Watford Gap

Watford Gap services are motorway services on the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire, England. They opened on 2 November 1959, the same day as the M1, making them one of the oldest motorway services in Britain. The facilities were originally managed by Blue Boar, a local company that had run a nearby petrol station before the M1 opened. Roadchef bought the services from Blue Boar in 1995. The main building was designed by Harry Weedon, the architect for Odeon Cinemas, while the layout and general buildings were designed by coordinating architect Owen Williams. The main building was not ready on opening, so food was served from temporary sheds. The restaurant opened in September 1960, but due to the site's reputation as a truck stop, was redesigned in 1964 to accommodate a waitress service. The services became a meeting place for rock bands in the 1960s, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix, as it provided a convenient place to sit down and eat a meal in the early hours of the morning. In the 1970s, the quality of the services declined and the food came in for harsh criticism from journalists and artists, such as Roy Harper. Since purchase in 1995, Roadchef have refurbished the premises. They have promoted its history, including the association with a north / south divide, and its regular use by 1960s rock musicians. A number of events took place to celebrate the 50th anniversary in November 2009, including a musical about the services. The services are named after the nearby Watford Gap, a crossing point of the limestone ridge just north of the village of Watford; the name is unrelated to that of the town of Watford in Hertfordshire.

Welton was a railway station on the West Coast Main Line serving the villages of Welton and Watford in Northamptonshire. The station was opened in 1838 as part of the London and Birmingham Railway. It was located closer to Watford than to Welton, however it was named after the latter in order to avoid confusion with the much larger town of Watford further south. The station had an unusual arrangement of staggered platforms, one platform on each side of the road bridge. This was because of the confined site, being hemmed in by the Grand Union Canal and A5 road. The station became part of the London and North Western Railway in 1846, which itself became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The station closed to passengers in 1958 and to goods in 1964. Today the site of the station is right next to the modern day Watford Gap service station on the M1 motorway. The only physical remains of the station today is a former goods shed alongside the tracks.

Watford Locks (grid reference SP592688) is a group of seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, in Northamptonshire, England, famous for the Watford Gap service area. The locks are formed (looking from the south), of two single locks, a staircase of four, and a final single lock. Together they lift the canal 54 feet 1 inch (16.48 m) to the "Leicester Summit", which it maintains all the way to Foxton Locks. The four staircase locks are equipped with working side ponds which are used to save water. The locks were built to carry narrowboats, and the system was opened in 1814. In the early 20th century there were plans to build an inclined plane similar to that at Foxton as part of a scheme to allow the passage of barges, but the plan was abandoned when the inclined plane at Foxton proved uneconomic.When the Grand Union Canal was formed in 1929, there were further proposals to widen the flight as part of the modernisation going on elsewhere on the Grand Union's network, but these plans did not develop further. The locks are hemmed in by the Roman Watling Street (now the A5 road), the M1 motorway, and the West Coast Main Line railway, which all fit through the narrow Watford Gap, between two hill systems. The locks are usually supervised during the cruising season from Easter to October, with the locks padlocked outside permitted hours. This is done to prevent problems arising from misuse and to ensure that queues are kept to the minimum. Boaters operate the locks themselves under the lock keeper's supervision. On arrival at the top or bottom boaters should report to the lock keeper to register their arrival before attempting to operate the flight. At busy times there can often be a delay of two hours or more but transit of the flight takes approximately 45 minutes; it is made quicker by the fact that the locks are narrow beam and the gates are light.

Watford is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 224 people, including Murcott and increasing to 320 at the 2011 Census. Watford is home to Watford Gap services, the UK's oldest motorway service station, located directly on the M1 motorway and alongside the West Coast Main Line.

St Peter & St Paul's Church is an Anglican Church and the parish church of Watford, Northamptonshire. It is a Grade I listed building and stands on the west side of the Church Street. There is no reference to a church or priest in the entry for Watford in the Domesday Book.The main structure of the present building was erected in the 14th and 15th centuries, with further work in the 18th and 19th centuries. The church now consists of a nave, north and south aisles, chancel with north chapel, north and south porches and a west tower. A detailed description appears on the Historic England website.The parish registers survive from 1565, the historic registers being deposited at Northamptonshire Record Office.Watford is part of a united Benefice along with Long Buckby, West Haddon and Winwick. Each parish retains its own church building.

The Daventry Rural District was a rural district in Northamptonshire, England from 1894 to 1974. It entirely surrounded the municipal borough of Daventry. The district was administered from Daventry but did not include the town. It was formed under the Local Government Act 1894 based on Daventry rural sanitary district. It was expanded in 1935, by a County Review Order, by taking over the parishes of the former Crick Rural District. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the district was abolished, being merged with Daventry and with most of Brixworth Rural District to form a new district of Daventry.

European route E13 is part of the International E-road network. It runs most of the length of the M1 motorway in the United Kingdom, from South Yorkshire to London. The E13 follows the route Doncaster – Sheffield – Nottingham – Leicester – Northampton – Luton – London, and is 277 km (172 mi) long.Although the United Kingdom government participates fully in the E-road network, E-routes are not signposted within the United Kingdom.

Welton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. The village is located 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north of the nearest town Daventry. It is 13 miles (21 km) west-north west of Northampton, 9 miles (14 km) south east of Rugby and 78 miles (126 km) north-west of London. The village is 1 mile (1.6 km) off the A361 that runs between Daventry and Crick where the A5 and the M1 junction 18 gives access to the national motorway network north and south. Welton formerly had its own railway station, but today, the nearest railway station is at Long Buckby for the West Midlands Trains services to Birmingham New Street, Northampton and London Euston stations, on the Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line. For inter-city services (Avanti West Coast), passengers should change at Rugby, the next station westbound. The Village and parish of Welton had in the 2021 census, a population of 596. For the purposes of local government, the village falls within West Northamptonshire.

Murcott is a hamlet in Watford civil parish, in Northamptonshire, approximately half a mile west of the village of Long Buckby.

Ashby St Ledgers is a village in the West Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. The post town is Rugby in Warwickshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 173. The Manor House is famous for being a location for the planning of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

Whilton Locks is the name of a flight of seven locks on the Grand Union Canal near Daventry, in the county of Northamptonshire, England. They are also referred to as Buckby Lock Flight.

Norton is a village in West Northamptonshire. The population including Brokhall and Norton at the 2011 census was 434. The village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of Daventry, 11 miles (18 km) west of Northampton. Junction 16 of the M1 motorway is about 7 miles (11 km) south-east and the nearest railway station is at Long Buckby 3 miles (5 km) to the east. Near the village, on Watling Street, is the Roman settlement of Bannaventa.