Man’s two word review after night at worst motorway services in Britain

Hartshead Moor East services on the M62 [1] was dubbed the worst service station in the country for the second time running back in October. Out of the 120 service stations analysed Hartshead Moor East was the least popular motorway services, according to a survey of 30,000 visitors by watchdog Transport Focus. The services, which sits between Bradford [2] and Huddersfield,[3] scored an overall satisfaction rating of 84% – which doesn’t sound too bad – but it means it’s falling far behind its perfect competitors, such as Warwickshire, which scored 100%.

It was the second year in a row [5] that Hartshead Moor East has been ranked the worst in Britain. The Welcome Break-owned site is on the busiest route across the Pennines from Lancashire to Yorkshire. This is inclusive of the UK’s highest motorway section, when the M62 reaches 1,221ft (372m) near Denshaw, Greater Manchester.

With this in mind, local content creator, George Redfern, 21, who focuses on reviewing some of the most infamous and least-loved locations across the UK, spent the night there to see if there has been any improvement. George spent a night at the Days Inn Bradford M62, which set him back GBP46.99 on Friday, May 31, but said he would “never” go back. He documented the whole experience on his YouTube channel.

The clip covers various aspects of the services, including the facilities, cleanliness, customer service, and overall atmosphere. George delves into why Hartshead Moor East has earned its poor reputation and whether it truly deserves the title as the worst service station in the country. Speaking to Yorkshire Live, George said: “As shown in my video the room wasn’t in the best condition.

There were marks on the wall, cobwebs everywhere, white paint splashed on the wooden wardrobe and bathroom floor. “I also found suspected blood on the frame of the bed, which again is shown in the video. The bed sheets were clean thankfully, but the mattress itself had marks on.

Moving on to the Eastbound service station, I found there was not much of a selection in terms of eateries, there are only fast food restaurants. The big issue I had was the variety if I wasn’t feeling fast food I had no other option. “There is no Greggs, no cafe or healthy option in the service station.

I really couldn’t get my head around how many Starbucks stores and stalls are in both the East and Westbound side, I counted ten all together including outside of the service station, inside the service station, inside the petrol station and inside the convenience stores. “For such a small service station do you really need multiple places to buy Starbucks when you have a limited variety of stores!? On a more positive note the toilets have had a massive improvement since the negative reviews about them.

All brand new and refurbished – well done to them on that! “The bridge separating the two services isn’t the best in my opinion. No protection from the rain, no lights to walk across at night and I personally don’t think the barriers are high enough on each side on the bridge.

“Most services have a sheltered bridge to go from either side so you don’t have to get wet or feel unsafe why this one doesn’t I don’t know, but its very disappointing. Once Starbucks and Subway are shut the shutters come down meaning only two tables are available inside to eat food or have a rest. I found so many potholes on the roads at the services and I think they need to fix them up asap as this affects truck drivers massively.”

Asked if he would return to Hartshead Moor East, George said: “Probably not.

If I was heading in that direction I would purposely miss this service station and go to another one.” You can see the full review on YouTube, here [6].

References

^ M62 (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
^ Bradford (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ Huddersfield, (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ I took the kids to notorious party hotspot Magaluf and it was actually idyllic (www.examinerlive.co.uk)
^ the second year in a row (www.leeds-live.co.uk)
^ here (www.youtube.com)