Motorway services facts and figures
Arguably every page on this website contains trivia about the UK's motorway service areas. This page summarises the key facts, which may one day come up in an alarmingly niche pub quiz.
If you really want to complete your service station-themed pub quiz, you may also want to take a look at: Service Station Or Cheese?, The Emoji Round and 8 Quiz Questions.
Geography
The most northern: Skiach on the A9, or for motorways only: Kinross on the M90 (debatable), or for English motorways only: Washington on the A1(M)
The most southern: Hayle on the A30, or for motorways only: Exeter on the M5
The most western: Glenshane on Northern Ireland's A6, or for motorways only: Cohannon on Northern Ireland's M1, or for Great Britain only: it's Hayle and Exeter again
The most eastern: Acle on the A47, or for motorways only: Folkestone on the M20
The highest: Abington on the M74 and A74(M), at about 240 metres (800 feet)
The lowest: Acle on the A47, at about 2 metres (6 feet), or for motorways only: Doncaster (North) on the M18 and the M180, at 6 metres (20 feet)
The closest to the meridian line: Cambridge on the A14 is almost on it, or for motorways only: Clacket Lane on the M25
Oldest / Newest
Watford Gap and Newport Pagnell on the M1 both started selling fuel on 2 November 1959. The restaurant at Newport Pagnell opened on 15 August 1960, making it the UK's first motorway restaurant. (full story)
The newest motorway service area is currently Rugby on the M6, which opened on 30 April 2021.
Biggest / Smallest
Cobham on the M25 is believed to be the UK's biggest and busiest service area. (full breakdown)
Old Inns on the M80 is probably the UK's smallest motorway service area. Great Ponton on the A1 might be the smallest place in the UK to get full "Services" signage. In terms of facilities, Leicester Markfield on the A511 has much less to offer, but it still manages to be bigger. (full breakdown)
Longest / Shortest
The longest official name for a service area is "Heart of Scotland (Harthill)" on the M8. Without the brackets, Leicester Forest East and Blackburn with Darwen would be joint longest, but Harthill's brackets are clearly part of its name. Swansea West is longer if you count the full sign including the Welsh translation, but that's very clearly a translation.
The shortest name for an official service area is "Ely" on the A10. For motorways only, there are a number of candidates, including Birch, Blyth and Tebay.
How many service stations are there?
As you might expect, it can get very complicated. Visit the page How Many for a full breakdown.
More Geography
This entries aren't really pub quiz trivia, but fits with our geography theme.
Which service areas were built in an urban area?
Many service areas have been built near settlements which have since grown around them. Newport Pagnell is a good example of that.
Washington was the first service area to be deliberately placed inside an urban area. Bridgwater is a much more recent example, although it's more industrial. There are many examples of A-road service areas that were developed along with the land around them, and a few examples of city centre petrol stations that were questionably chosen to be signed as full A-road service areas, like Shooters Hill in Central London.
A lot of people know that London Gateway and Heston are the only motorway service areas inside the M25. London Gateway is only just within Greater London, while Heston is firmly within both the boundary and the ULEZ zone. There are no motorway service areas within the boundaries of Birmingham or Manchester.
Which service areas are the most remote?
On the motorways, the famous Tebay is probably the winner. For A-roads, it may be Balhaldie on the A9.
Which service areas are in a National Park?
There are no motorway service areas inside a National Park. Tebay West and Killington Lake, the two obvious candidates, have views across the National Park boundary, but aren't inside it.
There are a few A-road service areas within National Parks. These include Petersfield in the South Downs, Rufus Stone and Picket Post in the New Forest and Whitehouse and Peartree Cross in Dartmoor. A few more are just over the border.
Counties Without Services
Historic counties in rural Scotland and Wales have no signposted service areas. Rutland, which usually comes up on lists like this, actually has three A-road service areas within its tiny boundaries.