As a westcountry local I am always thrilled to completely miss Bridgewater services. From both a biker and car drivers point of view. Techically I belive it is called a "Sh*thole" I once spent an awful weekend there one afternoon.
In 1981 the westbound Heston services burnt down. I had the dubious pleasure of spending three days digging through the rubble to find the cause. I think it may have been an improvement.
Try checking these out from a truck drivers viewpoint! Mind bending, believe me! The standards of the showers, parking, food choice /availability would have the general public, if they had to partake, up in arms and complaining to some kind of Ombudsman. Try stopping in the wee hours for a coffee or toilet break in a truck a d you may not be able to find space to actually park. Most have pee stinking shower stalls. No such thing as good wholesome food for a driver who has just completed a 11 to 13,14 hour work shift. Yet these places charge boosted prices for people to basically sleep in a vehicle on a piece of tarmac. The whole set up is antiquated, dirty, uncomfortable and below standard for this day and age. Cars, campers and caravans parking in the lorry p absolutely does not help either.
Caravans parking in the truck spots boils my piss. I've been known to turn my fridge unit on just to fuck them off. As long as I'm not too close to any other truckers that is...
@graymem I'm afraid say that the round table broke. I wouldn't like to say where my class lies in comparison to an entitled caravan owner as that wouldn't be a very classy move. There's an entire empty car park around the front. If you had ever been in a situation where you need that spot because you need your break and you don't have enough driving time to get to the next services then maybe you would understand. It's clearly singed "HGV Only". The only exception is a static caravan on the back of a trailer. HGVs can't go in the main car park, don't park in the HGV park. We don't like the smell either. We especially don't like having to walk through it and bring it back into the cab.
As a trucker I can confirm Gordano is pretty poor. I don't think Bridgewater is absolutely the worst, that accolade goes to Washington, in my opinion of course. Thanks for the series, enjoying them so far.
Washington's not so bad, I always make a point of stopping there 'cos they have proper telly on, not rolling news nonsense. Worst is Gloucester: I want a cup of tea and a bag of Fruit Gums when I stop, not and artisanal ethical olive served on the set of Midsomer Murders!
I have driven from San Diego, California, USA, to Lubbock, Texas, Copper Mountain, Colorado, across Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon. I have never seen road side "service stations" like these. Much larger, more food and commodity selections and closer together than U.S. rest and service areas. On western U.S. freeways (Interstates) there are towns & cities which would have malls like your service stations. Enjoyed tagging along.
Services are generally limited to Eastern & mid west toll roads. They are not permitted on interstate routes by federal rules. The exception is toll roads built without federal funds. This includes the former toll roads in CT I-95 & CT 15 & MA 24 & M128 around Boston.
Just discovered your channel. Enjoying it very much. thank you. Nerd Corner - Heston Services is, as you said, the site of the old heston aerodeome - this is where Mr Chamerlain in 1939 got out of hos plane, waved a piece of paper and said "Herr Hitler has promised not to do XYZ" Which of course hitler promptly proceeded to do just what he said he wouldn't. On the West bound, South side, just outside the services area fence is the old control tower. I will see if i can find a link.
There used to be a long gap between Heston and Membury ( over 50 miles). NIMBYs held up construction of an intermediate services, so it's nice to have that sorted out. Never ever been in Heston services despite going past umpteen times. Also for Geoff Marshall, there are a few service stations in Germany where you can watch trains. Nuremberg/Feucht southbound is one.
Great channel chaps, you deserve to have many more subscribers. When we came back from Cornwall there was a massive queue of traffic going Into Exeter services, luckily we took a turn into an empty carpark right next to it which turned out to be a Bar and grill (part of a premier Inn I believe) it was completely empty so we had a lovely chilled out lunch with lovely clean toilet's and no crowds :)
Watching this has just brought back a memory of a journey on the National Express from London. We called in at Leigh Delamere for a driver change. A guy sat near me on the bus reckoned he was one of the architects that originally designed the main services building. No idea if he was telling the truth or not, but he seemed genuine and knowledgeable!
In what is already a pretty crowded market of milking a captive market, the fuel prices at Heston always seem to be even more eye-wateringly pricey than anywhere else. It's usually a case of 'can I make it to the next petrol station on fumes rather than fork out the small fortune needed to move the needle off the end stop at Heston?' And yes - the further away from West London you go, the better things become. Trufact.
i love watching youre channel mate. as a uk truck driver the worst thing about our services is the over powering smell of piss"sorry i ment urine". you will find this for you're self if you take a walk around the lorry parking. i have witnessed drivers who can't be bothered to go into the building at night and just open the door. keep sending the great vids
If they didn't put the lorry parking so far from that facilities, some are one hell of a walk!!! Planners should at least plant some lemon trees...... 🌳
The southbound stretch on the M5 between Gordano and Sedgemoor Services is notorious for jams and slow moving traffic. x20 at weekends. The place is a nightmare.
I've done it all through work over 20 years, so i have visited them to use them. I've seen the new ones pop up & aftermath of some of them after they burnt down. I've not got up to date on all your videos though as I'm fairly new to the channel.
Great last couple of videos guys! Really enjoying the series and I know for a fact if we stopped at the service station where the railways then my wee lad would be out watching the trains.
We're finding our way slowly but it's coming together nicely now, thanks for watching and hope you enjoy the rest of the series! Scotland episode coming soon ;)
Great video! Have you covered the M53 yet? My grandad was involved with it’s construction as he was a Civil Engineer with McAlpines. There’s a funny ditty about a scorned employee stealing a bulldozer and running amock at Woodchurch during construction.
Having travelled the UK motorway network quite extensively over the last 30 odd years, excluding the far north and Scotland, I can catagorically say that the worst services are, Frankley near J3 on the M5 nr Brum. They are apalling, both north and south bound.
They are not that bad ! The Northbound has nice views over Worcestershire. Mind you, the car park on the Southbound is bad and entering and leaving the car park is badly designed. The road from the petrol station is not well merged with the way out of the services under the bridge
I like Frankley northbound, I often stop for a kip there, backed against the fence away from everyone before I have to face the crap which is the M5 / M6 junction.
@@malcolmcog True about the car park southbound. The gaps are not big to get in and out, and with the kerbstones being very high you have to watch it cos you cant see them in your side mirrors, they are too low down but big enough to cause damage.
Apparently, Exeter services is used as an example to fledgling motorway planners of how NOT to design motorway services. As you noted, 8 traffic lights, and 2 roundabouts (?). The complicating factor here is that motorway traffic and domestic traffic become mixed which does lead to frustration at times, especially during the summer holidays. I live in Exeter and it definitely is a pain in the a*** with peak holiday season traffic.
I can vouch for that, I deliver nationwide with work, Monday night I’ll be staying at the travel lodge there (about my 10th time) The big roundabout next to it is an absolute Fkin nightmare if you’re unfamiliar with the exists. I think there’s 8 exits and 4 lanes around it
We've just come back from a holiday in Cornwall and when we were planning our stops, we eliminated Exeter because of how the junction looked on the map.
@@chriswilson1853 Don’t blame you mate, as you go around it you hear constant beeps where folk are obviously in the wrong lanes. They’re not clear and the other drivers are ruthless 😂
Exeter Services isn't the worst! Particularly bad service areas are Burtonwood on the M62, Bolton West on the M61, Bridgewater on the M5, Sarn Park on the M4 and Trowell on the M1
I have discovered that if you drive through initial parking chaos at Bridgewater there is a ramp to a lower level which always seems to be nearly empty so parking is easy and no problem with trying to leave the space into a queue of cars.
Loved this … and next episode coming looks to be a doozie! As a ‘boy’ I regularly travelled the M4 from London to Newport and onwards to the valleys (I was courting a young lady just across the Severn Bridge and family came/lived in the valleys) … used all those services - chieveley services being the first ones after the M25 at the time … nearly always stopped off for a wee there! Also nearby was the house my dad was evacuated to during WW2 after the roof got blown off their London house in the later stages of the war … it’s still there today, not that I’ve been there since the early 90s (thank goodness for google street view!) Enjoying your work / keep them coming (liked the Geoff Marshall reference … hoping for a reciprocal shout out?)👍
You seemed to miss Tiverton Services at junction 27 on the M5. I never liked Bridgwater services, the car parking struck me as very confusing. Thanks for your vlog.
I've never been to hell. But I have been to Bridgwater services on the first Saturday of the summer holidays when everyone's heading to Cornwall. I imagine the two are quite close in ambience.
Leigh Delamere, westbound at least, has the worst car park. If you drive too far towards the entrance to the building and all the spaces there are full, it's not possible to go back again. We had to park the car in the HGV area.
Having (unfortunately) had to use the South Mimms service station rather a lot over the years, I must say that I am astonished to learn that it is not the worst services... by far. Access is terribly signposted, parking is chaotic, egress is, if possible, even worse than access. And then you have the services themselves, which habitually smell of urine, toilet access, last time I tried, was not even in the main building. The services were dirty, smelly and so disgusting that, if we hadn't had a teen desperate for the toilets, we'd have gone on to the next services. That was my last visit, but the access/egrees has always been terrible and the dirt issue has been there for at least 27 years, as it was an issue before I left the UK. South Mimms; memorably bad services.
I like yourself was also surprised that south Mimms hasn’t been voted the worst services by a long way, I would rather find a industrial estate or even a lay-by to sleep in and then source a shower elsewhere in the morning than spend a night in south Mimms. It’s a dirty rat infested sh#t hole
I went there one time in 2002 as far as I can remember. I think I had something to eat there but I do remember it being incredibly busy then-and no doubt it is now too! I know just what you mean in your comments for sure, and boy is that so not nice of course too!
My abiding memory of visiting South Mimms services, many years ago, was the huge amount of shit that someone had not been able to get into a toilet, preferring to shotblast the floor and wall with squirty dirt instead. Utterly disgusting, but also a point of great hilarity for me and my friends.
As a West Country local, Gordano Services is pronounced "Gore-Day-No" rather than "Gore-Dahn-No". Also, to be picky, Leigh Delamere is "Leigh Deh-Lah-Mear" (with the stress on the R!). 🙂
Thanks, as someone living in the Gordano valley I was looking for this comment! Fun fact: Gordano means spear(head) valley in Saxon and as you drive on the split level area of the M5 through the valley, you can see it actually comes to a point at Clevedon.
No it;'s not, everyone I know around Portishead calls it Gore-dah-no. No one there or in Bristol calls it Gore-day-no, never even heard anyone say that Americanised word.
Hello chaps I enjoyed the motorway services list Heston down to Exeter. 2 of the services on the m5 are going to close due to houses being built on both sites. Cullompton and the aforementioned Exeter service. There are plans to build another one in betweentaunton Deane and the end of the m5 in Devon.
Had a good look at Taunton Dene yesterday. Had to stop for an hour cos it taken me 2 hours to drive the 60 odd miles north from Hartland in Devon. Then it took another 2 hours to get from Taunton to Bristol! Nightmare!
Seems a bit late now .But as you leave Heston Eastbound service you'd have seen an Automania (when I worked there )Garage /shed which was also part of the airfield former buildings . Corrugated roof rattled in the wind and a "caretaker" told us RAF blah blah old .And welcome the Saab
Leigh Delamare, and you didn't mention wild bunnies on the lawn, overlooked by the restaurant. (Still, it is thirty years since I used to call in there, so perhaps it's all changed now.)
The problem with Bridgwater services is that its only one side of the motorway and is signposted for north and south bound traffic (similar to Cullompton but that is only signposted North Bound on M5 so missing a lot of south bound traffic unless you know about it) Also Bridgwater I believe has the only Multi- storey car park in the Motorway network. This means that when all the holiday traffic comes off the motorway during busy times both North and South bound have to converge on a main roundabout which also has the main A38 into Bridgwater . When busy it can take you 30 mins just to get in to the Motorway services only to find out that if you have a roof top box or bike on your car roof, you cant use the multi-storey and their are only a few spaces outside the multi-storey carpark. So most people end up driving straight out again, and there has been talk of building a bigger south bound service station for over 10 years. but nothing so far.
I gotta admit ,your service stations are massive compared to the ones we have in Canada. On your videos I often see clothing stores ,multiple restaurants, Wh Smiths and lots of enclosed areas. Over here ,ours tend to have a gas station with a variety store, usually a McDonald's, bathrooms and a lot of outdoor picnic areas which are usually closed 5-6 months of the year. Never seen one with a book or clothing store . And acess to local roads is ALWAYS blocked .
14:00 "If you're Geoff Marshall, this is probably the service station for you. You can sit on the picnic bench over there and watch the trains go by." - We need a photo of Geoff Marshall sitting on that picnic bench!
Bucket of grease and a load of crap! Overpriced, demoralising, insulting, disrespectful, horrid places. My vision of Hell. Delightful presentation thanks xxx
You missed the fact that at one stage the westbound Leigh Delamare had the largest filling station in the UK. Gordano is poor, not helped by the access being really poor to and from the roundabout on the M5 - sometimes you queue for about 20 minutes to escape
I've been living abroad for 8 years now and when I visited the UK earlier this year I was amazed by the awfulness of the service stations. Nothing edible or drinkable anywhere. Quick stop for a pee in a mucky lav and on with the journey. Divert into a town to get something edible and hopefully a drinkable coffee.
I'm so happy that you said this before me, now I can have a rant. Why are all the services in the UK based around McShite, StarSucks,Burgers,KFC, Costa and not much else. Its shameful. Cross the channel, services have real chefs, cooking real food where you sit at a table with a knife and fork and a glass of wine ... yes really. The toilets have a cleaner, full time. You can park in the services car park over night if you wish ... free of charge. UK services really are terrible.
I’ve been to Bridgwater services before. I remember the car park being weird, as it’s a small multi-storey thing, and I don’t recall much from the services. Personally the worst one I’ve been to was Washington service station. The whole site was tiny and it looked like they hadn’t upgraded anything since it originally opened (excluding the fast food outlets)!
Hi there. New subscriber here from Denmark. Stumbled upon your channel. Did you forget Gloucester Services on the M5? It's run by the same people, who run Tebay on the M6, as someone else mentioned in the comments.
@@AutoShenanigans Aye you did. Sorry it was me jumping the gun. In this episode you took M4 and then M5 southwards. I didn't realise until episode 5, where you went north on the M5, and of course visited Gloucester service then. Great series by the way, I especially enjoyed episode 10 - Scotland. My second homeland 😉Hopefully I will be there in a short while.😁
I had the misfortune of visiting Bridgewater a couple of years ago. We had been sat in traffic at the height of summer, with the caravan on the back of the car, and simply HAD to have a piss... so we entered and immediately regretted it. It resembles an abandoned 1960's concrete bus station that's been inhabited by a post-apocalyptic race of zombie-like Bermuda-short-wearing city-types, sealed off from civilisation and left to rot for a few decades. It stank of sun-baked piss and diesel, there was litter everywhere, dirty nappies, seagulls picking in the piles of discarded fast food. You get the picture. There was barely room within it's concrete walls to manoeuvre a Fiat 500, let alone a Car and Caravan rig. We vowed never again, and will forever be the single WORST service station on the map. For your own sanity, hold it in for 20 more miles either way!
Just going back through your back catalogue of vids I guess this is where the new format started out and having watched some of your more recent videos I can see a noticeable improvement from the beginnings (so all good 👍) It must have been a boring journey as it looks like you’ve been doodling on your mates arm throughout the trip 😂
Cullumpton services is signposted but northbound only. Soundbound, there is a sign saying the next services is 11 miles away just before J28 - almost like they're trying to put you off going in there.
Cullompton is signed North but not south and isn't on Google maps. It used to be safe to park on there as there was no anpr but they've fitted then now. I'd say this is a pretty bad service area myself, probably the worst, although strangely one of my favourites.
Haven't been to the UK for years (ok decades) and l seem to remember a few of those service stations on the motorways actually had enclosed walkways over the motorway to the station on the other side of the motorway. Are those still around or am ĺ hallucinating again ? Thank you !
Rookie error of doing the M5 in summer, it starts to rival the M25 in car park status. I think the reason why Gordano services is so hated is the mood people arrive at it in after being stuck for hours on the M5. 😂
Wrong! Go at peak holiday times and the M5 south of Bristol is far worse than the M25. Holiday makers from London and Birmingham merging at the M4 junction equals gridlock. You have be careful when you travel, then it's all right.
Must have visited most of our service stations when my job took me on the road. I judge them by the ones I avoid. South Mimms has to be the worst, as it’s a nightmare to get into and out of, the car park is shocking and it’s always really busy. I think I’d rather run out of fuel and go hungry than stop at that toilet.
Cullompton Services is officially a northbound only services which is why it is not signposted southbound - in some surveys this is voted as the worst services although as you have found out this accolade seemed to be hotly contested!
The problem is.... They've all got toilets. They've all got hotels. They're all expensive. Other than Tebay and Gloucester, it's fast food or mainly unhealthy eating options. They're all so similar you can't really draw any meaningful comparison.
@@AutoShenanigans The level of cleanliness may vary. They are run by people, so standards are likely to differ. If you aren’t able to distinguish between them, then what is there to learn from your videos? It you can’t distinguish between them, then it would be more helpful to know if there is a better option within say a few minutes drive of a motorway junction. There used to be a website which provided that information.
There's the service station on the M4, either Chievely or Membury, I can't remember which but it always seems to smell strongly of pig poo, even in the indoor areas.
Bridgwater services is adequate when it is quiet... If it's a busy time of day and your child announces they need the toilet desparately it is hell. Fighting local rush hour traffic which shares the roundabouts, small spaces in a multistory which people with limited driving ability struggle to get in, trying to avoid getting hit by cars walking from the car park to the building and squeezing past all of the clutter Moto has squeezed into an already small services and past people to get to the toilet.. Save your sanity, and drive on to the next services, it will be quicker
You miss the Secret service station at Tiverton services on the M5 at J27. Location of Moto services at Sampford Peverell, Tiverton services history, Tiverton services reviews ...
If you want a ghastly service station, try Keele. The toilet in the northbound petrol station shop is usually spattered with shit and piss. Told the assistant once about it and the response was on the lines of "ok". Totally disinterested. Horrible place.
Kinross is bloody awful! The best is Tebay on M6 without a doubt. They run Gloucester as well which is also good. I like a farm shop in my service stations. 😃
@@MrR6pilot toasted sarnie I had in Gloucester the other day with a coffee was about the same price as a BK and loads better. Toilets were immaculate as well. I agree some of their stuff is not cheap though
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As a westcountry local I am always thrilled to completely miss Bridgewater services. From both a biker and car drivers point of view.
Techically I belive it is called a "Sh*thole"
I once spent an awful weekend there one afternoon.
In 1981 the westbound Heston services burnt down. I had the dubious pleasure of spending three days digging through the rubble to find the cause. I think it may have been an improvement.
Birch was burned due to a gambling arsonist, and Cherwell Valley was burned due to an electrical fault.
Try checking these out from a truck drivers viewpoint! Mind bending, believe me! The standards of the showers, parking, food choice /availability would have the general public, if they had to partake, up in arms and complaining to some kind of Ombudsman. Try stopping in the wee hours for a coffee or toilet break in a truck a d you may not be able to find space to actually park. Most have pee stinking shower stalls. No such thing as good wholesome food for a driver who has just completed a 11 to 13,14 hour work shift. Yet these places charge boosted prices for people to basically sleep in a vehicle on a piece of tarmac. The whole set up is antiquated, dirty, uncomfortable and below standard for this day and age. Cars, campers and caravans parking in the lorry p absolutely does not help either.
I know the feeling pal.40 years trucking.
Caravans parking in the truck spots boils my piss. I've been known to turn my fridge unit on just to fuck them off. As long as I'm not too close to any other truckers that is...
@@WiThErZ666 I hear ya!!
@@graymem Has I ever occurred to you that smell could possibly be the livestock lorries?
Smartarse.
@graymem I'm afraid say that the round table broke. I wouldn't like to say where my class lies in comparison to an entitled caravan owner as that wouldn't be a very classy move.
There's an entire empty car park around the front. If you had ever been in a situation where you need that spot because you need your break and you don't have enough driving time to get to the next services then maybe you would understand. It's clearly singed "HGV Only". The only exception is a static caravan on the back of a trailer. HGVs can't go in the main car park, don't park in the HGV park. We don't like the smell either. We especially don't like having to walk through it and bring it back into the cab.
As a trucker I can confirm Gordano is pretty poor. I don't think Bridgewater is absolutely the worst, that accolade goes to Washington, in my opinion of course. Thanks for the series, enjoying them so far.
Washington's not so bad, I always make a point of stopping there 'cos they have proper telly on, not rolling news nonsense. Worst is Gloucester: I want a cup of tea and a bag of Fruit Gums when I stop, not and artisanal ethical olive served on the set of Midsomer Murders!
I have driven from San Diego, California, USA, to Lubbock, Texas, Copper Mountain, Colorado, across Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon. I have never seen road side "service stations" like these. Much larger, more food and commodity selections and closer together than U.S. rest and service areas. On western U.S. freeways (Interstates) there are towns & cities which would have malls like your service stations. Enjoyed tagging along.
Services are generally limited to Eastern & mid west toll roads. They are not permitted on interstate routes by federal rules. The exception is toll roads built without federal funds. This includes the former toll roads in CT I-95 & CT 15 & MA 24 & M128 around Boston.
Just discovered your channel. Enjoying it very much. thank you. Nerd Corner - Heston Services is, as you said, the site of the old heston aerodeome - this is where Mr Chamerlain in 1939 got out of hos plane, waved a piece of paper and said "Herr Hitler has promised not to do XYZ" Which of course hitler promptly proceeded to do just what he said he wouldn't. On the West bound, South side, just outside the services area fence is the old control tower. I will see if i can find a link.
Couldn't find the control tower. Here is the Wiki link to Heston aerodrome. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Aerodrome
Think that was Croydon airfield?
@@timstriathlonjourneys7575 Croydon airfield was used by Churchill.
There used to be a long gap between Heston and Membury ( over 50 miles). NIMBYs held up construction of an intermediate services, so it's nice to have that sorted out.
Never ever been in Heston services despite going past umpteen times.
Also for Geoff Marshall, there are a few service stations in Germany where you can watch trains. Nuremberg/Feucht southbound is one.
Great channel chaps, you deserve to have many more subscribers.
When we came back from Cornwall there was a massive queue of traffic going Into Exeter services, luckily we took a turn into an empty carpark right next to it which turned out to be a Bar and grill (part of a premier Inn I believe) it was completely empty so we had a lovely chilled out lunch with lovely clean toilet's and no crowds :)
Thanks so much for watching. The M5 in summer holidays is always a nightmare, good call on using next doors car park!
I came across this series of videos from a Facebook group. I already love the motorway shenanigans of this series!
Thanks for joining us! Stick around, we'll be here a while :D
Watching this has just brought back a memory of a journey on the National Express from London. We called in at Leigh Delamere for a driver change. A guy sat near me on the bus reckoned he was one of the architects that originally designed the main services building. No idea if he was telling the truth or not, but he seemed genuine and knowledgeable!
In what is already a pretty crowded market of milking a captive market, the fuel prices at Heston always seem to be even more eye-wateringly pricey than anywhere else. It's usually a case of 'can I make it to the next petrol station on fumes rather than fork out the small fortune needed to move the needle off the end stop at Heston?' And yes - the further away from West London you go, the better things become. Trufact.
i love watching youre channel mate.
as a uk truck driver the worst thing about our services is the over powering smell of piss"sorry i ment urine". you will find this for you're self if you take a walk around the lorry parking.
i have witnessed drivers who can't be bothered to go into the building at night and just open the door.
keep sending the great vids
If they didn't put the lorry parking so far from that facilities, some are one hell of a walk!!!
Planners should at least plant some lemon trees...... 🌳
Piss jugs needed.
The southbound stretch on the M5 between Gordano and Sedgemoor Services is notorious for jams and slow moving traffic. x20 at weekends. The place is a nightmare.
All the Cornwall incomers. Ghastly
Having done every motorway service area in England, Scotland & Wales, i am quite enjoying revisiting them with you.
Nice... it's not just me.. you must know Rich aka the services king?
I've done it all through work over 20 years, so i have visited them to use them. I've seen the new ones pop up & aftermath of some of them after they burnt down.
I've not got up to date on all your videos though as I'm fairly new to the channel.
Most are dreadful places, there because you need a piss.
Yes, indeed, there was a station at Cullompton, and where you filmed the train going past, you were standing where one of the platforms was!
Great last couple of videos guys! Really enjoying the series and I know for a fact if we stopped at the service station where the railways then my wee lad would be out watching the trains.
We're finding our way slowly but it's coming together nicely now, thanks for watching and hope you enjoy the rest of the series! Scotland episode coming soon ;)
Great video! Have you covered the M53 yet? My grandad was involved with it’s construction as he was a Civil Engineer with McAlpines. There’s a funny ditty about a scorned employee stealing a bulldozer and running amock at Woodchurch during construction.
Having travelled the UK motorway network quite extensively over the last 30 odd years, excluding the far north and Scotland, I can catagorically say that the worst services are, Frankley near J3 on the M5 nr Brum. They are apalling, both north and south bound.
They are not that bad ! The Northbound has nice views over Worcestershire. Mind you, the car park on the Southbound is bad and entering and leaving the car park is badly designed. The road from the petrol station is not well merged with the way out of the services under the bridge
I like Frankley northbound, I often stop for a kip there, backed against the fence away from everyone before I have to face the crap which is the M5 / M6 junction.
@@malcolmcog True about the car park southbound. The gaps are not big to get in and out, and with the kerbstones being very high you have to watch it cos you cant see them in your side mirrors, they are too low down but big enough to cause damage.
Apparently, Exeter services is used as an example to fledgling motorway planners of how NOT to design motorway services. As you noted, 8 traffic lights, and 2 roundabouts (?). The complicating factor here is that motorway traffic and domestic traffic become mixed which does lead to frustration at times, especially during the summer holidays. I live in Exeter and it definitely is a pain in the a*** with peak holiday season traffic.
I can vouch for that, I deliver nationwide with work, Monday night I’ll be staying at the travel lodge there (about my 10th time)
The big roundabout next to it is an absolute Fkin nightmare if you’re unfamiliar with the exists. I think there’s 8 exits and 4 lanes around it
We've just come back from a holiday in Cornwall and when we were planning our stops, we eliminated Exeter because of how the junction looked on the map.
@@chriswilson1853 Don’t blame you mate, as you go around it you hear constant beeps where folk are obviously in the wrong lanes. They’re not clear and the other drivers are ruthless 😂
Exeter Services isn't the worst! Particularly bad service areas are Burtonwood on the M62, Bolton West on the M61, Bridgewater on the M5, Sarn Park on the M4 and Trowell on the M1
@@jasonwilletts559 yep both M61 services are cr4p
I have discovered that if you drive through initial parking chaos at Bridgewater there is a ramp to a lower level which always seems to be nearly empty so parking is easy and no problem with trying to leave the space into a queue of cars.
There's also a massive outdoor carpark which is shared with the commercial parking and saves queueing for the silly multistorey.
Loved this … and next episode coming looks to be a doozie! As a ‘boy’ I regularly travelled the M4 from London to Newport and onwards to the valleys (I was courting a young lady just across the Severn Bridge and family came/lived in the valleys) … used all those services - chieveley services being the first ones after the M25 at the time … nearly always stopped off for a wee there! Also nearby was the house my dad was evacuated to during WW2 after the roof got blown off their London house in the later stages of the war … it’s still there today, not that I’ve been there since the early 90s (thank goodness for google street view!)
Enjoying your work / keep them coming (liked the Geoff Marshall reference … hoping for a reciprocal shout out?)👍
You seemed to miss Tiverton Services at junction 27 on the M5. I never liked Bridgwater services, the car parking struck me as very confusing. Thanks for your vlog.
This is such a British thing to do, it's great :)
Regarding car spotting at services, I remember last time I was at Chievley in September last year, there was a young woman with a Black 1987 Fiat X19.
Had to google it... not something you see often if ever!
I've never been to hell. But I have been to Bridgwater services on the first Saturday of the summer holidays when everyone's heading to Cornwall. I imagine the two are quite close in ambience.
I once came out of Taunton Deane northbound to find my car in the process of being broken into by a couple of blokes. Fun times.
The first video of yours I saw, when it was new.
Proud of what you've achieved.
Cheers mate, thanks for watching!
Hi chaps, I've just subscribed.... loving the service stations tour😅.... keep up the good work...
Leigh Delamere, westbound at least, has the worst car park. If you drive too far towards the entrance to the building and all the spaces there are full, it's not possible to go back again. We had to park the car in the HGV area.
Having (unfortunately) had to use the South Mimms service station rather a lot over the years, I must say that I am astonished to learn that it is not the worst services... by far.
Access is terribly signposted, parking is chaotic, egress is, if possible, even worse than access. And then you have the services themselves, which habitually smell of urine, toilet access, last time I tried, was not even in the main building. The services were dirty, smelly and so disgusting that, if we hadn't had a teen desperate for the toilets, we'd have gone on to the next services.
That was my last visit, but the access/egrees has always been terrible and the dirt issue has been there for at least 27 years, as it was an issue before I left the UK.
South Mimms; memorably bad services.
I like yourself was also surprised that south Mimms hasn’t been voted the worst services by a long way, I would rather find a industrial estate or even a lay-by to sleep in and then source a shower elsewhere in the morning than spend a night in south Mimms. It’s a dirty rat infested sh#t hole
I went there one time in 2002 as far as I can remember. I think I had something to eat there but I do remember it being incredibly busy then-and no doubt it is now too! I know just what you mean in your comments for sure, and boy is that so not nice of course too!
And God awful too really now then by the sounds of it-alas so too of course really!
My abiding memory of visiting South Mimms services, many years ago, was the huge amount of shit that someone had not been able to get into a toilet, preferring to shotblast the floor and wall with squirty dirt instead. Utterly disgusting, but also a point of great hilarity for me and my friends.
@@brianartillery Sounds revolting of course, but I know what you mean there too!
As a West Country local, Gordano Services is pronounced "Gore-Day-No" rather than "Gore-Dahn-No". Also, to be picky, Leigh Delamere is "Leigh Deh-Lah-Mear" (with the stress on the R!). 🙂
It's almost as bad as if an American had made the video.
The heat must've got to him and he thought he was on a French motorway.
Thanks, as someone living in the Gordano valley I was looking for this comment! Fun fact: Gordano means spear(head) valley in Saxon and as you drive on the split level area of the M5 through the valley, you can see it actually comes to a point at Clevedon.
@@davidshipp623 I can't drive on the split level section (southbound). It frightens me to death! 🙂
No it;'s not, everyone I know around Portishead calls it Gore-dah-no.
No one there or in Bristol calls it Gore-day-no, never even heard anyone say that Americanised word.
*dry sarcasm "we're all about positivity on this channel" 😂😂
Excellent video - I think the m4 has had junctions closed / lanes shut / average speed cameras along it for years - it’s so tedious!
Missed off Tiverton Services too!
Hello chaps I enjoyed the motorway services list Heston down to Exeter. 2 of the services on the m5 are going to close due to houses being built on both sites. Cullompton and the aforementioned Exeter service. There are plans to build another one in betweentaunton Deane and the end of the m5 in Devon.
Thanks for watching. Great info.. with that and the new solihull services we'll be able to film a new episode!
Didn't know this....can't find any information either. Where did you hear this mate?
Had a good look at Taunton Dene yesterday. Had to stop for an hour cos it taken me 2 hours to drive the 60 odd miles north from Hartland in Devon. Then it took another 2 hours to get from Taunton to Bristol! Nightmare!
Seems a bit late now .But as you leave Heston Eastbound service you'd have seen an Automania (when I worked there )Garage /shed which was also part of the airfield former buildings . Corrugated roof rattled in the wind and a "caretaker" told us RAF blah blah old .And welcome the Saab
Gordano services are fine, it’s the roundabout traffic lights that are the issue. In busy periods it can take over an hour to leave the services.
Leigh Delamare, and you didn't mention wild bunnies on the lawn, overlooked by the restaurant. (Still, it is thirty years since I used to call in there, so perhaps it's all changed now.)
If you liked Taunton Deane southbound services, then be aware that the north side is a tip !
The problem with Bridgwater services is that its only one side of the motorway and is signposted for north and south bound traffic (similar to Cullompton but that is only signposted North Bound on M5 so missing a lot of south bound traffic unless you know about it) Also Bridgwater I believe has the only Multi- storey car park in the Motorway network. This means that when all the holiday traffic comes off the motorway during busy times both North and South bound have to converge on a main roundabout which also has the main A38 into Bridgwater . When busy it can take you 30 mins just to get in to the Motorway services only to find out that if you have a roof top box or bike on your car roof, you cant use the multi-storey and their are only a few spaces outside the multi-storey carpark. So most people end up driving straight out again, and there has been talk of building a bigger south bound service station for over 10 years. but nothing so far.
Another oddity is Tiverton Services on the M5 J27 between Taunton and Cullompton.
I gotta admit ,your service stations are massive compared to the ones we have in Canada. On your videos I often see clothing stores ,multiple restaurants, Wh Smiths and lots of enclosed areas. Over here ,ours tend to have a gas station with a variety store, usually a McDonald's, bathrooms and a lot of outdoor picnic areas which are usually closed 5-6 months of the year. Never seen one with a book or clothing store . And acess to local roads is ALWAYS blocked .
Notice the escalators as well ? Never seen a service station in Canada with those ? British ones look more like a mini mall.
14:00 "If you're Geoff Marshall, this is probably the service station for you. You can sit on the picnic bench over there and watch the trains go by." - We need a photo of Geoff Marshall sitting on that picnic bench!
Bucket of grease and a load of crap! Overpriced, demoralising, insulting, disrespectful, horrid places. My vision of Hell. Delightful presentation thanks xxx
Could we get a Scottish special: All the Caledonian McBrayne ports? Super, super scenic stuff
It's lovely up there for sure. I'm not much of a "boat guy" but we intend to explore more of Scotland.
I’d be more impressed if they endured 180 miles in a Morris Marina
You missed the fact that at one stage the westbound Leigh Delamare had the largest filling station in the UK. Gordano is poor, not helped by the access being really poor to and from the roundabout on the M5 - sometimes you queue for about 20 minutes to escape
I've been living abroad for 8 years now and when I visited the UK earlier this year I was amazed by the awfulness of the service stations. Nothing edible or drinkable anywhere. Quick stop for a pee in a mucky lav and on with the journey. Divert into a town to get something edible and hopefully a drinkable coffee.
I'm so happy that you said this before me, now I can have a rant.
Why are all the services in the UK based around McShite, StarSucks,Burgers,KFC, Costa and not much else.
Its shameful.
Cross the channel, services have real chefs, cooking real food where you sit at a table with a knife and fork and a glass of wine ... yes really.
The toilets have a cleaner, full time.
You can park in the services car park over night if you wish ... free of charge.
UK services really are terrible.
I’ve been to Bridgwater services before. I remember the car park being weird, as it’s a small multi-storey thing, and I don’t recall much from the services. Personally the worst one I’ve been to was Washington service station. The whole site was tiny and it looked like they hadn’t upgraded anything since it originally opened (excluding the fast food outlets)!
You are not the first in the comments to mention Washington. Us truck drivers really do see the worst things using these services.
Due to the size of the junction for Cullompton they were only allowed to advertise it on the Northbound side
Hi there. New subscriber here from Denmark. Stumbled upon your channel. Did you forget Gloucester Services on the M5? It's run by the same people, who run Tebay on the M6, as someone else mentioned in the comments.
No sir, we did indeed visit!
@@AutoShenanigans Aye you did. Sorry it was me jumping the gun. In this episode you took M4 and then M5 southwards. I didn't realise until episode 5, where you went north on the M5, and of course visited Gloucester service then. Great series by the way, I especially enjoyed episode 10 - Scotland. My second homeland 😉Hopefully I will be there in a short while.😁
Bridgwater is so far from the motorway it may as well be ignored. You don’t make that mistake twice.
Half a mile. Lazy fool
Is Heston Services the place that HMS Belfast's guns are aimed at? The ship's main guns could definitely improve the site.
You're thinking of London gateway services aka scratchwood :)
Heston service station still has one very small hangar. I've seen images of it but I'm not sure exactly where it is.
I had the misfortune of visiting Bridgewater a couple of years ago. We had been sat in traffic at the height of summer, with the caravan on the back of the car, and simply HAD to have a piss... so we entered and immediately regretted it. It resembles an abandoned 1960's concrete bus station that's been inhabited by a post-apocalyptic race of zombie-like Bermuda-short-wearing city-types, sealed off from civilisation and left to rot for a few decades. It stank of sun-baked piss and diesel, there was litter everywhere, dirty nappies, seagulls picking in the piles of discarded fast food. You get the picture. There was barely room within it's concrete walls to manoeuvre a Fiat 500, let alone a Car and Caravan rig. We vowed never again, and will forever be the single WORST service station on the map. For your own sanity, hold it in for 20 more miles either way!
Just going back through your back catalogue of vids
I guess this is where the new format started out and having watched some of your more recent videos I can see a noticeable improvement from the beginnings (so all good 👍)
It must have been a boring journey as it looks like you’ve been doodling on your mates arm throughout the trip 😂
Small bit of info. Exeter has the highest concentration of traffic lights for its size in the whole country.
What about Bell End Service station near Bromsgrove?
Fact #1088: In the 80s Leigh Delamere had the largest fuel filling station in the UK. Was in the Guinness book of records. 🫡
Cullumpton services is signposted but northbound only. Soundbound, there is a sign saying the next services is 11 miles away just before J28 - almost like they're trying to put you off going in there.
It's an odd one....
Cullompton is signed North but not south and isn't on Google maps. It used to be safe to park on there as there was no anpr but they've fitted then now. I'd say this is a pretty bad service area myself, probably the worst, although strangely one of my favourites.
The David Fisher mural is over on the East Bound side.
Looked like you were on the Chiswick flyover early on. It was opened by none other than Jayne Mansfield. Driven over it many a time.
Interesting vids. You could do old railway stations/ sites. That would take some time. Lol.
You should check out Paul and Rebecca Whitewick’s channel then!
Haven't been to the UK for years (ok decades) and l seem to remember a few of those service stations on the motorways actually had enclosed walkways over the motorway to the station on the other side of the motorway. Are those still around or am ĺ hallucinating again ?
Thank you !
Some still exist. The service stations have generally improved but still 'lack'.
@@Richard-fv7rq ok, sweet. My dementia isn't that bad then .I didn't imagine it!!!
There are some original airport buildings left in Heston services
You missed out eastbound for Leigh delamere!
Rookie error of doing the M5 in summer, it starts to rival the M25 in car park status. I think the reason why Gordano services is so hated is the mood people arrive at it in after being stuck for hours on the M5. 😂
Yep that sounds about right. Lesson learned this year and I've avoided the M5!
Wrong! Go at peak holiday times and the M5 south of Bristol is far worse than the M25. Holiday makers from London and Birmingham merging at the M4 junction equals gridlock. You have be careful when you travel, then it's all right.
There is another service station between Taunton Deane and cullompton called willand services
Must have visited most of our service stations when my job took me on the road. I judge them by the ones I avoid. South Mimms has to be the worst, as it’s a nightmare to get into and out of, the car park is shocking and it’s always really busy. I think I’d rather run out of fuel and go hungry than stop at that toilet.
So you stopped at 10/11 services, how much did you spend £££££??
Rivington services on the M61 have got to be the UK's worst services
‘We’ve stopped, we’ve stopped.:: what’s this guy doing? I dunno’
Slice of British life right there
Aww.. you look a lovely couple!
Excellento!
Cullompton Services is officially a northbound only services which is why it is not signposted southbound - in some surveys this is voted as the worst services although as you have found out this accolade seemed to be hotly contested!
What's up with Sedgemoor when Southbound is operated by RoadChef byt northbound is Operated by Welcome Break. Anyone wanna explain
Think it's either just after junction 12 or 13 where the average speed cameras end
Go to bridgewater services on a busy summer holiday day and tell me its not the worst. Takes about an hour to get out.
That was a 924 Porsche I think. So I think you were mistaken with whatever praise you gave it!
And are you sure it was a Mustang and not a Capri?
Where's the protective head gear John ?
NEW Welcome Break services is opening up in March 2023 at Fernwood near Balderton, Newark-on-Trent.
Good to know. thanks!
Did you notice the old BK drive thru at leigh Delamere?
You don’t provide any information on the facilities at each service station or many comments about their quality or cost, so what’s the point?
The problem is.... They've all got toilets. They've all got hotels. They're all expensive. Other than Tebay and Gloucester, it's fast food or mainly unhealthy eating options. They're all so similar you can't really draw any meaningful comparison.
@@AutoShenanigans The level of cleanliness may vary. They are run by people, so standards are likely to differ. If you aren’t able to distinguish between them, then what is there to learn from your videos? It you can’t distinguish between them, then it would be more helpful to know if there is a better option within say a few minutes drive of a motorway junction. There used to be a website which provided that information.
Can you do Northern Ireland as well cause I think there’s some there
Can't believe you missed out the Gloucester services.
Episode 5 my friend.. ;-) ruclips.net/video/Xp9Hr7GvtPA/видео.html
Warwick north or south bound services must be in the top 5 for being poor or is that bottom 5? Well done on the 100,000 subs guys
There's the service station on the M4, either Chievely or Membury, I can't remember which but it always seems to smell strongly of pig poo, even in the indoor areas.
"That's a massive Bee!" - not kidding 😅
your mate has some very esoteric tattoos
Bridgwater services is adequate when it is quiet...
If it's a busy time of day and your child announces they need the toilet desparately it is hell.
Fighting local rush hour traffic which shares the roundabouts, small spaces in a multistory which people with limited driving ability struggle to get in, trying to avoid getting hit by cars walking from the car park to the building and squeezing past all of the clutter Moto has squeezed into an already small services and past people to get to the toilet..
Save your sanity, and drive on to the next services, it will be quicker
You miss the Secret service station at Tiverton services on the M5 at J27. Location of Moto services at Sampford Peverell, Tiverton services history, Tiverton services reviews ...
Yep, so secret I had no idea. That said, I don't think it's signed from the motorway
@@AutoShenanigans this one isn't as never been signpost on M5 as was only for A38 traffic.
Can you do an episode on those unusual tattoos?
Happy waving arm flailing inflatable tube man. :-)
Maidstone toilets are a complete errrr toilet.
If you want a ghastly service station, try Keele. The toilet in the northbound petrol station shop is usually spattered with shit and piss. Told the assistant once about it and the response was on the lines of "ok". Totally disinterested. Horrible place.
Are they off to model male bras?
The best services is Road Chef - Leeds, Skelton Lake, and the worst is Moto Kinross.
Kinross is bloody awful! The best is Tebay on M6 without a doubt. They run Gloucester as well which is also good. I like a farm shop in my service stations. 😃
@@iainhay2823 - Tebay and the other farm shop ones are ok, but they are totally exorbitant- even more so than average brand services
@@MrR6pilot toasted sarnie I had in Gloucester the other day with a coffee was about the same price as a BK and loads better. Toilets were immaculate as well. I agree some of their stuff is not cheap though