Scotch Corner Services, A1(M) Junction 53
Scotch Corner has been a meeting of roads since Roman times, and it is still one of the best-known stops on the A1(M). What is there today?
Where it is
Scotch Corner is near Richmond in North Yorkshire, at Junction 53 of the A1(M), where the A66 leaves north-west for Penrith and the M6. The junction also connects with the A6055 and the A6108 for Richmond and the Yorkshire Dales. It has been called the modern gateway to Cumbria, the North East and Scotland.
Who runs it
The service station is operated by Moto and opened in 1980.
What else is there
The Scotch Corner Hotel, now operated by Holiday Inn, was established in 1939 on the site of a mid-16th-century inn.
A crossroads with a long history
- There was a major Roman settlement at Scotch Corner, with its own mint, where Dere Street and a road to the west met.
- An £8 million diversion opened in July 1971, creating a grade-separated junction.
- The upgrade of the A1 to three-lane motorway standard, from Leeming to Barton, was completed in March 2018.
Traffic around Junction 53
The Department for Transport counted 61,570 vehicles a day between Junctions 52 and 53 in 2025, 55,476 through Junction 53 itself, and 69,459 between Junction 53 and Junction 56. For the A66, see Traffic News England.
The next stop
For this stretch, see A1(M) Junctions 47 to 56. For every stop, see A1(M) services.
Traffic count figures on this page are from the Department for Transport road traffic statistics, 2025.