County: Leicestershire Date opened: 1999 Road M1 motorway | Previous operator(s): Granada Website: Moto Operator Moto Hospitality | |
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Similar Doncaster North services, Trowell services, Chieveley services, Bridgwater services, Burton‑in‑Kendal Services | ||
Donington Park services is a motorway service station off the M1 motorway, A453 and A42 interchange (junction 23a) near Kegworth, England.
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Characteristics
It is owned by Moto 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.
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 James presented the BBC Radio 1 Early Morning Breakfast Show live from Donington Park Services.
Newsnight
As an integral part of Newsnight'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, e.g. 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.