Thread: Motorway service stations Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.
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Posted by Tulfes (# 18000) on
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I haven't visited them all, but best in my experience is Tebay services on the M6. Family owned, apparently. Northbound side is best but this may be the pleasurable psychological anticipation of returning to the sanity of Scotland. Avoid Southwaite services further north on the M6, unless you're desperate for the loo. They are the pits. Ditto Harthill on the M8. The name used to be synonymous with the transmitter of the Independent Television Authority on STV opening sequence at 5pm (for those over 50). Unfortunately the name is now dirt.
Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on
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I have fond nostalgic memories of Aust for its views over the Severn estuary and the (then) new Severn Bridge. National Express coaches used to stop there on their way from Victoria coach station to Cardiff.
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on
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The only one I'm familiar with is the one at Gaydon on the northbound M40 as you head towards Warwick. It has a disappointing Waitrose.
Anyway, this being Heaven, let's see if we can find some good things to say, otherwise this might have to be offered to the people with pitchforks.
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on
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I quite like aspects - only aspects, mind - of the new Cobham Services on the M25. Food hall in particular was more innovative than is usual in such places when I called in a few months back.
Posted by Tulfes (# 18000) on
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Oh, for anyone new to the UK, always fill up with gas before entering the motorway system. The prices at the m-way stations are a ripoff.I've never understood why a tanker costs so much more to get to somewhere in the middle of a motorway than in the town nearby. A piece of heavenly advice, in case thread is being considered for bumping to Hell.
Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on
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The last time we stopped at Tebay, heading South, there were two curlews flying over the central reservation. We love it - the restaurant bills are a bit steep, but it's a breath of fresh air after all the dismal chains and franchises. There's also more about local culture on the walls at Tebay than there is in the whole of Rheged (which, I must admit, other than the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, I was very disappointed by.
Does anyone know whether the services they were going to open in Gloucestershire on a similar premise to Tebay have appeared yet?
I have to say that I'd struggle to say anything heavenly about any other service station I've ever stopped at - bar possibly the feeling of relief in the waterworks. Now, the NorthLink ferry terminal at Gills Bay... that's a different matter altogether!
AG
Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on
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Harthill is now called "Heart of Scotland" services. Still nothing to write home about though. I did stop there once for a late night delivery of an old computer to a Shipmate for her children to use. Well, to her father who lived nearby but didn't want his address known to some mad scientist off the internet. Pulled into a quiet corner of the car park, he pulled in next to me a couple of minutes later and we moved computer tower and a few other bits from my car to his, and both drove off. That could have looked distinctly dodgy if a police car had been parked observing us!
Posted by betjemaniac (# 17618) on
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Tebay is head and shoulders the best, for all the reasons stated.
I also (slightly controversially I'm sure) count the House of Bruar on the A9 at Blair Atholl on the basis that the A9's essentially a motorway, and, for all it's got Scotland's largest cashmere hall, the HoB is essentially a posh service station for the grouse moor set.
Try it sometime, it's worth it for the food hall and restaurant - best game pie in Scotland.
Honourable mention for Beaconsfield at J2 of the M40....
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
The only one I'm familiar with is the one at Gaydon on the northbound M40 as you head towards Warwick. It has a disappointing Waitrose.
That could be, because location, it has to deal with a different demographic to a non-motorway Waitrose.
quote:
Anyway, this being Heaven, let's see if we can find some good things to say, otherwise this might have to be offered to the people with pitchforks.
I can say nice things about some, if not all motorway services in France. They are a cut above British ones.
Posted by Tulfes (# 18000) on
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quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
Tebay is head and shoulders the best, for all the reasons stated.
I also (slightly controversially I'm sure) count the House of Bruar on the A9 at Blair Atholl on the basis that the A9's essentially a motorway, and, for all it's got Scotland's largest cashmere hall, the HoB is essentially a posh service station for the grouse moor set.
Try it sometime, it's worth it for the food hall and restaurant - best game pie in Scotland.
Honourable mention for Beaconsfield at J2 of the M40....
There's a House of Briar at Gartocharn (south end of Loch Lomond, on A811 between Stirling and A82 at Balloch) which is nice. Honourable mention to the Green Welly place on the A82 at Tyndrum village. Good at what it does.
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on
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Michael Wood (M5) is a good one, because it's where we always used to meet for breakfast when going on cricket tour.
Clacket Lane (M25) is cool because it's virtually on top of the Greenwich Meridian (0.04 degrees east), and it's got a nice display of the Roman artifacts they dug up when building it.
Oxford (M40) has a very spacious and well-looked-after main area, with glass walls overlooking a fountain. It's got a KFC as well, which is never a bad thing!
Hopwood Park (M42) is good because it's right next to my cricket club, making it an ideal cashpoint and source of post-match snackage or fast food.
And finally, Frankley (M5) gets a mention because it's very near my old school and we used to save lots of journey time by using its service entrance to get onto the motorway when we were going on field trips!
Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on
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In the days when I could manage the drive to my parents in one trip (ie: before having two children in the back wanting a toilet stop every hour) I used to stop at Stafford. Convenient for a break just before facing however long I'd be getting through Birmingham. Pleasant little place, with fountain splashing around outside. One time I was there someone was driving around the car park "returning from a trade show in Manchester" with a boot load of designer Italian suits going cheap if I was interested. I wasn't.
Going the other way I usually managed to hold out 'til I got to Tebay (for all the reasons stated above).
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
I used to stop at Stafford. Convenient for a break just before facing however long I'd be getting through Birmingham.
And considerably nicer than the other just-pre-Birmingham option, Hilton Park.
Posted by Tulfes (# 18000) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
I used to stop at Stafford. Convenient for a break just before facing however long I'd be getting through Birmingham.
And considerably nicer than the other just-pre-Birmingham option, Hilton Park.
Never stopped at Hilton Park but it shares a name with a well known, quite posh golf club on the A809 stockiemuir road near Strathblane, so I've had pleasant feelings as I hurtle past.
Posted by betjemaniac (# 17618) on
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quote:
And finally, Frankley (M5) gets a mention because it's very near my old school and we used to save lots of journey time by using its service entrance to get onto the motorway when we were going on field trips! [/QB]
What a small world - not my old school, but I bet I know which one (I was at one of the others), and could name the short-cut taking masters provided you're talking any time 1972- now.... Earlier I would struggle.
Unless I'm totally wrong anyway.
I'm not about to unmask anyone so don't anyone get the vapours about commandments!
Back on subject, I can second Oxford's nomination. In fact, I think the design and ambience of service stations in general has improved immensely. Just contrast Oxford (new), with Cherwell Valley (old), or Watford Gap (antediluvean).
That being said, although theuy're not places I would advocate stopping at, I do admire the stark concrete brutalism of the M6 stations around Preston and north of there. All Jetson-style control towers, and derelict restaurants. There was so much optimism about the future at the time they were built.
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on
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quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
What a small world - not my old school, but I bet I know which one (I was at one of the others), and could name the short-cut taking masters provided you're talking any time 1972- now.... Earlier I would struggle.
1990 - 1997. Mr J and Mr O are the ones I most remember doing it!
Posted by Lord Jestocost (# 12909) on
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I have a soft spot for Leicester Forest East. Nothing great or ungreat about it, but when I drive north from Oxford it's in a handy spot for a break to recover from the circumnavigation of Coventry and to gird loins for the penance that is the M1.
Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on
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quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
[QUOTE]although theuy're not places I would advocate stopping at, I do admire the stark concrete brutalism of the M6 stations around Preston and north of there. All Jetson-style control towers, and derelict restaurants.
Recently it seems that Lancaster is a place I stop regularly. My children love the bridges over the motorway, they go up there and jump up and down on the traffic passing below. With in-car times for journeys of 6-7h anything that gives them a chance to jump, run and otherwise burn off energy is good by me!
Though, services which (unlike Lancaster) have a coffee shop on the bridge such that I can sit and drink coffee while watching them bounce is better.
Posted by Tulfes (# 18000) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
[QUOTE]although theuy're not places I would advocate stopping at, I do admire the stark concrete brutalism of the M6 stations around Preston and north of there. All Jetson-style control towers, and derelict restaurants.
Recently it seems that Lancaster is a place I stop regularly. My children love the bridges over the motorway, they go up there and jump up and down on the traffic passing below. With in-car times for journeys of 6-7h anything that gives them a chance to jump, run and otherwise burn off energy is good by me!
Though, services which (unlike Lancaster) have a coffee shop on the bridge such that I can sit and drink coffee while watching them bounce is better.
These bridges are great fun for kids.
I remember journeys south from Scotland as a kid pre the M6. Took well into the evening to reach Evesham, Worcestershire where we always broke our journey en route to Cornwall. Down the A6 over Shap. Our car always overheated, necessitating a stop to cool down. Toilets were usually an outdoor affair. Lunch was a roll and banana from home, maybe an apple too if we were lucky.
[ 25. April 2014, 13:11: Message edited by: Tulfes ]
Posted by Stejjie (# 13941) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
I used to stop at Stafford. Convenient for a break just before facing however long I'd be getting through Birmingham.
And considerably nicer than the other just-pre-Birmingham option, Hilton Park.
Yea and amen to this! We stop at Stafford (northbound) quite often, not least because it's got a fantastic lake outside which our two daughters like to go and see.
And we always, unless we really can't, try and push on past Hilton Park to reach Stafford. The one time we stopped there for something to eat, it was really dingy and makeshift, although tbf they were undergoing renovations at the time.
Interestingly, according to this site, Hilton Park is rated pretty good, not far off Stafford northbound, so I might be wrong. Oh, and is Stafford southbound really as bad as this says?
Posted by betjemaniac (# 17618) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
What a small world - not my old school, but I bet I know which one (I was at one of the others), and could name the short-cut taking masters provided you're talking any time 1972- now.... Earlier I would struggle.
1990 - 1997. Mr J and Mr O are the ones I most remember doing it!
Figures - going back a bit to before they had responsibilities I might have gone for Mr P on the geography front and Mr W (not that the latter ran many fieldtrips even then as a historian).
I was up the road towards town 1992-99.
That having been said, we could still be talking about different schools unless my letters make sense to you with your letters. Your letters work so far. Without naming anyone living, and as a final punt in the dark, if I said Dobinson; B; M; R; does that mean anything to you?
Anyway, enough of this tangent. Aren't service stations brilliant?
Especially Tebay. Everyone should go to Tebay.
Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on
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Ah yes, I forgot the one in the Netherlands over the motorway between Hook of Holland and Amsterdam. I have no idea where it is or what it's called, but it has a bridge over the carriageway and does an insanely cheap and large breakfast deal, ideal for roving cricket tours just off the ferry. Pity we're not going this year...
AG
Posted by Desert Daughter (# 13635) on
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A couple of years ago, two colleagues (a 50-ish Geordie and a very french young Frenchman who had never been to the UK and never really given much thought to the existence of such a country) and myself (German who had lived and worked in the UK and nevertheless remained steadfastly anglophile ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
) got into a car and drove from our home university in northern France to a conference in Keele. Apart from the academic motive of our trip, my Geordie friend and I were determined to give our young French colleague an insight into life across la manche which he'd never forget...
Geordieprof had decided to start his young friend's education... at Watford Gap. ![[Devil]](graemlins/devil.gif)
Oh the fun we had watching our dear Pierre-Rodolphe as he took it all in: the noise, the people, the smell of the "coffee" and the grease, the garish colours and Geordie's lectures on what is meant by "Essex Man" and why the divide on which the Watford Gap services sit is such an important one.
Unfortunately I could not be there as Pierre-Rodolphe, ever the Frenchman in his slightly effeminate attire down to his dainty black leather slippers which allowed one to catch a glimpse of the nylon socks he wore, visited the mens' room. Geordie later shared the scene with me; P-R must have caused quite a sensation...
Whenever I drive by Watford Gap nowadays I spare a minute and muse on the deep cultural divide that is the Channel...
Posted by Higgs Bosun (# 16582) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Desert Daughter:
Whenever I drive by Watford Gap nowadays I spare a minute and muse on the deep cultural divide that is the Channel...
Not a Motorway services, but on a cross-Channel ferry over 20 years ago I went to get a meal in the 'restaurant'. A Frenchman sat down opposite me with the all-day breakfast: greasy bacon, greasy sausage, greasy egg etc. As he squeezed out brown sauce from a sachet, he said to me with glee in his face "I have not had this for three months!"
Posted by St Everild (# 3626) on
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quote:
Originally posted by betjemaniac:
quote:
And finally, Frankley (M5) gets a mention because it's very near my old school and we used to save lots of journey time by using its service entrance to get onto the motorway when we were going on field trips!
What a small world - not my old school, but I bet I know which one (I was at one of the others), and could name the short-cut taking masters provided you're talking any time 1972- now.... Earlier I would struggle.
Unless I'm totally wrong anyway.. [/QB]
Mr StEverild was at one of those institutions at the time of which you speak...I must ask him about Frankley services!
Here's another vote for Tebay, north or southbound.
Posted by Japes (# 5358) on
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It can be a little... interesting using the M5 shortcut at Frankley. It isn't always possible as the gates have known to be locked. (I'm not acquainted with the schools, personally, but they're all on our parish prayer rota. I am the organist at one of churches near by. Frankley is not, however, in the parish.)
I'm another one who loves Tebay, and will stop there even if I don't really need to!
[ 25. April 2014, 14:15: Message edited by: Japes ]
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on
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quote:
Originally posted by St Everild:
Mr StEverild was at one of those institutions at the time of which you speak...
Crikey, at this rate we'll be able to have a Foundation Reunion Shipmeet!
Posted by betjemaniac (# 17618) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by St Everild:
Mr StEverild was at one of those institutions at the time of which you speak...
Crikey, at this rate we'll be able to have a Foundation Reunion Shipmeet!
That's an implicit yes to my earlier question then...
Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on
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Not used the Tebay one and can't speak for it, but agree that Michaelwood is a bit better than some of the others. I don't personally reckon much to Frankley. It was a bit scruffy the last time I went there. The southbound version is better than the northbound. Hopwood Park on the other route round the West Midlands is better. I've never really liked Strensham very much, but the northbound side is better than the southbound. It's sad that the one by the old Severn Bridge is so desolate now most of its traffic goes over the new bridge. I thought the one in the middle of nowhere where you turn off for Edinburgh was quite nice. I think it might be called Abingdon.
Mention of Watford Gap takes me back. It must be nearly 40 years since I was last there. When the M1 first opened, locals used to go there late on Saturday evenings in the hope of seeing the then equivalent of celebs eating burgers and baked beans on their way back from various theatres.
There was a great trial back in the sixties of some youngsters called 'the Buckby Boys' who smashed it up one Saturday evening.
Has it ever been rebuilt, or is it still in a sort of formica and plastic tomato time-warp?
[ 25. April 2014, 15:23: Message edited by: Enoch ]
Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
I thought the one in the middle of nowhere where you turn off for Edinburgh was quite nice. I think it might be called Abingdon.
Abington. I've stopped briefly maybe once or twice. Too close to home to stop for anything other than a quick loo stop if really needed. Annandale Water, a bit further south is a frequent stop. A nice lake to walk around.
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on
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I remember reading a while ago about somebody who spent his spare time going round Britain checking out the doughnuts or something at motorway service stations, and compiling a list of where you could get the best whatever-it-was and cup of tea. One of those uniquely British hobbies.
Posted by Cottontail (# 12234) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
I thought the one in the middle of nowhere where you turn off for Edinburgh was quite nice. I think it might be called Abingdon.
Abington.
Oi! It is not in the middle of nowhere: it is in the middle of my home parish!
Which is pretty damn remote, I admit it. Gorgeous countryside, though, and great views of the valley from the service station.
And while we are on the topic, before the motorway was built, I worked for six summers at one of its Little Chef predecessors. Oh, the tales I could tell ...
Posted by Ferijen (# 4719) on
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I seem to have replicated - to within 20 miles or so - the same geographical spread of grandparents for my son as I had growing up. Which has basically meant a lifetime of long (5hr +) journeys, now much more motorway than they used to be.
Current favourite stopping place isn't even motorway services, it's a shopping park at Leicester (Fosse Park) which is 2 minutes from the m1, has clean toilets in M&S, eating options and enough provisions for the 'have you forgotten the nappies/paracetamol/sun hat/food'. It's also nearly exactly half way between here and there, at the 2.5hr gap where changing drivers is advisable. Discovered in extremis on my then three month old son's first journey north which involved a ten hour journey, a closed m1, and lots of tears...
I stopped, I believe, here, in Cumbria a few years ago, as it was advertised as services off the A66, but clearly it's not (the A66 being another Road Of Family Significance to both me and Mr Ferijen; we suspect that there were many Saturdays of our childhood when we were on opposite sides of the carriageway visiting grandparents at different sides of the family). Tebay was never somewhere we stopped for long, only in emergencies.
I hold Cherwell Valley in affection, it's the start of the South, and M6 Knutsford Services as they marked the beginning and end of a French exchange type holiday I went on as a teenager. Also the m6 services in ?cheshire with the pond at the back and 'ducks crossing'.
Now I live walking distance to a set of services, though funnily enough I've never visited them...
Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Cottontail:
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
I thought the one in the middle of nowhere where you turn off for Edinburgh was quite nice. I think it might be called Abingdon.
Abington.
Oi! It is not in the middle of nowhere: it is in the middle of my home parish!
Isn't it Annandale that's in the middle of your parish? (I agree with Alan, Annandale is very pretty). I thought Abington was the ugly functional one a bit closer to Glasgow, the one before Hamilton.
Another Tebay fan here - it doesn't matter that the food is expensive, it's expensive in all the other service stations too but at least at Tebay it is tasty and not just reconstituted. And of course it's in a lovely location too.
If we needed to stop on the A66 during the day we generally would stop here.
Depending on which branch of the family we're visiting we sometimes head down the east coast/A1 - we've found Berwick a useful place to stop for lunch (Morrisons is handy - toilets, shop, cafe, petrol) although we had less success there on a Sunday evening when Morrisons was closed (including a very unpleasant experience when TME was chased through town by a couple of drunk guys).
Posted by Cottontail (# 12234) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Jack the Lass:
quote:
Originally posted by Cottontail:
quote:
Originally posted by Alan Cresswell:
quote:
Originally posted by Enoch:
I thought the one in the middle of nowhere where you turn off for Edinburgh was quite nice. I think it might be called Abingdon.
Abington.
Oi! It is not in the middle of nowhere: it is in the middle of my home parish!
Isn't it Annandale that's in the middle of your parish? (I agree with Alan, Annandale is very pretty). I thought Abington was the ugly functional one a bit closer to Glasgow, the one before Hamilton.
Home parish. It is where I grew up. No comment otherwise on my current location.
Abington Welcome Break is actually very nice, and quite small really, with a nice breezy sense of space. I much prefer it to the Annandale one, which is in a bit of a hollow. The really ugly one before Hamilton is Happendon, near Douglas, although its own blurb on its webpage boasts, "it was recently declared the cheapest service station in the country." ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Posted by Ethne Alba (# 5804) on
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Another Tebay fan + i used to live in the village......
[ 25. April 2014, 20:18: Message edited by: Ethne Alba ]
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on
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Whatever their other faults, the main thing is how bland they are.
Before the M4 and the Severn Bridge home counties to Wales meant going through Gloucester and then down the side of the river. The sight of Newnham in the spring was wonderful. Not so good were the loos which were indescribable - as children we swore they were tidal...
Of course, you could always have the added excitement of trying to get the last of the old chain ferries back from Wales to England...
Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
I can say nice things about some, if not all motorway services in France. They are a cut above British ones.
I think you're out of date. I find UK services have steadily improved overall since leaving your shores, while French ones have mostly stayed about the same. I totally agree about the first English breakfast each time I come back.
We have stayed at the Travelodge in Donington Park a couple of times because of its proximity to East Midlands airport, and it's been very satisfactory. Also, the bottom photo on that Wikipedia page is particularly outstanding
Posted by Tulfes (# 18000) on
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Instead of turning into Gretna services on M74, take a short detour into Gretna itself and visit the Gretna Outlet Village.More cheerful than the services, local people mingling with north and southbound visitors. Good shops, nice ambience. Expect to be held back from your journey for at least an hour.
Posted by Desert Daughter (# 13635) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Eutychus:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
I can say nice things about some, if not all motorway services in France. They are a cut above British ones.
I think you're out of date. I find UK services have steadily improved overall since leaving your shores, while French ones have mostly stayed about the same.
agree.
Where the UK really beats France by lengths is the catering offered in railway stations. Any trip between Lille or Paris on one side and St Pancras on the other will show you. Even Euston is better than the Gare du Nord if you want fresh, tasty, and not too unhealthy food. The French never moved beyond unimaginative sandwiches in their catering, and only at certain times of the day. I remember I once landed in Charles de Gaulle after two months in India. During the whole flight back I fantasised about how, once clear of customs, I would sprint to the little bakery outlet above the CDG rail station and sink my teeth into a huge salami sandwich. But it was early morning and the French aren't flexible. All they had on offer were sweetish croissants. All other outlets were closed. After two months of vegetarian food, I had to go without salami for another couple of hours ![[Waterworks]](graemlins/bawling.gif)
Ditto for choice of food at motorway services in France. Very religiously bound to the time of day. Very unimaginative fare.
So the UK will overtake France in the Motorway services department. For the time being though, France still has the better coffee.
Posted by Barnabas Aus (# 15869) on
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Mrs BA and I spent that abovementioned hour in the Outlet Village when we were in UK on holidays three years ago. We had a poultice of Scottish pounds to be expended and used them profitably to buy very comfortable and affordable bras for my very buxom daughter at the M&S outlet store. She reckons they're the best she's ever had.
Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on
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You do know that there's no reason you can't spend Scottish issued bank notes in England? They're British Pounds, not Scottish Pounds.
Though, I admit, you may find it harder to exchange them back to Aus dollars back home.
[ 26. April 2014, 12:09: Message edited by: Alan Cresswell ]
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on
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Not far short of 50 years ago I worked for a while at Knutsford Services on the M6 - a weird experience.
I quite like Killington Lake on the M6 just by the Kendal/Sedbergh turnoff [?Jn37?].
Tebay is indeed good but the French ones are excellent, I remember one in Charente Maritime that was just brilliant!
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on
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Ssssshh Alan! We need them to believe they can't take money over the border!
Posted by Quizmaster (# 1435) on
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Tebay shipmeet needed.
Everyone from down here says it is the best.
Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on
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Quizmaster! It's great to see you!
Here endeth the greeting tangent! ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Posted by Chorister (# 473) on
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Agreed about Tebay, we always try to stop there on our visits up to Scotland. In Creamtealand, I rather like Taunton Deane (Southbound) since it had a recent refurbishment. They have several small food stations, rather than one large one; the best is the one with lots of fresh fruit.
But what I really prefer to do is to look at the map and drive a few miles off a junction to find somewhere really independent. It takes slightly longer, but the quality and price are usually much better. If you type eg. 'just off the motorway' into Google, there are several sites suggested to aid your choice.
Posted by Pyx_e (# 57) on
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Very fond memories of Killington Lake 20 years ago. When my job, which included endless motorway miles, saved my sanity. The donuts, coffee and view of the lake were a needed highlight.
Also Aust, when as a young curate in Bristol I would drive out late at night and sip coffee, watching the traffic go over to the "promised land" while trying to make sense of ministry. Miss the services, still not much progress on the making sense thing.
[ 26. April 2014, 18:32: Message edited by: Pyx_e ]
Posted by BroJames (# 9636) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Pyx_e:
Very fond memories of Killington Lake 20 years ago. When my job, which included endless motorway miles, saved my sanity. The donuts, coffee and view of the lake were a needed highlight.
It used to be a good end to a day off with our boys (pre-school). Great views for us and the treat of eating out in "a restaurant" for them.
Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on
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"Ye May Gang Faur and Fare Waur" at Stracathro on the A90 is legendary. You may go further and fare worse, but equally you may go further and fare much, much better.
The toilets are ...um...rudimentary, the food plentiful, filling, cheap and highly calorific. The huge car park is a popular overnight stop for large lorries, whose tyres can cope with the ruts and potholes.
Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Pyx_e:
Also Aust, when as a young curate in Bristol I would drive out late at night and sip coffee, watching the traffic go over to the "promised land" while trying to make sense of ministry.
Another Aust fan, eh?
tangent/
As a teenager, I used to cycle out to Heathrow Terminal 3 in the days when it was the shiny new intercontinental terminal, sit in a coffee shop called "The Apple Tree" and bask in the exoticity of it all. Didn't wonder much about the ministry though. Probably explains a lot.
/tangent
Posted by OddJob (# 17591) on
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Whilst by no means wishing to be an apologist for Thatcherism, I do think the GB motorway service station cartel needs a good kick up the nether regions by an injection of market competition. Restrictions to one monopoly supplier every 30 miles can't be in the interests of the consumer or of road safety. Stopped at one yesterday, with some family members bursting for the loo at the mid-point of a 6 hour, 150 mile motorway journey, and other struggling to get through the entrance door to be ripped off in the shop.
That said, I do agree with the OP that the northern sections of the M6 show some of the best stations, in view of their surroundings and Dan Dare architecture.
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on
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I am in a position to report to you on the ones on Interstate 90, between Albany and Buffalo.
They are built to a common pattern, in gabled clapperboard painted sage green, with rustic stone columns at the entrance. Outside is an antiqued board telling you about some village Hampden of the Revolution, or which now-extirpated indigenous people gave their name to the locality. Inside there is a Starbucks, a Travelmart and somewhere selling pizza/burgers. It is clean but a bit draughty.
Posted by Pyx_e (# 57) on
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quote:
Stopped at one yesterday, with some family members bursting for the loo at the mid-point of a 6 hour, 150 mile motorway journey
Ah! You were the bastard driving at 25mph, DRIVE FASTER.
Posted by busyknitter (# 2501) on
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Another vote for Tebay, Stafford and Killington Lake.
But for shipmates using the M6, I would also recommend Brockholes nature reserve, just off J30 at Preston. It has lakes, migrating birds, excellent opportunities to take a mid journey walk, a huge play area for kids, a floating visitor centre and a decent restaurant. There is even a petrol station at the M-way junction roundabout, right next to the reserve entrance.
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Eutychus:
Another Aust fan, eh?
And another
Don't travel on motorways much these days , but I have fond memories of Aust .
We used to attend motorcycle rallies in S. Wales and, when returning home, would often pull into Aust for much needed shelter and refreshment having got wet .
Posted by not entirely me (# 17637) on
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Another Tebay appreciator and I second the recommendation for Brockholes near Preston. They have nice ice-cream and a great play area.
Posted by Tulfes (# 18000) on
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Slight tangent/
We still talk occasionally about the 2 delicious scones we had at the coffee shop down below at Carlisle Cathedral, circa 2007 or 2008. Best I have ever had before or since. Worth a detour off the M74 even if you don't have time to visit the cathedral itself. Mind you, it could be a different baker/recipe nowadays.
Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on
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Anyone been to Truckhaven near Carnforth (J35), M6?
Stopped here on way back from lakes - someone was desperate for the loo. Odd, in a really good way - quiet, very clean, mostly rooms for long-distance artic drivers. Good cheap caff and a great shop selling important stuff for professional drivers like 'proper tools' and birthday cards for wives and kids. Worth a look!
Oooh, and - not exactly motorway services - but the staff at the second Severn crossing once let me dismantle a motorbike engine in the 'wide load' part of the toll area, under cover and with light in the middle of a rainy night. Another time, total strangers gave me a bed. There are good folks out there, and I met more of them before mobile phones and breakdown cover.
[ 29. April 2014, 19:49: Message edited by: mark_in_manchester ]
Posted by HughWillRidmee (# 15614) on
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Another vote for Tebay
I used to dawdle over a coffee whilst watching the ducks on the pond outside the southbound restaurant's widows and plucking up the courage to address the M6 from Preston to the M6 toll (company car - toll on expenses).
Posted by TonyK (# 35) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
<snip>
Does anyone know whether the services they were going to open in Gloucestershire on a similar premise to Tebay have appeared yet?
<snip>
AG
News about the M5 'Tebay' type service area near Gloucester here!
I'll pop in when it opens and report back if the thread is still 'live'
Posted by Sandemaniac (# 12829) on
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Mmmm, wonders if he can find an excuse to pass...
AG
Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on
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Probably this one, or perhaps this or this, but I guess they're a long way from the UK Motorways and you'd have to google to appreciate their significance.
Posted by Wet Kipper (# 1654) on
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Happendon (Cairn Lodge) is the dodgy one on the M74. The actual place is right next to the motorway but it actually takes a while to get in and out of. And once you're there it feels you're in a 1980's cross channel ferry
Posted by St. Gwladys (# 14504) on
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Called in at Tebay going to, and coming home from the Lake District - what an amazing place!
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on
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We had a really good, if very plain, feed at a service station on the A1 somewhere in the north of England last time we were home and I can't for the life of me think where it was. Once I've remembered to ask D. I'll report back.
![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
Also, if you're travelling south from Edinburgh, just after you cross the border there's a Morrison's supermarket which does breakfast to die for - a huge platter of everything you could possibly want for breakfast, including Proper Bacon™ - for IIRC a fairly small amount of money.
Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on
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We stopped (having got lost) last year at the Silver Yard Deli at Orton, which turned out to be very near the Tebay junction for the M6.
Excellent food and highly tranquil.
Posted by Jack the Lass (# 3415) on
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quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
Also, if you're travelling south from Edinburgh, just after you cross the border there's a Morrison's supermarket which does breakfast to die for - a huge platter of everything you could possibly want for breakfast, including Proper Bacon™ - for IIRC a fairly small amount of money.
That would be at Berwick (mentioned by me on the previous page).
Re the previous Scotland service station discussion, yes you're quite right it was Happendon I was thinking of. Ugly, soulless, thoroughly depressing place!
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on
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Travelling south from Edinburgh, you take the exit for Moffat, and visit Jack and Rachel's tea room at the top end of the High St (up past the statue to The Sheep). After your freshly-cooked breakfast/bacon buttie/scone/way too much cake, you visit the woollen mill and buy a lambswool pullover, and the sweetie and whisky shop, coming away with a box of fudge and an interesting single malt.
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Jack the Lass:
... That would be at Berwick (mentioned by me on the previous page) ...
Piglet, before engaging mouth, make sure brain is in gear (and read the previous comments).
Posted by TonyK (# 35) on
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And the new Brookthorpe Services Area on the M5 northbound near Gloucester is open.
I expect I'll be passing it sometime soon, so I'll pop in and report back
Posted by busyknitter (# 2501) on
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quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Travelling south from Edinburgh, you take the exit for Moffat, and visit Jack and Rachel's tea room at the top end of the High St (up past the statue to The Sheep). After your freshly-cooked breakfast/bacon buttie/scone/way too much cake, you visit the woollen mill and buy a lambswool pullover, and the sweetie and whisky shop, coming away with a box of fudge and an interesting single malt.
When I wa a kid our annual family trip from Sussex to the West Highlands would invariably include a stop at Moffat, solely for
this stuff.
Posted by Gill H (# 68) on
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As a child, I loved Aust for one thingn- they had a 'Boot Hill' video game! Dad and I would spend ages playing it.
Simpler times...
Posted by TonyK (# 35) on
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So we visited the new 'Tebay' type services on the M5 this afternoon. It's near the village of Brookthorpe, but is sign-posted as 'Gloucester Services'. North-bound only at present...
First impression from outside - it reminded me of Rheged (not really surprising - owned/run by the same firm!)
The roof will be 'grass' - or at least some form of vegetation. At the moment it's virtually just earth - as are all the embankments and landscaping.
Inside it's very light and airy, with an impressive wooden rafter construction.
Restaurant is opposite the entrance and seemed nice - I noted that fish and chips were priced at £8.95, which is not unreasonable for this part of the world. To the right is a 'coffee bar' or something similar with the toilets behind. we did check those - very smart and modern with Dyson Airblade hand driers!
To the left is the 'Farm Shop'. It had a proper butcher's counter, with people buying fresh meat, a cheese counter with a good range of cheeses and a 'deli' counter with cold meats and a huge range of savoury pies. A lot of more conventional stuff was being sold too - beers, ciders, wines, spirits, icecreams (local - not mass-produced), sweets and so on.
Obviously very new, fresh and clean. It will be interesting to see how it progresses. The reports on the Tebay services intimate that things should be OK.
Interestingly, speaking to some of the people there, a good number were locals like us, checking out the new facility!
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on
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Not exactly a motorway service station, but when we're on the A9 we usually find that a stop at the House of Bruar is de rigueur for their superlative soups, excellent millionaire's shortbread and splendidly-appointed bogs (and a misty-eyed gaze at their grossly over-priced luxury goods).
eta: and a wee bit further up the road, the Storehouse of Foulis is just as good, but less pretentious.
[ 09. May 2014, 15:38: Message edited by: piglet ]
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