The Highways Agency has just published a report into the provision of motorway service facilities in the UK, and it’s worth reading if you’ve got a bit of time to spare. I was, however, much amused by these paragraphs in the National Report PDF:
There is no official database of MSAs available therefore it was necessary to perform a desktop study in order to identify the locations of such sites on the Motorway Network.
The desktop study used online aerial mapping sources to identify the locations of service areas on the Motorway Network. The information was then cross-referenced with conventional mapping to establish the names of the MSAs. Thus a comprehensive list of MSAs in England has been produced. As an additional check, information was cross-referenced with unofficial internet based guides to MSAs – motorwayservices.info and motorwayservicesonline.co.uk.
It’s nice to know that we’re providing a useful service to the Highways Agency!
This was one of the comments waiting to be checked this morning:
Why don’t you put a note on your site referring drivers who are being ripped off by Private Parking Companies that they may wish to visit moneysavingexpert.com or pepipoo.com for advice before making their payments. Or are you, as I suspect, less ‘independent’ and less driver/customer orientated than you let on.
Apart from the unjustified paranoia (the fact that we don’t link to your favourite websites doesn’t mean that this site is any less independent), there’s a fair point there. The penalty charges incurred for overstaying your welcome at MSAs are, in many cases, probably unenforceable. So, for those who wojuld like to read more on the subject, then I would recommend this page:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets
What I wouldn’t recommend, though, is taking advice from unqualified conributors to various website forums. In particular, the other website mentioned above - pepipoo.com - is one that I’d avise you to steer well clear of. Although it does contain a lot of good, accurate advice, there’s also a vast amount of dross posted in the forums by well-meaning but ignorant bar-room lawyers. Unless you’re capable of telling the difference between the good advice and the rubbish, then don’t go there - and if you can tell the difference, then you probably don’t need to!
If you’re looking a for a forum in whch to discus legal matters (including parking, clamping, etc), then my suggestion would be to forget the web and go to Usenet instead. The uk.legal.moderated newsgroup has a high proportion of intelligent, informed contributors and you’re far more ikely to get good advice there than on any web-based forum.
I’ve taken advantage of some spare time over the holiday period to add the ability to view larger versions of the photos on the site. This only works for ones submitted in the last year or so, as before that I didn’t keep a copy of the original photo submission due to space constraints. But, for those where I do have a copy of the full-size original, it’s now linked from the standard images under the “Photos” tab - if the icon changes to the “link finger” when you mouse over an image on the Photos tab, then it’s clickable and the link will show the large image.
For an example, go to the Photos tab for Beaconsfield services and you’ll see that all the images are clickable and lead to the larger version.
As mentioned in the previous blog post, Watford Gap services is 50 years old today. Opened on the same day as the M1 itself, it’s the first and oldest MSA in the UK. Read the rest of this entry »
For those who may not be aware of the fact, the M1 opened exactly 50 years ago today. And, with it, the first motorway service area, Watford Gap.
There are celebrations taking place today at Watford Gap to mark the occasion, so if you’re passing by then make sure you drop in. A full report will be posted here later today.
Yes, that’s right, you can now follow MotorwayServices.info on Twitter. Whenever someone posts a new comment here on the site we’ll tweet about it, so you can easily keep up to date with what people are saying.
Some of the most common criticisms I’ve received about MotorwayServices.info have been about the hotel links and information. Specifically, there were two main points that have been made the most often:
- Although each area page lists the on-site hotel where there is one (and we know about it), there’s no clickable link directly to it. Instead, users have to follow the general “hotels” link and then try to find the one that’s located at the MSA. And, often, it’s not listed on that page at all.
- Many of the prices shown in the hotels list turned out to be unavailable when actually trying to book a room.
The main reason for both of these problems was essentially the same. Firstly, the data feed on which the hotel lists are based didn’t include Travelodge, which is the most common operator of hotels at MSAs. And, secondly, the data feed wasn’t being updated often enough, meaning that prices were often several months out of date.
The solution to that is twofold. Firstly, and fairly obviously, I’ve now set up an automated system to update the primary data feed on a weekly basis, meaning that prices displayed here will never be more than a few days out of date. I should really have done that a long time ago; it was just a lack of round tuits that stopped it.
Secondly, I’ve now managed to get a data feed for Travelodge, something which had previously evaded me! That, in turn, has made it practical to include direct links from each area page to the appropriate hotel where the data is available. That covers the majority of sites where the hotel operator is either Travelodge or Days Inn, and some of the sites where the operator is Premier Inn. I don’t have a full feed yet for Premier Inn, but that’s something I’m hoping to add in the near future if at all possible. However, it’s less essential as they’re only the third most common hotel operator at MSAs.
The separate hotels list still exists, as I know many people prefer to use other hotels near to MSAs rather than the on-site hotel, so the list and the advanced search facility makes that possible. But I hope the changes will help those of you who simply want an overnight stop at the most convenient location and also want the most convenient way of booking it.
…is, according to The Times, Motorway Service Stations.
You pop in to go to the toilet and five minutes later you’ve bought a full-English breakfast for £18.99 and joined the AA.
I have no idea what relevence this is to football, unless it’s a sideways look at the life of a supporter. I suppose if you travel to a lot of away games, you’re going to see the inside of plenty of MSAs in the course of a season.
Browsing the BBC news website during my lunch break, I came across this amusing tale of a course designed to increase our appreciation of motorways and motorway service stations. As the introduction to the piece puts it:
There’s more to motorways than tarmac, tailbacks and tepid coffee served at tourist prices. To prove it a lecturer took a minibus of students on a day-long tour of the M1.
Many people suppress feelings of mild dread at the idea of spending any time at all on the motorway. Few struggle with secret yearnings for the over-lit service stations areas that dot their routes.
This is all the brainchild of Peter Lawrence who, apparently, has a PhD in motorway services. Much as I approve of his dedication (and wonder why he’s never contributed to motorwayservices.info), I can’t help thinking that there can’t be that much original research you can do about MSAs. I’d love to read a copy of his thesis.
In an idle moment last night, I added a basic stats page to the main site, showing which sites get the most and fewest comments. It’s probably no surprise that Bolton West has had more comments so far than any other site, as it’s not only located on a very busy motorway but also has the largest number of negative comments - people seem more likely to comment when they’re complaining rather than praising!
However, at the other end of the scale, there are five sites which, at the time I write this, have had no comments at all either negative or positive. These are:
Of these, I’m less surprised about the first three. They’re all relatively recent additions to the database, and the Derby South services aren’t even real MSAs - they’re MSA-like services on the A50. But the lack of comments on the other two does surprise me. They’ve been listed on the site since I created it, and they’re both on major motorways (the M1 and M6 respectively). London Gateway is possibly a special case since it’s actually fairly small, and doesn’t get as much traffic as its seemingly prime location would suggest - it’s so close to the end of the M1 that a lot of potential customers prefer to use off-motorway facilities either before joining the motorway or after they leave it.
But what about Burton-in-Kendal? It’s on a busy motorway, there aren’t many off-motorway options nearby and it’s the northbound twin of the popular Killington Lake. It’s also in between Lancaster and Tebay Northbound, both of which also have a fair number of comments. I’d expect Burton-in-Kendal to have at least some comments here as well, therefore. But no - it has remained resolutely uncommented on since the site was created.
Is that because no-one uses it? Do you all stop at Lancaster, or continue to Tebay instead? Or is it simply so bland and uninteresting that no-one who does use it thinks it’s worth commenting on?
Whatever the reason, it would be nice to fill in the gaps and get at least one comment (and, ideally, at least one photo) for each MSA listed here. So if you happen to be passing Derby South Westbound, Tiverton, Caerphilly, London Gateway or Burton-in-Kendal, why not drop in and let us know what you find. But especially Burton-in-Kendal. I want to know why it’s so unpopular with readers of this site.
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