Derided, over-priced motorway essential maybe, but what is the best services stop?

Research by Northgate Vehicle Hire has revealed the ‘top motorway services in the UK’.

Cobham services on the M25 claims the top spot in the research, achieving a score of 86.6/100.

Top spot

Located at Junction 9/10, Cobham services scores highly for the number of parking spaces (4,620) and choice of food outlets. These include Nando’s, Leon and Starbucks.

Beaconsfield at Junction 42 of the M40 was rated the second highest, with a score of 83.9/100. Its facilities include KFC, El Mexicana, Greggs and Pizza Express and other shops.

However, Beaconsfield lost points on the number of parking spaces it provides, with only three quarters of those at Cobham, with 1,210 spaces.

The midlands services of Peterborough round off the top three, with a score of 72.6. Located on the A1 (M), it has fewer eateries than the top two and only 400 parking spaces.

Cambridge services on the A14 and Strensham on the M5 complete the top five, with scores of 69.5 and 69.4 respectively.

Best motorways for services

The M40 ranked as the best motorway for available service stations. It averages a score of 72.4 points, according to the research.

London’s M25 came fifth, and the motorway that connects London to the north, the M1 came in 13th position. The M23 in Surrey/Sussex only achieved an average score of 33.9.

According to the research, the average rank of all service stations was 55.10. However, the Extra brand of services come out on top with the most consistently high provision. It averages 67.5 across all sites.

Current trends

The research also revealed that 97% of service stations offer EV charging points.

As part of the research, Northgate analysed the facilities of 100 locations across the UK, considering: parking cost, number of parking spaces, electric vehicle (EV) charge points, Wi-Fi, shops, food, showers, hotel and hotel rating, arcade and play area.

See full results of the UK Service Stations Index here.