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21st Jan 2014

The first motorway service station pub opens in England today

As you might imagine, the reaction to the boozer has been mixed.

JOE

As you might imagine, the reaction to the boozer has been mixed.

Travelling the motorways of Ireland now you can stop off and get all sorts of delicious food, snacks and beverages to make your journey that little bit less painful. But one thing we haven’t got just yet are service stations with pubs attached.

However, the first one of its kind opened in England today, and the news has been met with a lot of resistance across the water.

JD Wetherspoon has spent over £1million building the Hope and Champion pub at junction 2 of the M40 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. That road is one of the main arteries between west London and Birmingham so it sees an awful lot of traffic, traffic that can now stop off for a pint.

The RAC have called the pub opening a ‘risky and frankly unnecessary move’ while a survey showed that only 12 per cent of people polled wanted motorway pubs.

The Metro reports the pub will open from 4am to 1am, seven days a week. The paper also quotes JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin, who says that there was only a “minimal chance” the new boozer will lead to an increase in drink driving.

Could such a pub ever open in Ireland? In fairness, you are never too far from a  town with a pub on any Irish motorway anyway, but if it proves to be successful in England, we’re sure someone will try and open one here.

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