New MSAs don’t crop up every day, so as we were in the area it seemed sensible to check out Moto’s new Sawtry services at Junction 15 of the A1(M) between Peterborough and Cambridge. In short, we came away impressed.
True, an MSA is always going to be a stop-off rather than a destination in and of itself, but if a poor motorway services can dampen a journey, a well-done area can certainly improve a trip. With millions of us due to use at least one MSA over the Easter break, that’s a lot of people whose moods will either be improved or diminished depending on where they choose to stop.
The good news is that Moto’s new Sawtry endeavour confidently falls into the latter category. Thought has clearly gone into the main amenity building, which greets travellers with expansive exterior finishes of wood and glass, complemented by a ‘green wall’ of plants to the left of the front elevation.
First impressions are clearly good, and on entering the site they continue. Sure, there’s nothing hugely exciting in terms of food outlets: Burger King, Costa, Pret and WHSmith have all been seen before countless times at MSAs, but if it ain’t broke (and brings in reliable revenue), don’t fix it, as they say.
But while those offerings are fairly traditional in their designs and fare, the M&S Food is a little more en vogue, with brick and wood-effect wall finishes, and white neon-style LED lettering on the back wall spelling out ‘raise a glass’ – which we imagine Moto’s staff and contractors did when they completed Sawtry.
The abiding impression of the main concourse is one of light and space: the huge amounts of glass used for the front of the building bring in more brightness than we can remember seeing in an MSA before, almost as if one is in an orangery – albeit an orangery with fast-food outlets. As with the M&S Food the food court also has smatterings of wood-effect finishes, while the mezzanine dining area is neatly recessed from the main hall and would be a perfectly pleasant place to while away a road-trip lunch break.
Outside, well, there’s a big car park with spaces for 200 cars, together with a trio of Gridserve’s latest ultra-rapid chargers providing leccy for half a dozen cars. Whether this will be enough to future-proof the site for the government-mandated boom in EV numbers remains to be seen, but given the significant investment these machines require, not to mention potential grid constraints, it’s understandable if Moto wants to play it safe here.
Behind the main car park sits an HGV parking lot, its vast concrete slab an impressively neat pour to our untrained eyes. And while fuel at the BP filling station behind the truck area was as pricey as MSA fuel always is, it’ll do in a pinch, and the forecourt shop’s modern design is in keeping with the main building.
Niggles? None to speak of with the MSA itself, but while returning to the A1(M) heading north is no issue, picking the motorway up again in a southbound direction requires a bit more wiggling down B-roads than is ideal – though this, in all likelihood, would have been out of Moto’s hands.
This is by no means a blemish on the site, which is a positive addition to the motorway and enhanced the five hours we spent on the road on the day of our visit.
