Asda Express

The Asda Longford Express sits on the northern edge of Downton where the A338 meets the old Southampton Road. It operates as a petrol-station convenience store rather than a full supermarket, stocking the usual range of milk, bread, tinned goods, frozen meals, beers and wines, household basics, and a modest selection of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The layout is straightforward: chilled cabinets and freezers line one side, ambient groceries fill the centre aisles, and a small off-licence section sits near the till.

What lifts this branch above a standard forecourt shop is the in-store Greggs concession. The counter serves the full hot-food menu – sausage rolls, steak bakes, pizza slices, yum yums, and freshly made sandwiches – along with barista-style coffees. Greggs here holds a five-star food-hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency, a detail worth noting when many roadside outlets manage only three or four.

The store opens early and closes late, matching typical petrol-station hours, so it works well for topping up after work or grabbing breakfast on the way through the village. Contactless payment is accepted everywhere, including at the self-service tills and the outdoor fuel pumps.

For residents in the northern half of Downton or anyone travelling along the A338, the Longford Express provides a genuinely useful stop-gap between the larger supermarkets in Salisbury and Ringwood. It won’t replace a weekly shop, but for milk, bread, a hot pasty, or emergency loo roll at ten o’clock at night, it does the job perfectly well.