I have been driving around the country’s service stations for the past nine years. Covering thousands of miles, I’ve visited all 97 motorway sites, from Annandale Water in southwest Scotland to Cobham on the M25 in Surrey, as well as the hundreds of A-road services.
Posting my travels online as “The Services King”, I document the design, dining choices and amenities on offer, and report on the investments and developments made. I’ve also helped to update Motorway Services Online, a resource for drivers and service station enthusiasts, since 2012.
Dating to 1959, when the first site opened at Watford Gap on the M1 in Northamptonshire, service stations have become a familiar fixture of the British countryside and have adapted to meet our changing demands.
Shorts
My love for them started as a child when I would sit in my dad’s passenger seat and look forward to stopping off at the next Little Chef or stocking up on snacks. I’ve watched their brands evolve according to customers’ taste, and their prices. An AA survey released today shows that almost a third of drivers would rate the price of motorway service area food and drink as poor.
