The UK’s Best Family Service Stations

20 July 2023

| 3 minutes

Here at ALA, we’re committed to providing peace of mind, whether that’s by protecting your assets with GAP insurance, warranty and cycle insurance, or by giving you the no-nonsense insights you need to understand vehicle cover.

This time, with many families gearing up for school holiday road trips, we’ve decided to help make journey planning even easier. We’ve analysed the UK’s service stations to reveal which are the most family friendly. Because we know trips can feel a lot smoother with a stop off point where the whole family can recharge.

With the help of our data experts, we analysed the UK’s 40 major service stations and scored each on the following criteria:

Google service rating
Number of food/cafe options
Number of children’s play areas
Number of shops
Number of outdoor amenities such as walks or picnic areas
Hours of free parking
Hotel price per night
Hotel star rating
Hotel Google rating

Now, we can reveal the UK’s top family service stations.

Top 10 Family Service Stations in the UK

Beaconsfield
Leigh Delamere
Tebay North
Cobham
Peterborough
Cherwell Valley
Donington
Stafford North
Baldock
Lancaster

Beaconsfield is the UK’s Best Family Service Station

Taking the top spot as the UK’s best family service station is Beaconsfield, located on the M40 between Milton Keynes and Reading. Not only does Beaconsfield Services have a brilliant Google rating of 4.2, it was also found to have the most food spots, outdoor amenities and hours of free parking. There’s even a play area that little ones will adore, as well as a lakeside walk that’s perfect for leg-stretching.

Closely followed by Beaconsfield is Leigh Delamere and Tebay North services. Tebay North, on the M6 by the Lake District, has the highest Google rating of all the service stations at 4.4. It also has lots of shops, a play area and outdoor amenities, however it missed the top spot due to its costly hotel and limited food options.

Leigh Delamere, on the M4 between Swindon and Bristol, on the other hand, has a slightly lower Google rating of 3.9, however it has plenty of cafes, shops and even has two play areas, making it a great pit stop if you’re passing by with a restless family in tow.

Only a third of UK service stations have children’s play areas

Surprisingly, out of the 40 major service stations analysed, only 33% had play areas. If you’d like to please the kids even more on your trip, try to stop at one of these stations for a place to play.

Service stations with play areas include:

Baldock
Beaconsfield
Cherwell Valley
Chieveley
Cobham
Donington
Lancaster
Leigh Delamere
Peterborough
Reading West
Rivington
Stafford North
Tamworth
Tebay North
Winchester South

Woodall offers the most affordable stay, while Telbay North has the highest rated hotel

If you’re venturing on a long trip and are in need of hotel stop-off, it’s likely you’ll take affordability and ratings into consideration. We found that the service station that offers the cheapest hotel stays is Woodhall, on the M1, closely followed by Birch and Charnock RIchard.

Service station	Hotel price per night
Woodall	£32.99
Birch	£38.99
Charnock Richard	£38.99
Sarn Park	£45.99
Southwaite	£48.99
Leigh Delamere	£49.99
Winchester South	£49.99
Bridgwater	£49.99
Burton-in-Kendal	£53.99
Cherwell Valley	£55.99
Lancaster	£55.99

Similarly, we looked at which service stations had high customer reviews by analysing their Google ratings. Here’s what we found:

Service station	Google rating (hotel)
Tebay North	4.6
Charnock Richard	4.2
Norton Canes	4.2
Burton-in-Kendal	4.1
Blackburn with Darwen	4.1
Annandale Water	4.1
Cobham	4.1
Wetherby	4.1
Southwaite	4.0
Blyth	4.0
Donington	4.0
Stafford North	4.0
Corley	4.0
Tamworth	4.0

Will you be planning your route with these service stations in mind?

Now that the best service stations for families have been revealed, where will you be stopping off on your next trip? Get even more peace of mind on your next trip by making sure every inch of your vehicle is covered. Find out more about our additional cover, including Tyre and Alloy wheel insurance and Scratch and Dent insurance.