Roadside cafes offer poor fare
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• Motorway service stations in the UK are among the worst in Europe, according to a survey by European motoring organisations.
The research, carried out by the Automobile Association and other European motoring organisations, examined 74 service stations in nine countries. Overall, Britain was ranked eighth—only Spain was worse.
Inspectors found sub-standard, over-priced food and poor service.
Pedestrian safety in oar parks was also criticised. However, UK service stations were praised for their access roads, internal layout, signposting and shops.
Topping the table was Germany, followed by Switzerland and Holland.
The best service area food was found in France, Italy and Spain, but was offset by relatively poor levels of hygiene.
Of the 10 UK service stations included in the survey, five were rated "acceptable", three as "poor" and two as "very poor". The lowest scoring were Granada Woolley Edge on the M1 between Junctions 38-39 and First Motorway Services on the M61 near Bolton.
AA policy director John Dawson says: "UK motorway service areas do a reasonable job of providing basic services for travellers, but benchmarked against most of Europe they could do much better."