A haven on any long journey (Motorway Services)

Member Name: luke1081

Product:	Motorway Services
Date:	07/01/09 (36 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Free toilets and parking

Disadvantages: Locations differ - try Tebay & Annandale for lovely services

As a regular traveller, motorway services can be a haven on any long journey. The advantages are plain to see. Parking is free, toilets are free, you can stretch your legs and grab something to eat and drink. Nowadays, you can also test your skills in the amusement arcade, buy an ice-scraper from Halfords or sit in the ubiquitous "massage chair" which has cropped up in every services around the UK. Forget the fact that you have to drive around a labyrinth of roads before you find the car park.

The services themselves are generally clean and tidy with an efficient staff of cleaners - not least in the toilets which are inspected and washed at all hours of the day. There really is little difference between the UKs leading motorway service providers. Moto and Welcome Break are the largest with Roadchef also operating several.

Prices are high; not least at the fast food restaurants - usually Burger Kings, though often Mcdonalds. Though, you know this when you stop and no one is forcing you to tuck into a Big Mac. In the same way, no one if forcing you to fill up your petrol tank with overpriced fuel. Even if you're not that clever, it doesn't take a genius to fill up "off the motorway". At the end of the day, you're paying for the convenience.

The actual location of the services differs greatly. Frankley on the M5 is in a dire, concrete jungle, just outside Birmingham. However, Annandale and Tebay up North on the M6 are delighful locations - the former having a scenic lake within the service area. This kind of location is more in keeping with our European counterparts who have some delightful locations alongside the autoroutes and autobahns.

Summary: Everyone has an opinion on motorway services!