Stations with excellent facilities....not provided by the station, but adjacent businesses

[Wtloild]

I wonder what station has the closest proximity to a cinema? I think East Didsbury might be in with a chance, assuming Covid hasn't claimed the one at the Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre.

Our new Reel cinema in Chorley is across the road from the station:

 

[Ianno87]

Our new Reel cinema in Chorley is across the road from the station:

View attachment 99444

Stevenage Leisure Park deserves a mention.

 

[ClagLover]

Chorley station has a McDonalds, Booths, Costa and Pie shop not far away…

Our new Reel cinema in Chorley is across the road from the station:

View attachment 99444

Ah, another Chorlean.

 

[Factotum]

Woodsmoor. Very convenient 24/7 A & E within a few minutes walk

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Woodsmoor. Very convenient 24/7 A & E within a few minutes walk

Fazakerley too, in which case!

 

[city dweller]

I would add Snow Hill Station to the list, once out of the station you are on Colmore Row with a number of coffee shops and Sainsburys Local / Tesco express stores and M&S Food. Also a fair few banks.

 

[MikeWM]

I wonder what station has the closest proximity to a cinema? I think East Didsbury might be in with a chance, assuming Covid hasn't claimed the one at the Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre.

Sheffield (Showroom) is very close.

Accrington (Vue).

Hull (Reel).

Llandudno Junction (Cineworld).

Eastleigh (Vue).

Wimbledon (Curzon, and Odeon too!)

Romford (Vue).

I'm sure I'll think of some others too.

Kingston, as already mentioned, is a strong contender for closest though.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Sheffield (Showroom) is very close.

Accrington (Vue).

Hull (Reel).

Llandudno Junction (Cineworld).

Eastleigh (Vue).

Wimbledon (Curzon, and Odeon too!)

Romford (Vue).

I'm sure I'll think of some others too.

Kingston, as already mentioned, is a strong contender for closest though.

You can see Cottingley station (or at least could before the extra houses were built) from the entrance of Showcase multiplex in Leeds* (near the IKEA)... Getting from one to the other is another thing altogether though!

*=both the cinema and IKEA are actually outside of the Leeds Council boundary, being in Birstall which is Kirklees.

 

[WesternBiker]

If we're including businesses located in former station buildings but not otherwise connected with the railway then there are cafes at Abergavenny, Chepstow, Yatton and Weston-super-Mare. The latter is a pub too.

And the wonderful Mallard pub in Worksop station.

 

[Dai Corner]

You can see Cottingley station (or at least could before the extra houses were built) from the entrance of Showcase multiplex in Leeds* (near the IKEA)... Getting from one to the other is another thing altogether though!

*=both the cinema and IKEA are actually outside of the Leeds Council boundary, being in Birstall which is Kirklees.

The Premier Cinema is just across the road from Cardiff Queen Street Station.

 

[AlastairFraser]

There's a cinema pretty close to Burnley Manchester Road station, bit of a walk to the petrol station and fast food places down the road though.
I would argue Bolton is pretty good with a big Morrisons and a Greggs in the adjacent bus interchange.
Clitheroe with the Booths next door.

 

[route101]

Glasgow Queen St. Nothing in the Station but there is two Greggs, Spoons, Pret, Tesco and Sainsburys nearby.

Piccadilly Tap also. I feared the worst when the Little Waitrose was converted to a Co-Op, but the choice and quality has actually stayed really good.

Sadly the grilled cheese place at the bottom end seems to be no more. And I’d avoid Archie’s if it’s anything like the All Saints one…

I seen that Archies with pink branding, wondered if I should try.

 

[bearhugger]

Same at Alton.

There's also the Station Cafe pretty much next to Waitrose, which is fine too. Assuming it's still there, it seemed to be doing ok last August when i visited a couple of days.

 

[daodao]

Northwich station has a large Tesco supermarket nearby.

 

[D6130]

I find the row of shops just outside Manchester Piccadilly station (Co-Op, Greggs and also a couple of coffee shops and other miscellanea) to be far more handy than anything in the actual station retail area, and depending on which platform you're at it might actually not be any further to walk

Shame the Ian Allan bookshop is no longer there though!

 

[Dai Corner]

Another station with a large supermarket adjacent is Merthyr Tydfil. It's in the corner of Tesco's car park

I suspect a lot of these are on former railway land.

 

[jfollows]

Shame the Ian Allan bookshop is no longer there though!

Priced out by a huge rent hike I suspect when the location went from being "desperate to have any tenant at just about any price" which had been the case for a long time to "latest trendy place to have a shop and to charge lots for".

 

[Ant158]

Accrington Railway Station with a large Tesco Extra next door.

 

[Poolie]

New Brighton doesn't have a lot but less than 5 minutes down the bank is Mariners Point with Morrisons and several eateries and a cinema!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

As a point of order, I must object to any suggestion that a branch of Greggs is an "excellent facility". The coffee is just about passable but everything else is utter trash.

 

[Djgr]

New Brighton doesn't have a lot but less than 5 minutes down the bank is Mariners Point with Morrisons and several eateries and a cinema!

Several meaning greater than ten ! (As an aside, New Brighton in general seems to get a lot of slagging off on here but it is really buzzing at the moment), although I'm pretty certain there is a cafe next to the station.

 

[zero]

If supermarkets next to stations count then half of London's stations probably qualify to some extent. The title uses the word excellent, not something I would use to describe ASDA or most Tescos... and for establishments like Costa, does it really make a difference if they are part of the station or just outside?


The word excellent would apply to the Ratty Arms at Ravenglass, which I visited on my first trip outside of London that was purely for the purposes of taking trains rather than actually going somewhere. They had a number of local beers and I didn't know which one to choose, so they gave me a sample of all of them, effectively I paid for 1 pint but got 2 The food was excellent too.

 

[D6130]

As a point of order, I must object to any suggestion that a branch of Greggs is an "excellent facility". The coffee is just about passable but everything else is utter trash.

That is obviously a matter of personal taste, but I find the new(-ish) Gregg's vegan sausage rolls to be extremely tasty....and I'm not a vegan.

 

[nlogax]

Edinburgh Park is pretty decent, you have all the shops at Hermiston Gait right there in just across the tram tracks.

That is obviously a matter of personal taste, but I find the new(-ish) Gregg's vegan sausage rolls to be extremely tasty....and I'm not a vegan.

Yes! They are very good.

 

[Cambus731]

Do airport stations count? Both Stansted and Gatwick are right under the landside concourses

 

[route101]

Do airport stations count? Both Stansted and Gatwick are right under the landside concourses

Gatwick currently only has boots and the coffee stand in airport open. Hopefully will change soon.

 

[Trackman]

I find the row of shops just outside Manchester Piccadilly station (Co-Op, Greggs and also a couple of coffee shops and other miscellanea) to be far more handy than anything in the actual station retail area, and depending on which platform you're at it might actually not be any further to walk

Wasn't there a 24-hour cafe on that stretch a long time ago?

 

[Mikey C]

I would add Snow Hill Station to the list, once out of the station you are on Colmore Row with a number of coffee shops and Sainsburys Local / Tesco express stores and M&S Food. Also a fair few banks.

The Old Contemptibles pub is around the corner too, plus loads of other decent pubs are a short walk away on the other side of the cathedral

I remember waiting in The Old Vic, the last time I had to wait at Preston for a train

Similarly The Vat and Fiddle is a decent pub to use when waiting for a train at Nottingham, plus a Beerheadz micropub (literally) just outside the station

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Wasn't there a 24-hour cafe on that stretch a long time ago?

There was, always handy to hang out in after a gig waiting for the first train home.

On Greggs, it's funny how people grumble about Starbucks dominating markets and crowding out independents, but Greggs does exactly the same thing without any criticism. They also contribute to rising levels of obesity at least as much as the likes of Maccy D's.

Oh, and their food is poor quality and always cold... and don't bring up the VAT thing, because indepenents manage to serve hot pies without the sky falling in, as do Pound Bakery- without having to rebrand as Pound-twenty Bakery.

 

[greyman42]

Garforth has to be in with a shout with its nearby Tesco superstore.
If memory serves me well, then Hereford has a Morrisons close by.