WHSmith convenience store at Cobham, situated opposite W Cornwall Pasty/Krispy Kreme, near the main entrance, and next to the stairs for Regus Express. Its location, near the entrance, is imperative so customers can identify WHSmith easily, a brand which will likely be overshadowed by various franchises Cobham has on offer. This WHSmith is not open 24 hrs which is rare for a services, but Cobham has other facilities open through the night, such as McDonalds. WHSmith offers customers travel snacks and essentials, and is seen as a more “essential” facility than M&S food here, which is more of a luxury. This WHSmith hasn’t been refurbished since 2012 and is yet to include new WHSmith-housed facilities such as Tango Ice Blast or F’real milkshakes. Despite this, we do have two Costa Express machines. Originally, Extra didn’t use WHSmith at their sites, instead utilising McColls. WHSmith only opened here under the influence of what other operators were doing, like most brands at Cobham. WHSmith is a well-known name to the motorways today. WHSmith prices are inflated compared to high street branches, with a largish bottle of water costing £3. WHSmith is not signposted from the M25 (but most customers would expect to find it anyway) and WHSmith isn’t really advertised much around the site, but is included on the totem poles for Cobham.

Photo taken on 23/12/2023 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: Cobham, WHSmith, M25, Extra