Leeds Skelton Lake Services (M1 J45)
Leeds Skelton Lake sits at Junction 45, and it is the last service area on the M1 — there is nothing between here and the end of the motorway at Junction 48. It is run by Extra, cost £64 million, and opened in 2020.
A nature reserve with a service area attached
It is built on and beside a restored 60-acre former opencast coal lake, next to the RSPB’s St Aidan’s reserve, and is billed as the greenest motorway service station in the UK. There is an RSPB wildlife visitor centre with a raised bird-viewing platform over the lake, believed to be unique among British service areas. The roof is a living green meadow on twelve curved timber ribbons, chosen to cut steel use, and the site is future-proofed for hydrogen. It is one site, reachable from both carriageways and from the A63 into Leeds.
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Latest accident or incident on the M1
The most recent accident or incident on the M1 that we are aware of.
Latest active roadworks on the M1
Roadworks live on the M1 right now.
M1 northbound Jct 10 to Jct 11 hard shoulder closure (MP 49/4 to 49/6)
05:31 (5:31am)15 Oct 2026reported 5 min ago
- Location
- M1 northbound within J10
- Direction
- Northbound
- Lanes closed
- Hard shoulder closed
- Reason
- Construction work
- Schedule
- 02:35 (2:35am) Thu 23 July 2026 → 05:00 (5am) Sat 24 Oct 2026
+ 1 more active roadworks - search all M1 traffic news →
Latest planned roadworks on the M1
The next planned roadworks scheduled on the M1.
M1 northbound Approach to Jct 6 lane 3 and 2 closure
05:31 (5:31am)15 Oct 2026reported 5 min ago
- Location
- M1 northbound between J5 and J6
- Direction
- Northbound
- Lanes closed
- Lane closures
- Reason
- Roadworks
- Schedule
- 22:00 (10pm) Thu 15 Oct 2026 → 05:00 (5am) Fri 16 Oct 2026
Forecast - not confirmed
+ 33 more planned roadworks - search all M1 traffic news →
Road closed — on the overhead signs now
National Highways’ overhead signs are showing a road closure, as at 05:37 (5:37am) Thu 15 Oct 2026.
M1 J25-J26 CLOSED
Time now: Thursday, 15 October 2026, 05:37 (5:37am)04:33 (4:33am)15 Oct 2026set 1 hr ago✓ Checked by us 05:37 (5:37am)
M1 J25-J26
CLOSEDOverhead Message
WhereM42 northbound, at J9 · on 1 signAlso onAlso showing on M42 signsSinceSet 04:33 (4:33am) Thu 15 Oct 2026We check these overhead signs at least every five minutes, but we can't guarantee a sign is still current if an incident or issue has been cleared and the sign has not been updated yet. Signs and news can each carry something the other does not - check both before you travel.
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Updated 05:37 (5:37am) Thu 15 Oct 2026
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What is at Leeds Skelton Lake Services
- Food and drink: McDonald’s, KFC, Nando’s, Starbucks, Greggs, Chopstix, German Doner Kebab, Benito’s, M&S
- Shops: SPAR on the forecourt, WHSmith, Top Gift and an RSPB shop
- Fuel and charging: a 24-hour Texaco forecourt; IONITY ultra-rapid charging, sixteen to eighteen bays rated 350–400kW, no membership needed
- Hotel: Ramada by Wyndham Leeds East, on site
- Parking: 535 car, 55 HGV, 12 coach, 12 caravan or motorhome, 10 motorcycle and 8 parent-and-child spaces
Parking here is free for three hours rather than the usual two, then charged by length of stay.
Service area details are compiled from the operators’ own published information and were last checked on 14 September 2026. Facilities change — if something here is out of date, please tell us and we will correct it.
The traffic around Leeds Skelton Lake Services
The services sit on the stretch between Junction 44 and Junction 45, which the Department for Transport counts at 112,119 vehicles a day — the 24th busiest of the 42 measured stretches of M1 mainline. Of those, 10,510 are lorries, 9.4% of the traffic. Walking routes link the services to Skelton Country Park. It opened in phases through the first Covid lockdown — the forecourt in March 2020, the main building that July and the hotel in September.
Traffic figures are Department for Transport road traffic statistics, annual average daily flow for 2025, both directions combined.