Alternatives to Motorway service stations

flask, homemade sarnies, a few pasties and some nuts. Done. (Done with Motorway caf's), although I did once meet Richard Keys at one of the service stations, so it's sometimes an opportunity for meeting strangers who can be nice, not forgetting the chance to relieve yourself which is maybe the main object of the exercise for the service station.
 
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Morrisons at Boroughbridge, has a petrol station, cafe and toilets.

Further south their is also a Morrisons just off junction 1 of the M18, also a McDonald’s over the road from it.

I use those 2 quite abit.
 
Services in this country are embarrassing. Coming back from Devon last weekend I used Google maps to find an alternative near Stroud. Found a lovely cafe 2 mins off the motorway.

Why are they so bad? The new one near Leeds is ok but generally they are dirty, over priced and serve terrible food.
Gloucester services are pretty good only a couple of miles up the road not your traditional services lots of local produce etc
 
I use the services a lot as 5 hours each way for a home game doesn't make me fancy having to drive off the beaten track. It's amazing how much difference there is from 1 services to another though. Could turn this a bit Partridge What's your favourite and least favourite services?? Used to like Keele especially when it used to have a Papa Johns. Least favourite Tamworth some knob in a BMW cut across me going into the services and smashed the front end of the car in and never made it to the match. I managed to limp into the services had to wait 5 hours for recovery and then to add insult to injury two weeks later got a parking ticket through for overstaying the 2 hour limit. Moral of the story never use TAMWORTH SERVICES!!
 
Anyone travelling south off the A1, and tempted to stop at Peterborough Services, if you turn left not right off the motorway then there’s a massive retail park with a Tesco about half a mile away.

It’s where I do my shopping. No riff raff there.
 
Holy grail for me when the kids were younger was finding a village just off the motorway with a cafe/pub AND a children's playground. Kept the wife and kids happy which did for me. Thinking of away days from Boro, there are some good choices on the way to Norwich as well as near Rugby off the M1. Oxfordshire also glorious.
 
Someone researched and published a pamphlet in the late 90s about alternatives to motorway services. I used to have a copy that is obviously now well out of date. But the author sent me it to aid football fans travelling to away games. Basically they researched food and petrol outlets within 4 or 5 miles radius of motorway junctions. In each case the fuel, food and drink was much cheaper than services rates. They even looked at fast food outlets and compared town centre/retail park with services to reveal the premium being paid for the convenience of a motorway stop.
Obviously it gets more difficult on an evening and oil companies are sometimes wise to pricing near to motorways, But even so the pamphlet showed you could make a considerbale saving by exiting at junctions rather than taking services stops.
It would be really interesting to see an updated survey.
Long long time since I've heard the word, pamphlet
 
For those travelling from the South and South West and who are NT members I would recommend Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire - its about 1.5 miles off the M1. The cooked breakfasts were top class for about £10 (might be a bit more now) - main meal of the day. Really classy venue, can eat inside or outside, usually no queues at 10am as the property has just opened and the main car park is near the refectory. Toilets excellent. No longer NT member. Sometimes an Art Fund card gets you free into a NT property - its £97 for a couple.
 
For those travelling from the South and South West and who are NT members I would recommend Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire - its about 1.5 miles off the M1. The cooked breakfasts were top class for about £10 (might be a bit more now) - main meal of the day. Really classy venue, can eat inside or outside, usually no queues at 10am as the property has just opened and the main car park is near the refectory. Toilets excellent. No longer NT member. Sometimes an Art Fund card gets you free into a NT property - its £97 for a couple.

Hardwick Inn is on the same road maybe a mile before the Hall and obv doesn't need NT membership. Stopped off a couple of times there and always found it good.
 
Ok when you say the best fish and chips you'll ever have I have to say there's a pretty high bar. I will try them and give our opinion in a couple of weeks
 
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