When I was 10, the best part of my summer holidays was going to work with my dad, a lorry driver. For a couple of years in the mid-2000s, I’d excitedly climb into the cab beside him and we’d set off on a 10-hour trip. My job was to follow the AA Road Atlas, and I’d happily track the services marked on the map as we rumbled along. My dad thought stopping was a waste of time, but his designated rest stops were my favourite part of the trip. Depending on the journey, we might stop for two or three meals. I always hoped at least one would be at a Little Chef. I loved their Olympic Breakfast, a huge full English, and every meal ended with a lollipop – what more could a 10-year-old want?
As I got older, motorway services kept their magic. In 2012, when I was 14, I found the website motorwayservices.uk, which reviewed many major service stations. Whenever my family visited one, I’d take photos and contribute to the site. I learned to drive as soon as I turned 17 and bought myself a two-door Smart car, which I still drive today. After I passed my test, I’d drive out to services near my home in Bristol.
In my view, the services are the destination, not just part of the journey.
After leaving school, I got a job as a bus driver, but I soon realised that while I loved the driving, there wasn’t enough time for stopping. I kept visiting as many services as I could on my days off, just as a hobby, but soon I decided to try to make this my job. I left the bus company and started posting more reviews to the site and my own social media channels under the name The Services King. Now it’s my full-time job. Alongside reviews, I write articles for industry publications and do sponsored posts on social media.
I love the history connected to service stations, how they chart the growth of Britain’s road network and our changing tastes in food. In my view, the services are the destination, not just part of the journey. There’s an underlying sense of occasion connected to them.
I hit the milestone of visiting every one of the UK’s 97 motorway service stations in 2019. I revisit them all periodically to review and post updates on their facilities, as well as visiting smaller rest stops on A roads. I work away from home four days a week and can visit up to five service stations a day, although I don’t always stop for something to eat and drink. I see what’s new since my last visit and photograph the facilities so drivers can plan their stops.
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‘I can visit up to five service stations a day.’ Photograph: Gareth Iwan Jones/The Guardian
I like to include a bit of history or trivia about each service station. My most popular posts are usually new site openings, and my followers come from all walks of life, but lots are industry professionals.
My dad struggles to understand my obsession. Sometimes people don’t believe me when I tell them what I do for a living, but it’s always a conversation starter. Everyone has something to say about services. I think of them as one of life’s great levellers; no matter who you are, or where you’re from, everybody has the shared experience of visiting one.
There are a few key factors that make an exemplary service station; bonus points if it has a notable landmark and looks unusual – for instance, the Pennine Tower at Lancaster services on the M6, or a bridge where you can sit and have a coffee watching the cars go by underneath you. Some stations now have lovely outdoor features; Rugby services has gardens and a fountain. Most people prefer it if they’re easy to get to – straight off the motorway is better than having to come off at a junction and navigate roundabouts.
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The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, deliDelivered to your inbox every weekend. Enter your email to sign up. After newsletter promotion. Experience: I brought a bear back to life. Read more. People always ask me what my favorite station is. I don’t have one, but I prefer those with a proper sit-down area to eat a meal and relax. Since so many of them are full of chains these days, independently owned Tebay on the M6 and Gloucester on the M5, which have farm shops and a proper restaurant, are high on my list. I really enjoy my job, but it involves a lot of travel. I can easily cover 25,000 miles in a year. When I take time off, I like to holiday in the UK, so wherever I go, I can’t escape the services. Not that I’d want to. To me, they will always be the best part of any holiday. As told to Heather Main. Do you have an experience to share? Email experience@theguardian.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs Ive Been to Every Motorway Service Station in Britain
Beginner Questions
What exactly counts as a motorway service station
A signed stop on a UK motorway offering fuel food toilets and parking Theyre usually open 24 hours and marked by blue signs before each junction
How many motorway service stations are there in Britain
Roughly 100 across England Scotland and Wales Northern Ireland has none as its main roads arent classified as motorways
How long did it take you to visit them all
About four years of deliberately stopping at every one on trips around the country
Why would anyone want to do this
Curiosity mostly I wanted to see if theyre really all the same Theyre not
Whats the difference between a service station and a services
Nothing services is just the common shorthand as in Leicester Forest East services
Do you have to buy anything to use them
No Parking toilets and walking around are free Some car parks charge for stays over two hours
Intermediate Questions
Which is the best one in Britain
Gloucester Services on the M5 Farm shop proper local food and it doesnt feel like a motorway stop at all
Which is the worst
I wont name names but the grim ones are usually older sites with a single chain restaurant and wornout toilets
Are they all basically the same
No The big chains each have a house style and independents like Tebay and Gloucester are completely different
Whats the food actually like
Mostly fine but overpriced think 812 for a main The better sites have farm shops delis or proper sitdown restaurants
Are they open 24 hours
Almost all are though individual outlets inside often close at night Fuel and toilets stay available
Whats the weirdest thing youve seen
A service station with a fullsize replica of a Roman fort and another with a grass roof and sheep on top
Is it an expensive hobby
It can be A coffee and a sandwich at every stop adds up fast budget 1015 per visit
Advanced Questions
