From filthy facilities to fabulous food – Which? reveals the UK’s best and worst motorway services

The consumer champion asked more than 4,000 Which? members about their experiences of using service stations across the country. Their responses covered almost 9,000 service station visits and helped Which? rank 90 service stations based on categories including prices in food/retail outlets, shops, food and drink selection, facilities, cleanliness, convenience and accessibility and outside space. 

Gloucester services on the M5 received the highest customer score of 85 per cent. The services, which are part of the Westmorland Family, received five stars in almost every category. One visitor said: “If all motorway service stations were like Gloucester I’d be delighted to spend time at any. Glos is a pleasure, has great staff, nice food, a farm shop, a garden with a lakeside walk and dog walking. They deserve every success.” Another customer praised the services saying it was “head and shoulders above all the others that I've used”.

Westmorland Family services regularly top the consumer champions survey. Tebay M6 services in Cumbria followed closely behind Gloucester with a score of 77 per cent, while Cairn Lodge on the M74 in Lanarkshire received a score of 72 per cent. They both scored well in all categories but lost stars for price. 

Rugby’s Moto Services on the M6 in Warwickshire received an impressive score of 75 per cent and four stars across almost every category. One customer said Rugby was “A great service station. Why can’t others be like Rugby?”. Another said “Rugby is new and clean and on a nice day is perfect to break up your journey”. 

Rugby’s success marks the first time a station from a nationwide brand has been rated so highly. It’s joined in the top five by Leeds Skelton Lake (run by Extra) scoring 68%. Both service stations offer fast and plentiful EV charging points, clean facilities and thoughtful outside spaces, such as Rugby’s huge dog-walking area, and Leeds’ RSPB viewing platform over Skelton Lake. 

It’s been four years since the consumer champion’s last Motorway Services survey and apart from the new entries, Which? found very little has changed. Customer responses still paint a bleak picture of a motorway network that’s blighted by dirty, dated and inadequate services. 

Something that connects these poor experiences is that they are often run by Moto, the UK’s largest service area operator. Nine of the 10 sites at the bottom of the table are Moto brands, with Rugby’s success making it something of an outlier. 

Moto’s Bridgwater Services (J24) on the M5 took bottom place in the table. It scored 23 per cent and scored one star in all categories. As well as inadequate parking space, the facilities are cramped and have overpriced facilities that “look and feel filthy” and toilets that “smelt of stale urine”. 

Just ahead of Bridgwater in the table were Leeming Bar in North Yorkshire, Lancaster and Hilton Park in Staffordshire.

Lancaster Services on the M6 scored just 34 per cent in the survey. Customers told Which? that the services are “crowded” with “poor access” as shops and food courts are linked by a pedestrian bridge across the motorway. Customers understandably resented having to traipse over the bridge to the other side to get “an underwhelming breakfast served in a cardboard box”. The services’ Pennine Tower, once the service station’s iconic restaurant and sundeck, now stands abandoned and empty.

Hilton Park, also on the M6, received the same score and was named “dark and gloomy” by customers, another told Which? “You would be lucky to have the luxury of a decent flow of hot water to wash your hands, let alone find any soap. It’s a disgrace”.

Which? also found service stations were charging customers high prices for convenience. Of the 90 service stations in the survey, only Westmorland’s managed to muster more than a two-star rating for prices in its food and retail outlets.. 

After visiting Rugby services, Which?’s undercover inspectors drove just two miles to a retail park to see how much they could save. Unleaded petrol was 28p a litre cheaper, saving £15.40 on a standard 55-litre tank. A Greggs sausage roll was just £1.30, compared to £1.65 in the services (a 27% markup) and a small Costa coffee was £2.90, compared to £3.50. 

To avoid paying over the odds next time you fill up on a long journey, download the PetrolPrices app, or use its website, to find the cheapest filling station along your route.

Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel said:

“The best service stations are a convenient pit stop with decent food and facilities, however our survey shows those are few and far between and that many services are not up to scratch.

“Poor facilities and extortionate prices for food and drink were widespread complaints, but most shocking of all was how drivers told us just how many services were unclean.

“To avoid disappointment, people should plan their route to avoid the worst service stations and look for alternative places to stop.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

Based on a survey of 8,677 experiences from 4,078 Which? Connect members in Nov/Dec 2024. Sample sizes in brackets. A dash (-) means sample size too small for a rating. 

Table includes motorway service areas and rest areas. Star ratings for shops and food and drink refer to both range and quality. Convenience and accessibility Ease of parking, signposting, disabled access, length of queues etc. Outside space Means picnic areas, dog-walking space, children’s playgrounds etc. Customer score based on overall satisfaction and likelihood of recommending.

About Which? 

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.

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