But then you spot the free table service in the restaurant area and the nice Costa and you think: no, sometimes it’s good to be pampered. But then you realise everyone else is smug too and you feel like perhaps you’re the sellout here - you should be keeping it real with everyone else at Hilton Park on Junction 11. Consequently, you feel smug there’s no chaff here, only wheat. for the purposes of any police reading I would never do this myself) on the smooth, smooth privately-financed highways that skip merrily around Birmingham. Being on the M6 Toll, it has a rarefied air about it which can only come from knowing that your fellow service companions are in the class of motorist that can afford that £5.50 to speed at will (nb. I’m torn on this one because its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. The Ritz of the service station world (Image: Wikicommons)
Norton Canes services, M6 Toll (Roadchef) I have rarely felt more at peace with the world. I remember stopping here in a spot of January drizzle after a trip to Carlisle to buy the Football League Paper and a packet of Quavers. If this was on the northbound side it would be even better, as it would contain the anticipation of being your last stop off before the lakes but, instead, view this as your chance to wave goodbye to nature before re-entering the smog-filled lands of the south. And so the first in our top list is Killington Lake which features bugger all decent shops (a Maccy D’s begrudgingly opened here in 2014), but what there is is a freshness in the air and the feel of open space. I make no apology for my bias towards service stations on the M6, for the M6 is a truly glorious motorway, being a) nowhere near London and b) giving you some glorious vistas as you head between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. Killington Lake, M6 Southbound (Roadchef)ĭrizzle and scalding tea: heaven (Image: Wikicommons) Move into the slow lane, indicate left and prepare to pull off into paradise.
But still: every service station is beautiful, but which is the most beautiful of all? Unless there’s an oversized vehicle that’s misjudged its height. It’s an independent ecosystem all of its own time stands still as you look out from the bridge bit over the endless flow of traffic below - nothing can touch you here.
#Maccy sale driver#
This time last year, I passed 100,000 miles in my trusty old Golf just outside Bristol and the excitement was almost too much to bear.Īnd, while I embrace the loneliness of the long-distance driver - just you, the open road, Magic FM/local radio equivalent and the thoughts inside your head (mainly ‘my god, Lionel Richie’s done some tunes’) - there is something glorious about those oases of humanity that you encounter along the way: the humble service station.Īll walks of life are there, you can stretch out those cramped limbs, you can complain about the inflated prices in M&S (or Waitrose if you’re feeling flush) and pay it anyway, you can wonder who on earth buys the wooden ducks and wetsuits, you can have a nice chat with the lad or lady behind the counter during those few seconds when your petrol bill is coming through and you can leave with your grab bag of salt ‘n’ vinegar Squares and Crunchie Rocks (which have set you back the best part of a tenner) or, if it’s ‘proper mealtime’, you can take your pick from the finest fast food establishments that the UK has to offer. I have been up and down the country, from the very north to the very south, countless times, at all hours of the day and night. Through the course of my life, I have, for one reason or another, ended up driving a lot. So what gives me the authority to rule on this issue? Well, let me explain. I’m sorry, but the issue of motorway service stations is simply too important for me to stand by and let this sham of a list become the accepted rankings, because you people - even though you don’t appear to know anything about service stations - deserve better.
The top five, out of the UK’s 112 service stations were named as: Reading Services Westbound Rivington Services Northbound Corley Services Northbound Gloucester Services Southbound and Gloucester Services Northbound.Īpparently 8,700 customers were questioned about key factors including staffing, food and toilets but by the looks of that list they mainly just asked people from Gloucester the question, “What is the nearest services to you?” So, the great British public have been surveyed on their favourite service stations and, once again, like every other time they’ve been asked for their opinion on something, they’ve got it wrong.
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