‘I work at the UK’s worst motorway service station – we try our best’
If you were thinking stopping off for a quick bite to eat at Hartshead Moor East services on the way to your next holiday, the reviews aren’t great.
The pit-stop on the M62[1] in West Yorkshire was ranked the worst in Britain for the second year in a row, according to a survey of 30,000 visitors. Its overall satisfaction rating of 84% doesn’t sound that bad – but it’s well behind the perfect 100% given to the top of the stops, Moto on the M6 near Rugby, Warwickshire.
But given it’s only somewhere for weary travellers to grab a meal and stretch their legs, can Hartshead really be so bad? We popped in to find out. Built in the 1970s between Bradford and Huddersfield, the Welcome Break services are definitely not the prettiest around.
Pregnant woman left stranded in horror 12-hour wait for AA after car breaks down on M42[2]
John Morrison said the helpful staff make up for the station’s failings (
Paul David Drabble)
When asked about the services’ embarrassing statue, car park cleaner Janette Maud, 60, giggled and said: “They must have come on a bad day."
But she added: “It’s a lot better than it was, we used to have Portaloos while the toilets were being renovated.” She said the lime green paint in the old loos was not a hit with customers. “Now we’ve got tiles and even a shower in the women’s loo,” she stressed.
Janette concedes it’s hard keeping the car park clean but said: "We do our best – especially when you see the things we have to clean up. Like bottles of urine and poo in the lorry area."
The services sit next to a Days Inn, which offers rooms for as little as £39 a night. M&S manager, James Longley, 32, from Wigan, said: “It is quite small! It’s got food here – that’s all that matters.”
John, pictured with wife Lisa, said he has been to 'worse' service stations than Hartshead Moor ( Paul David Drabble)Lisa Morrison, 50 and her husband John, 56, from Beverley in East Yorkshire, had stopped for a break with their Crestepoo dog Isabella. John, a part-time coach driver, said the helpful staff make up for the station’s failings. He added: “I think this survey is a bit out of order. I’ve been to far more grotty ones and the staff here are so good.” I’d have to agree with the people I spoke to – the staff were great and I’ve stopped off at worse services. But I did have to leg it before I was charged £15 for parking for more than two hours.
Hartshead Moor East was ranked the worst in Britain for the second year in a row. It was the least popular motorway services out of 120 analysed, according to a survey of more than 30,000 visitors by watchdog Transport Focus.
It received an overall satisfaction rating of just 84%. A spokeswoman for Welcome Break said: "We are disappointed to see Hartshead Moor at the bottom of the list but are incredibly proud of the improvements that Welcome Break has made since last year…we expect to see a considerable improvement in scores for Hartshead Moor in next year's survey."
The joint-second worst services were Bridgwater (on the M5 in Somerset), Hartshead Moor West, Lancaster South (on the M6 in Lancashire) and Toddington North and South (both on the M1 in Bedfordshire). They each received a score of 88%. The ranking was topped by Moto's Rugby services on the M6 in Warwickshire for a second consecutive year which scored 100% after being rated highly for its food and drink, toilets and friendly staff.
References
- ^ M62 (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Pregnant woman left stranded in horror 12-hour wait for AA after car breaks down on M42 (www.mirror.co.uk)