The Sawley Cross branch (sometimes referred to as the Sawley Crossroads branch) was a former Little Chef which served what was then the A6 and A453.
Address and Onsite Information[]
ADDRESS: Sawley Junction, Shardlow, Derby, DE72 2HN
ONSITE FACILITIES: None
History[]
The Little Chef on the Sawley Cross Roundabout opened sometime in the mid 1970s. The roundabout the site was located on was fairly busy - it connected the A6 and the A453 together, both of which were important roads in the area. The restaurant was housed in the standard, flat-roofed Little Chef building of the era, and formed part of a service area - sharing the site with an Esso garage.
In the 1980s, the site was one of many to be photograpahed by Ian Walker. In the background of the photo, the Castle Donington Power Station can be seen behind the Little Chef.
The site would be closed upon the completion and opening of the new A50 directly south of the site. This left the former roundabout and service area bypassed, as the former route which used the roundabout would now utilise the new road. Instead of being integrated into the new bypass, the roundabout and the service area were left unused and abandoned. Meanwhile the roads formerly connected to the roundabout would instead be diverted south to the new Sawley Junction, which was built directly next to the site.
However, this was not the end for Little Chef's legacy in the area. Five years after the closure of Sawley Cross, two new Little Chefs would open on the new A50 at Shardlow East and Shardlow West - just 2 miles west of the former restaurant.
Gallery[]
