‘I visited motorway services named UK’s worst and was stunned by what I saw’

Picking a motorway services can be something of a lottery. You might interrupt a lengthy car journey at a bustling farm shop or find yourself in a bleak, deserted wasteland. During his exploration of northern England's most poorly-reviewed services, YouTuber David Burnip experienced both ends of the spectrum - calling in at what he described as a "middle-class haven" before arriving at a rest stop that left him feeling as though "the apocalypse has already begun".

David's initial port of call was the well-regarded Tebay Services Farmshop and Kitchen on the M6 in Cumbria. It provided "proper food," he remarked on his Wandering Turnip[1] YouTube channel, " not Burger King or KFC, but food that has soul". However, that's not the reality at most motorway services, he argues, with the majority providing a Costa Coffee, a Burger King, and a seldom-used space packed with fruit machines for tired travellers.

At Leeming Bar services in North Yorkshire, just off the A1 (M), it felt as though "the apocalypse has already begun".

A deserted hotel establishes the mood for what numerous disheartened motorists have branded "the worst motorway services in the country". The ambience at Leeming Bar is depressing. David remarks: "The emptiness is deafening.

It's a vacuum of life - you look around and wonder where the hell did everybody go?" He adds that the hotel has been abandoned for more than 10 years, stating: "This place, or at least parts of it, were meant to be demolished last year but they couldn't even get around to that." Once you've clocked the former hotel and the rather run-down petrol station forecourt, there is indeed a functioning motorway services at Leeming Bar. "Wade through this wasteland you will find yourself presented with the fantastic options of a tiny corner Costa... and that is it, that is all you have," David adds.

Whilst his scoring system typically incorporates an evaluation of the loo facilities, he opted to bypass that element on this particular visit.

He went on: "When I opened the door it was that bad I could not even bring myself to go in, so zero out of 10 for the toilets." On a brighter note, David was taken with the team at Leeming Bar, remarking: "I will say the lady working at the Costa was absolutely lovely, that was a good point." However, in all other regards, Leeming Bar represented "an absolutely useless service station in such a horrible setting that it's it's just clinging onto life", he maintained.

To a considerable degree, Leeming Bar's difficulty stems from being squeezed out by competing facilities.

The Coneygarth Truck Stop launched in 2014 and numerous other service stations have received approval along the identical motorway section.

A representative for Leeming Bar's owners, Moto, acknowledged that whilst customer confidence and satisfaction across the company's motorway service station network had risen substantially over the previous 12 months, they would "review the specific feedback shared in these reviews of Leeming Bar services and look to make improvements as part of our ongoing modernisation programme".

The representative continued: "Over the past two years, we have also invested ?55 million to refurbish key sites, modernise facilities and expand amenities, with 75% of toilets across our network upgraded and enhanced food and retail partnerships introduced."

References

1. ^ Wandering Turnip (www.youtube.com)