Which Magazine
Consumer magazine Which? have so far carried out four nationwide reviews of motorway services: 1986, 1991, 2006 and 2021. They are also understood to have conducted a survey in 2001, and often comment on the prices of food and fuel in services.
2021 Survey
Which? returned with a new survey which was published before the Easter bank holiday, perhaps inspired by the fact Transport Focus wouldn't be doing their annual customer satisfaction survey this year.
Which? only visited 68 of the country's 97 service areas, mostly in England only. In fact they appeared to venture into Scotland purely so they could cross off Cairn Lodge.
Moto gave a robust response to the criticism levelled at Bridgwater, promising immediate improvements. Meanwhile, it's difficult to escape that Westmorland did very well throughout.
The results found a significant variation across the network, which Which? receiving a lot of media coverage for their suggestion that motorists plan their journeys to find a better service area. Caution would be advised as not only were many service areas missing, but many had a very small sample size.
| Ranking | Name | Operator | Range & Quality of Shops/Food Outlets | Prices | Range of Facilities | Cleanliness | Convenience & Accessibility | Ease of Social Distancing | Customer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gloucester | Westmorland | 5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 86% |
| 2 | Tebay | Westmorland | 5/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 83% |
| 3 | Cairn Lodge | Westmorland | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 69% |
| 4 | Norton Canes | Roadchef | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 65% |
| 5 | Wetherby | Moto | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 61% |
| 6 | Annandale Water | Roadchef | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 60% |
| 7 | Donington | Moto | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 60% |
| 8 | Stafford (North) | Moto | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 60% |
| 9 | Beaconsfield | Extra | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 57% |
| 10 | Leigh Delamere | Moto | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 57% |
| 11 | Taunton Deane | Roadchef | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 57% |
| 12 | Warwick | Welcome Break | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 57% |
| 13 | Cherwell Valley | Moto | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 56% |
| 14 | Winchester | Moto | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 56% |
| 15 | Gretna | Welcome Break | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 55% |
| 16 | Oxford | Welcome Break | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 55% |
| 17 | Tibshelf | Roadchef | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 55% |
| 18 | Corley | Welcome Break | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 54% |
| 19 | Hopwood Park | Welcome Break | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 54% |
| 20 | Tamworth | Moto | 2/5 | n/a | 2/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 54% |
| 21 | Telford | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 54% |
| 22 | Woodall | Welcome Break | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 54% |
| 23 | Baldock | Extra | 3/5 | n/a | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | n/a | 53% |
| 24 | Northampton | Roadchef | 3/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 53% |
| 25 | Peterborough | Extra | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 53% |
| 26 | Stafford (South) | Roadchef | n/a | n/a | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 53% |
| 27 | Cobham | Extra | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 52% |
| 28 | Killington Lake | Roadchef | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 52% |
| 29 | Reading | Moto | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 52% |
| 30 | Sedgemoor (North) | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 52% |
| 31 | Sedgemoor (South) | Roadchef | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 52% |
| 32 | Burton-in-Kendal | Moto | n/a | n/a | n/a | 3/5 | 3/5 | n/a | 51% |
| 33 | Chester | Roadchef | n/a | n/a | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | n/a | 51% |
| 34 | Clacket Lane | Roadchef | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 51% |
| 35 | Fleet | Welcome Break | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 51% |
| 36 | Hartshead Moor | Welcome Break | n/a | n/a | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 51% |
| 37 | Michaelwood | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 51% |
| 38 | Strensham | Roadchef | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 51% |
| 39 | Pease Pottage | Moto | 2/5 | n/a | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 50% |
| 40 | Rownhams | Roadchef | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 50% |
| 41 | Abington | Welcome Break | n/a | n/a | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 49% |
| 42 | Chieveley | Moto | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 49% |
| 43 | Exeter | Moto | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 49% |
| 44 | Birch | Moto | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 3/5 | n/a | 48% |
| 45 | Frankley | Moto | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 48% |
| 46 | Knutsford | Moto | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 48% |
| 47 | Membury | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 48% |
| 48 | Toddington | Moto | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 48% |
| 49 | Blyth | Moto | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 47% |
| 50 | Magor | Roadchef | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 47% |
| 51 | Southwaite | Moto | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 47% |
| 52 | Charnock Richard | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 46% |
| 53 | Lancaster | Moto | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 46% |
| 54 | Leicester Forest East | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 46% |
| 55 | Scotch Corner | Moto | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 46% |
| 56 | South Mimms | Welcome Break | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 46% |
| 57 | Trowell | Moto | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 46% |
| 58 | Woolley Edge | Moto | 2/5 | n/a | 1/5 | 2/5 | 4/5 | n/a | 46% |
| 59 | Birchanger Green | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 45% |
| 60 | London Gateway | Welcome Break | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 3/5 | n/a | 45% |
| 61 | Maidstone | Roadchef | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 45% |
| 62 | Watford Gap | Roadchef | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 43% |
| 63 | Hilton Park | Moto | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 42% |
| 64 | Keele | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 42% |
| 65 | Sandbach | Roadchef | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 42% |
| 66 | Newport Pagnell | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 41% |
| 67 | Gordano | Welcome Break | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 40% |
| 68 | Bridgwater | Moto | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 32% |
2006 Survey
The 2006 survey results weren't archived by us, and haven't been found in detail yet.
We do know that the 2006 one graded Cullompton as the worst and Tebay as the best. It also approved of M&S Simply Food, criticised Bothwell and liked Gordano.
1991 Survey
The 1991 report by the Consumer Association severely criticised Farthing Corner, where there was a 20 minute wait for food. Charnock Richard and Strensham also fared badly.
Hartshead Moor was recommended for its "attractive site and pleasant restaurant". Tamworth, South Mimms, Newport Pagnell, Michaelwood and Stirling were all praised.
The detailed analysis was unlikely to have been published.
1986 Survey
The 1986 report by the Consumer Association did not name each individual service area, although it did call out Killington Lake as their favourite, calling it "a pleasant and relaxing stop". They also spoke highly of Keele. Granada were "reliably" good while Trusthouse Forte and Welcome Break had the "best food".
They said things had improved based on their previous experiences, but it was still hit-and-miss.
In addition, they assessed the restaurants as follows:
- The Granary (Trusthouse Forte): 4/5
- Welcome Break: 4/5
- Country Kitchen Restaurant (Granada): 3/5
- Orchards (Roadchef): 3/5
- Blue Boar: 2/5
- Country In (Rank): 1/5
- Kenning: 1/5
There was a follow-up survey in August 1989, which again praised Killington Lake.