Original owner: Top Rank
Latter owner: Pavillion
Current Owner: Moto (formerly Granada)
Name Change : Medway (since 1992)
Then:
The
Rotunda is now no longer in use but still present. As you can see, the
front entrance has also been extended and is now clad to give a more modern
look. Trees and advertising boards now obstruct the view of the opposite
side.
Deborah Williamson recalled (in 2017)I spent many hours as a teenager in 1976/77 at the cafe. It was our local hang out place everyone met up there, we would all buy a drink and it would last hours so we didn’t get told to go, we would put money in the juke box and just listen to music Sunday afternoons would be the day you would see everyone, it brings back so many memories, I used to live in farthing corner .. these days I’m in Australia but I have been back a few times and visited the old place ?
Rob sissons recalled (in 2012)As a young child in the 1960s my parents would sometimes take me to Farthing Corner services for a treat. I remember the bridge across the M2 being open with tables with umbrellas on them, although I think it was glazed in by about 1970. I remember eating sausages, beans and chips and they served very long thin sausages that I thought were delicious – I told my parents that I didn’t think they grew that long! There were also attractive recessed lights in the ceiling that intrigued me as a child. I regularly used the services in the 1980s when I used to escort coach parties on tours to Europe. Happy days…
The bridge restaurant. Waitress service.
Trivia:
Thus
far the first MSA i've seen with fresh cut flowers in the mens toilets
(on display, not sale).
Has a bridge restaurant- you can enjoy your lunch watching the road (but
there is seating elsewhere if you want to get away from it!)
The only services on the M2 (but the M2 is only 25 miles long anyway)
Original name (Farthing Corner) is derived like most MSA from the nearest
village, the name change to Medway, represents the M2's role as the Medway
towns by-pass
Apparently, the bridge which was part of the structure of the complex,
was open, not covered. You can see this in the "old and now"
photos above
Current:
Another set of services that has seen a decline in traffic, and like Aust
on the M4, it is due to another motorway. For many years, the A2-M2-A2
route was the main route for Dover from London, and Farthing Corner was
the only stop off point on the M2 (although the A2 offered and still offers
many roadside cafe's )
However, the M20 now takes a lot of the London to Dover traffic as the
motorway is longer and more direct. So Farthing Corner has had a mixed
life, seeing a huge build up in traffic, bulging beyond capacity, then
a decline in traffic, after the M20 opened. However, it has adapted with
the times, and it is quite a pleasant place to stop, due to the work of
the staff there, as the surroundings offer nothing- no scenery just a
line of trees to hide the services from the outside world. It is less
regimented than most MSA's- there is no central seating area, you can
choose from several quite corners, or sit on the bridge (alongside the
on-bridge Burger King). There are range of choices of food- including
a Little Chef, and some coffee stands. The arcade is full of gambling
machines, and the video machines are (unusually) sprinkled around the
complex- although this maybe due to the refurbishments.
Noteable Features (2011):
Peaceful, Clean
Flowers in the toilets (Yes-the mens)
Bureaux de Change
