Service station not far from Glasgow named ‘worst in the UK’

A service station near Glasgow has been named the 'worst in the UK' in a new study of nearly 100 from around the UK. The study by car buying service webuyanycar[1] named Scotland's Bothwell services the UK's worst service station, ranking the lowest out of 95 locations nationwide. The Dream Service Station[2] report evaluated service stations across the UK, with each location receiving a score out of 100 based on the number of food options, facilities, charging points, and Google review ratings, creating a ranking of the best and worst motorway stops.

Bothwell Roadchef, located just outside of Glasgow, scored only 4.8 out of 100, the only service station not to achieve a score of above 5. Bothwell earned its score as a result of a low Google ranking (3.6 stars), with disappointed visitors complaining about the quality and price of the food and beverages served. Additionally, in contrast to more highly rated UK service stations, Bothwell offers only five amenities and limited food and retail options, contributing to its poor performance.

Bothwell was closely followed by Leeming Bar (5.5) and Swansea West (8.2).

At the other end of the table, Strensham Motorway Services, located in Worcestershire, was the highest-ranking service station in the UK, scoring 80.6 out of 100. To find the UK's best and worst service stations, webuyanycar created an index using a combination of data from motorwayservices.uk[3] and from Google reviews. The index included the number of catering options, amenities and charging points, according to motorway services, and the Google review score for each service station.

They ranked each location based on the prevalence of each metric and gave each a score out of 100. The higher the score, the "better" the service station for visitors on road trips. In total, 95 service stations were analysed.

The data on facilities was sourced from Motorway Services Online[4]. Head of technical services at webuyanycar, Richard Evans, said: "While some variation in the quality of service stations is to be expected, the findings do show an inconsistency in UK service stations. For people who travel long distances, it's important to have service stations with good facilities available to them.

"Taking regular breaks on long journeys is crucial for safety and well-being purposes, helping to prevent fatigue and keep drivers focused. Central to this safety approach is having the appropriate rest points where drivers actually want to stop and take a break." Sign up to our daily Glasgow Live newsletter here[5] to receive news and features direct to your inbox

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References

1. ^ webuyanycar (go.skimresources.com)
2. ^ Dream Service Station (go.skimresources.com)
3. ^ motorwayservices.uk (motorwayservices.uk)
4. ^ Motorway Services Online (motorwayservices.uk)
5. ^ newsletter here (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)
6. ^ Glasgow Live's WhatsApp community here (www.glasgowlive.co.uk)