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Motorway services

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py_megapixel

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There was a period about 20 years ago ? when the Motorway Service Fuel Prices were displayed on the Blue Motorway Signs advertising them.

I don't think it lasted long because it drew peoples attention to how extortionate the prices were !! Plus the physical intervention required to change them every time the prices went up.
Apparently these days the service providers are banned from advertising on the motorway


These days no physical intervention would be needed as electronic signage could be used
 
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Bletchleyite

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Apparently these days the service providers are banned from advertising on the motorway

Didn't stop them being sneaky to get the brands onto the signs by registering companies like "BK STARBUCKS MOTO LTD" - however this has since been fixed (in places) by changing the signs so they show the site name rather than the operating company.
 

py_megapixel

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Didn't stop them being sneaky to get the brands onto the signs by registering companies like "BK STARBUCKS MOTO LTD" - however this has since been fixed (in places) by changing the signs so they show the site name rather than the operating company.
How long before they start using names like "Moto Lancaster M&S Burger-King Greggs Services" then...
 

37424

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Gone completely now. EuroGarages have purchased the sites (with a view to turning them into Starbucks etc), they did keep the unconverted ones open for a while but have now closed them.
Oh right their website still seems to be active which is why I thought they were still open.
 

py_megapixel

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How do you mean? Unless I'm missing something, the brands available at service stations are advertised quite prominently on the signs now - eg: https://goo.gl/maps/LHjejJSRztUASjGH9
www.moto-way.com/contact-us/

Doesn't stop Moto using it as an excuse for being overpriced:
Why do prices at motorway service areas sometimes seem so high?
...
Regulations mean that we can’t advertise on the motorway, so we have to rely on people simply turning in which affects how much business we get.
 

Bletchleyite

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How do you mean? Unless I'm missing something, the brands available at service stations are advertised quite prominently on the signs now - eg: https://goo.gl/maps/LHjejJSRztUASjGH9

They're allowed those signs just before, yes (I think it's one at one mile and one at 0.5 or something like that). They're not allowed others, which they worked around by creating companies named after the facilities on site which gave rise to these signs. (The intention of the below signs was just to show the operator, i.e. Moto or Welcome Break).

2460991_bbb9374a.jpg

Sign showing "MOTO BK COSTA M&S" etc - from https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2460991

However that type of sign is being replaced with ones that list the site name, I can't find a picture of one but it looks a bit like this (I know the distances are wrong!):

Services
Burton-in-Kendal 20
Lancaster (Forton) 35
Tebay 40

This means they can't use that workaround. That said, as I do like to choose one with my preferred brands (in particular I prefer Costa to Starbucks, and if I want a sandwich I prefer M&S Food but if I want some stuff to cook at home I prefer Waitrose) it would actually be useful if they would allow the brands to be properly shown (in those little squares) on the advance signs.

One thing i've just noticed about those signs is the "m" suffix - almost no British road signs other than those have that, it's usually just a number as we already know it's miles.

The other thing that would be useful to add is "between junction X and Y", or "leave at junction X" for one of the "off motorway" official ones, as sometimes you know the junction you're coming off at but not how far it is. This has caught me out when coming off from the M6 to the M54, as there's a services about one mile after the junction.
 
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py_megapixel

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One thing i've just noticed about those signs is the "m" suffix - almost no British road signs other than those have that, it's usually just a number as we already know it's miles.
Is it possibly meant to represent an estimated time in minutes? Usually motorways are 70mph but allowing for the occasional slowdown on your way and of course driving from the motorway to the service station, the estimated time is likely to be very similar to the mileage
 

Domh245

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Ah yes, I do remember those "MOTO BK COSTA" signs now! Briefly checking on streetview, I've found a few different ones for those advance signs - This one at Watford Gap lists the company (generically), but most do just show the location name. That said, there is an argument that if you've planned your journey, you'd know where there is a costa rather than starbucks, etc, and the sign would just be a prompt. I think a good compromise would probably just be to combine location name and the owning company on the advance signs, ie

Newport Pagnell [Welcome Break logo] 1m
Northampton [Roadchef logo] 12m
Watford Gap [Roadchef logo] 24m

etc
 

Butts

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The last Little Chef closed in October 2018.

Thanks for telling me I hadn't even realised or noticed.

There used to be hundreds of them at one time, on A Roads as well as Motorways.

Weirdly the website still intimates they exist.
 

wireforever

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Little Chef used to be part of Travelodge if my memory is correct or at least many sites had a Travelodge alongside them.Famous for John Major visiting once on a election campaign !More recently subject of a C4 tv programme with Heston B the chef trying to persuade the big bosses to update the brand and food offering he did visit several Little Chefs in a nice BMW M5 though
 

Bletchleyite

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Little Chef used to be part of Travelodge if my memory is correct or at least many sites had a Travelodge alongside them.Famous for John Major visiting once on a election campaign !More recently subject of a C4 tv programme with Heston B the chef trying to persuade the big bosses to update the brand and food offering he did visit several Little Chefs in a nice BMW M5 though

I believe Forte used to own both of them, hence the connection.
 

DavidGrain

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Happy Eater was another roadside restaurant. They became Little Chefs towards the end of the 1990s. It was at that time that I was doing most of my long distance driving and quite a bit was on A roads as well as motorways. Nowadays it seems that most of the A road eateries have the Golden Arches. With the increase in the motorways many transport cafés have gone.
 

Crossover

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Which begs the question: who is paying to host it?

It does, rather. I mean, I have seen live sites for existant companies be in a worse state than the Little Chef one!

None of the social media accounts look to have been shut down either, albeit they haven't seen a post in the better part of 4 years
 

Hadders

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Little Chef used to be part of Travelodge if my memory is correct or at least many sites had a Travelodge alongside them.Famous for John Major visiting once on a election campaign !More recently subject of a C4 tv programme with Heston B the chef trying to persuade the big bosses to update the brand and food offering he did visit several Little Chefs in a nice BMW M5 though

IIRC John Major visited a Happy Eater during the 1992 Election campaign, not a Little Chef.
 

DavidGrain

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Out of interest, I looked at the Little Chef website and looked for a location that I would recognise. I chose Oswestry and had a look at Google maps and found this.
1596877489923.png
However, if you move to a closer view, you will see that the Little Chef sign has been taken down and not replaced. The Burger King restaurant is to the left of the Little Chef. Unless the little Chef has been replaced guests staying at the Travelodge will be restricted to whatever Burger King provide for breakfast. It seem that various vehicles have scored hits on the lampposts.

Oh, by the way, this is just me being pedantic, as there is only one L in Travelodge, it should be pronounced Travel Odge.
 

PeterC

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On the motorway the choice of stops is usually dictated by my bladder.

If I need to stop for a meal I usually plan a detour into a town. The only roadside chain worth stopping at now is OK Diner and they have been careful not to over extend themselves although I do wish that they had taken on one particular ex Little Chef that I usually pass at a meal time.
 

py_megapixel

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I actually stopped at rebuilt Rivington a few days ago and it's, as I expected, lovely - very similar to the more modern European ones.

A particular feature that Europe has that they copied over here is toilets being part of one of the shops, rather than a feature in their own right - in this case, Spar.

As an aside, Belgian, French and German motorway services love brand names for their toilets - for example, "2theloo" - which I've always found a little odd!
 

Gathursty

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At least I can say I've eaten at a Little Chef (Colsterworth near Isaac Newton's farm). Can't believe they have gone.

Recently, I've used Chievely (overnight), Cherwell Valley (daytime), Hopwood Park, Hilton Park and Keele (nighttime).

All had social distancing measures and a one way system, most of the fast food outlets were shut but I only noticed this at the night time ones. Costa was open through the night.

Just an aside, does anyone know why people go to Blithfield Reservoir (Rugeley) in the middle of the night? I would have just stayed in another motorway service station if I'd known it was going to be busy.
 

mmh

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Or do as I do. Ensure you have enough fuel for my journey at least one way before I get to the motorway.

You don't always know how much you need. A few weeks ago I drove a rented Transit about 300 miles. It had three quarters of a tank when I picked it up and over a quarter when I arrived. The next day I drove back, fully laden and stopped to put more in. About 100 miles from home it was at the red line, the engine started sounding different and then it started beeping. I had no sane option other than to divert to the nearest services (which wasn't particularly near)

I wasn't going to fill it up as I had no idea how much it would take, and also wanted to return it with as little as possible as the hire place's rate (£1 a litre) was far less than I could get, or did get. I didn't know quite how thirstier heavily laden vans are!
 

mmh

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Didn't stop them being sneaky to get the brands onto the signs by registering companies like "BK STARBUCKS MOTO LTD" - however this has since been fixed (in places) by changing the signs so they show the site name rather than the operating company.

Services signs usually include a bunch of logos of the outlets there these days, at least on the M6 and M40.
 
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Better than an MSA or supermarket, try a small town close to a motorway junction. On London-Newcastle drives, I would often stop at Wetherby (the town, not the services) and have fish and chips at the Wetherby Whaler. Must be plenty of other such locations, and you will probably be helping local businesses.
 

PeterC

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Better than an MSA or supermarket, try a small town close to a motorway junction. On London-Newcastle drives, I would often stop at Wetherby (the town, not the services) and have fish and chips at the Wetherby Whaler. Must be plenty of other such locations, and you will probably be helping local businesses.
I normally plan a meal break on a long enough journey, preferably off the motorway. MSA stops are for the loo or because I just want a break from driving if conditions are bad.
 

Busaholic

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At least I can say I've eaten at a Little Chef (Colsterworth near Isaac Newton's farm). Can't believe they have gone.

Recently, I've used Chievely (overnight), Cherwell Valley (daytime), Hopwood Park, Hilton Park and Keele (nighttime).

All had social distancing measures and a one way system, most of the fast food outlets were shut but I only noticed this at the night time ones. Costa was open through the night.

Just an aside, does anyone know why people go to Blithfield Reservoir (Rugeley) in the middle of the night? I would have just stayed in another motorway service station if I'd known it was going to be busy.
No personal experience, obviously, but I suspect doglovers might congregate to compare notes, a bit like the Addington Hills just outside Croydon, where myself, sister and two of her friends spent an 'interesting' Saturday night waiting for breakdown services. :lol:
 
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