Unofficial motorway services

[EssexGonzo]

M25 J22 St Albans - has a large retail park with Sainsburys store + fuel, M&S plus others i can't remember. I always use it on the return from the west or north. Very close to junction.

M1 J46 Leeds, Colton - Retail park including Sainsburys fuel. less than a minute from the junction.

 

[Bald Rick]

Tesco off the A1(M) at Hatfield (just north of the tunnel)

Usually a nightmare to get out of though. It’s always busy.

There is a Tesco at Lesmahagow J10 on M74.

My favourite for stops en route to the north, as its generally quiet. Usually my first stop from St Albans.

M25 J22 St Albans - has a large retail park with Sainsburys store + fuel, M&S plus others i can't remember. I always use it on the return from the west or north. Very close to junction.

Always good. Also a 24h McDs next door.


There’s loads more I could list. Here’s a few:

M6/M65 interchange - Sainsbury’s
M4 Bridgend (J36) - Sainsbury’s
M54 Telford (J5) - Sainsbury’s
M5 Cribbs Causeway - Asda and Morrisons
M20 Folkestone (J12) - Tesco. handy I found you are early for the tunnel / ferry and get some cheap fuel before getting to France

 

[Cowley]

Does anyone know of anywhere between Gloucester and the M42/M5 Junction that’s worth a try?
It’s an area that I’m quite often needing fuel/food etc when doing a journey between seeing family in Nottingham and going home (Devon).

 

[Josie]

Glews Services in Goole is basically a mini service station (McDonald's, fuel, HGV facilities, a cafe) but not signposted from the motorway, so you probably wouldn't know it was there unless you spotted it when passing.

M56 J4 has Wythenshawe town centre, with free parking and supermarkets/shops/cafes/etc.

And at M60 J10, as well as the Trafford Centre just to the north of the motorway, to the south there's a retail park with a couple of drives-thru and a Nando's - often much quicker to get into than finding your way into Intu!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If it's food you're after rather than petrol, there's a decent chippy at Calder Grove (just off junction 39 of the M1, for Denby Dale and southern Wakefield) that does table service or takeaway.

 

[LOL The Irony]

M60 Jct 27. Tesco with a filling station on the anti-clockwise side and a shopping center on the clockwise side with a KFC, Pizza Hut, Frankie & Benny's and a Nando's. The edge of Stockport town center is a quick drive from there with an Asda, Sainsbury's and a McDonald's.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Milton Keynes Tesco Extra Kingston (including filling station) between J14 & J13, there's also a McDonalds and a few other places to eat

 

[John Griffiths]

The town of Wetherby has a great fish and chip restaurant (the Wetherby Whaler), a petrol station* and nice streets/riverbank for a reviving wander just a minute or so off the A1(M).

*or did when I was last there.

 

[433N]

Obviously, there's just about everything just off the M1 at Meadowhall ...

J3 of M18 into Doncaster there's a Morrisons with petrol after 0.5 mile, then a bridge over the railway yards and then Lakeside village which also has just about everything (toilets, Greggs, McDonalds, Doncaster Rovers Football Ground)

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Cheshire Oaks Outlet Village is literally off the M53 in Ellesmere Port, and could serve as somewhat of a motorway services, though it can be heaving on weekends. There are plenty of eateries and conveniences etc.

 

[d9009alycidon]

I rarely use a service station on the M6, always try to schedule a stop off at Morrisons at Penrith for a breakfast or cup of coffee.

Regarding the previous mention of the book "Just off the Motorway" (which my father had). There is an up to date version "Near the Motorways: Attractive alternatives to service stations" https://www.amazon.co.uk/Near-Motor...ves-stations/dp/199961450X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

 

[GW43125]

The entire town of Egham is around a mile from M25 J13. There's a Burger King and petrol station even closer to the motorway however.

 

[John Griffiths]

Lutterworth in Leicestershire, just off M1 J20, is an agreeable stop-off.

 

[theblackwatch]

The town of Wetherby has a great fish and chip restaurant (the Wetherby Whaler), a petrol station* and nice streets/riverbank for a reviving wander just a minute or so off the A1(M).

*or did when I was last there.

Petrol station (or stations - there is a Shell garage and a Morrisons) still there.

Another one worth noting is J37 on the M1 near Barnsley. Toby Carvery there where you can get a decent meal for around the cost of a takeaway at a motorway services.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

It seems that the overwhelming majority are supermarkets, retail outlets or chain pubs/eateries. Very few old style transport caffs seem to have survived that are next to motorways. Recall dropping off the M6 at Gailey island (M6/A5) and going to the Farmhouse at Standeford though it is a mile or two off the motorway.
There are still one or two about
https://www.transportcafe.co.uk/

 

[John Griffiths]

Small towns can be good too, though. Boroughbridge just off the A1(M) is a prime example.

 

[CarltonA]

On the M40, the junction after Beaconsfield gives access to a Tesco, but you cannot get back onto the motorway if heading west.

That Tesco has a Costa and toilets but no petrol however, so no point in stopping off as the junction is indeed a restricted access.

The A43 is a well used route between the M40 and M1. Watch out for the "Superstore" sign when passing Brackley, there is a Tesco petrol station literally just behind the hedge.

 

[MonsooN]

There's a place called Duckmanton betweek Tibshelf and Woodall services on the M1 where there's a McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, Subway, Co-Op, a family pub, petrol etc. It's a like a service station but without the service station. I usually stop there as the food in the restaurants is the same as what you'd be charged in a regular restaurant without the services premium.

 

[gswindale]

Also worth mentioning is M4 j36 - Bridgend.

On one side of the junction is Sarn Park services. On the other is the Bridgend Outlet shopping centre with a Sainsbury's including petrol. When we visited in January, the Sainsbury's was the cheapest petrol within 5 miles of the postcode.

 

[A Challenge]

Don't know whether this might be seen as a bit too far (it is 3.4 miles according to Google maps), but if you come off the M4 at J13 (A34) you can go south into the north side of Newbury (onto the A339) and be at Toby Carvery Newbury in 5 minutes (again, Google maps). Have used it before, coming eastbound.

 

[whhistle]

M5 Cribbs Causeway - Asda

Always good for filling up the tank so I don't have to stop on the way home.