today is a £180 million turnover company with nearly 400 shops and cafes and around 200 franchises together with internet, mail order and commercial services...
- LadbrokesLadbrokesLadbrokes plc is a British based gambling company. It is based in Rayners Lane in Harrow, London owned by Bhavin Kakaiya. From 14 May 1999 to 23 February 2006, when it owned the Hilton hotel brand outside the United States, it was known as Hilton Group plc...
- TravelodgeTravelodgeTravelodge refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Australia...
- Toilets
- Kids Play Area
- Payphones
- Cash machineCash Machine"Cash Machine" is the debut single by English indie rock band Hard-Fi, taken from their debut album Stars of CCTV. It was originally released on 24 January 2005, where it was ineligible in the UK Singles Chart due to the inclusion of a sticker...
- BPBPBP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
Fuel
External links
- Moto official website — Donington Park
- Motorway Services Online — Donington Park
- Motorway Services Trivia website — Donington Park
- Motorway Services Info — Donington Park