Can service stations be lovely again?

Pubs selling beers and spirits, have no place in a motorway service station.

Decent food and non alcoholic drinks are welcome for the weary traveller, all served in comfortable surroundings. I like to stop for a coffee, a sandwich, some water and a newspaper or a book when I’m travelling a good distance. I sometimes just have a walk around in the fresh air to have a stretch and get some air. If I get really hungry, then I prefer to get off the motorway and find a cafe or restaurant to eat in.

I’m not sure I completely understand this!

“When you’re on a long motorway drive, you should be able to look forward to a relaxing break before hitting the road again.” doesn’t mean you have to use Motorway Service stations.

There are plenty of “local” amenities available close to most service stations that are much cheaper and more pleasant – all it needs is a little planning. For example, on the M4/M5, why stop at Gordano or Leigh Delamere for petrol when Cribbs Causeway (BS34 5DG) has cheaper petrol from Asda and Morrisons? And by cheaper I mean at least 10p per litre cheaper!

I understand that food prices are higher because of the increased cost of running a shop at a motorway service station, but that doesn’t mean I have to pay the prices if I can pack my own food for the journey or buy cheaper food elsewhere.

To the point, though – while Tim Martin’s representative can say “We believe the majority of people that use the pub to drink will be people that aren’t driving – coach parties or people travelling with others.” with a straight face, there is surely no doubt that this will encourage, passively or proactively, drink-driving and the well-known consequences. Driving on the motorways of Britain is getting more and more dangerous and this doesn’t encourage safer driving; quite the opposite…

More burden on police force in this economic condition.
don’t drink and drive is the motto of our police.
Now this new idea to open and enjoy pub drink and drive will make driving more dangerous.
Looks like that who cares about us ?
It needs proper consultation in public select committee in parliament.

In the USA, there are signs for fuel, food, coffee, accommodation and anything locally of interest as you approach junctions. After you have left the highway, there are then more signs giving you the distances.
I would love to see that here on our motorways and not have to pay the exhorbitant rates that the motorway services charge.

Funny thing is, when you are abroad, nearly everywhere you might stop for a break and a snack probably also sells alcohol!
Europe has some excellent alcohol-free beers.

In the golden age of motorway service stations, things were probably not that much better than today. Much depends on the company that has the site licence. In the early 70’s I recall Forton on the M6 in Lancashire was the best available and Barnsdale Bar on the A1 near Doncaster was so-so. Today, for open air stress-free relaxation I’d recommend Tebay and Killington Lake on the M6 in Cumbria – views and environment are superb. As for pubs in motorway service stations, drink and driving do not mix and are a retrograde step.

I never remember any service station with affection. They have always been over priced, with mediocre food and confused layouts: toilets a walk away and noisy slot machines stuffed into alcoves. Shops also sell at motorway prices and petrol is similarly hiked. However, a toilet stop and walk around is an advantage, since one doesn’t have to leave the motorway network to do this. (Snooze, loos and cruise.) Lunch is self provided or taken at a local supermarket. These days, journeys can be planned to include sight seeing, when time permits. Of course, coach parties are at the mercy of the driver. There is that sinking feeling when one is disgorged at a service station and left to wander aimlessly until pick up time arrives. Except for the cafe, there’s no where to sit. I agree that motorway pubs could encourage drink driving, since alcohol is there to tempt, Passengers might like to indulge, but, on balance, no alcohol is preferable.

I think this is just a publicity stunt for Wetherspoon, and it deserves to fail miserably. I would welcome them opening an establishment that did not sell alcohol. I would be happy eat there or have a coffee, whereas I have to be desperate to use typical motorway eateries and coffee shops. Wetherspoon manages to provide much better toilets than the average motorway service area, so they could set a good example. But no alcohol please.

Last year I remember sitting in the sunshine watching hundreds of bees buzzing around some flowers, eating sandwiches and drinking coffee made from a large flask of hot water that I take on my travels. It’s the only time I can remember having enjoyed a stop at a motorway service area.

Just read something in The Oldie magazine saying that a new edition of “Near the Motorways: Affordable Alternatives to Service Stations” by Hugh Cantile has recently been published [RRP £14.95] – available from the usual merchants [but will they sell it in the service station branches?]