There is a significant disparity in quality between motorway service stations despite some being just a short distance apart, according to a Which? survey that ranked Gloucester services as the best and Bridgwater services as the worst.
For many, motorway service stations serve as a place to take a break and recharge, but the rankings from the consumer recommendation group, which surveyed users of nearly 100 service stations across Great Britain, highlight the best and worst among them.
The difference in standards is stark, with some stations described as the “perfect place to break up your journey” while others were described as “filthy” and smelly. Gloucester was ranked higher than 89 competitors, receiving five-star ratings in several categories such as shops, food and drink, facilities, cleanliness, convenience and accessibility, and outside space. The M5 service station, owned by Westmorland Family, earned an overall rating of 85%.
Topping the list were Westmorland Family-owned services, with Tebay services in Cumbria finishing second and Cairn Lodge in Lanarkshire finishing fourth. Moto’s Rugby branch, owned by Moto, took third place while Extra’s Leeds Skelton Lake came in fifth.
Moto-owned services featured prominently on the list, with 37 stations spread across the rankings, including nine in the bottom 10. Moto’s Bridgwater station in Somerset ranked last with a customer score of just 23%, rating one-star across all categories. Leeming Ba in North Yorkshire was only slightly above, also scoring one star across the board with a score of 26%.
The rankings were compiled based on experiences from more than 4,000 Which? members after a combined total of 9,000 visits to service stations across Great Britain. The CEO of Moto Hospitality, Ken McMeikan, acknowledged the results, noting that the survey used a smaller pool of respondents compared to a previous study that ranked their stations highly.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/23/gloucester-best-motorway-service-station-great-britain
