Road number mentioned  No comment

M1. 
Tibshelf Services M1 between Jn28 & jn29.
- - - - Has long lay-bys in the CAR park for caravans next time I’m there I will check for more details.
There is a 2 hour limit (free parking). Charges apply for longer periods
Sept. 2008. The caravan bays are on North & South bound carriageways
They are in the car parks right at the far ends (but there is only 4 rows of car parking spaces so.. ) plenty of room for big outfits to get in and out too

M1. 
Woodall Services M1 southbound near Sheffield
- - - - Caravan parking is well signed but unfortunately is in the lorry park. It’s on a gentle slope, is quite large but the biggest problem is that it is not marked out and at busy times could prove difficult if people don’t park sensibly. The tarmac surface has started to break up and potholes are now starting to form. Exit back onto the motorway is well signed and easy.

M1. 
Woodall Services M1 Southbound.
- - - - BEWARE - although there is a large caravan parking area in with the lorries there is no access to Petrol from the caravan parking area and the only Diesel is at the HGV pumps. If you fill up first you cannot get to the parking area. So- OK to park or for fuel but not both.

M5.
Southbound. Michaelwood Services (01454 260 631)
- - - - Good easy access to the parking area which is unfortunately shared with the lorries. - - - - Well signed from the entrance Approximately 50 single parking bays of about 50 foot in length. The bays are at right angles to the service roads but don’t present any problems as they are designed for lorries so there is no difficulty in parking in them. Just a short walk to the main building for toilets and cafeterias etc. Exit is just as easy and takes you around the back of the petrol station to the slip road back onto the motorway.
Just one word of warning and that is that over the years the weight of the lorries has caused ruts through the bays and on the day of our visit these had formed into puddles. As lorries can come past you they will splash the rainwater onto your van, so keep the door shut. I can vouch for the consequences if you don’t. Also as with any area shared with lorries you have to watch out for diesel spillages.
All in all a very easy service area to use even though it’s shared with lorries

M5 
Northbound. Strensham services
- - - - Good well signed access to the dedicated caravan parking area There are 16 single parking bays of about 40 foot in length. The bays are at 45 degrees to the service road so there is no difficulty in parking in them. Just a short walk to the main building for toilets and cafeterias etc. There is a down side to the location of the bays and that is there is a grassed area with shrubbery alongside the bays and unfortunatley it seems to be used by dog owners to allow the dogs to clean themselves. Not nice if you are eating and looking in that direction. Exit is just as easy and takes you around the back of the petrol station onto a long slip road back onto the motorway.
Just one word of warning, There is a dedicated lane on the motorway which leads you into the service area entrance. However you have to contend with the slip road joining the M5 from the M50 so don’t commit yourself to early, you have about 1/2 mile to get across.
All in all a very easy service area to use.

M5 
Southbound. Strensham services
- - - - Good easy entry for caravans. Well signed but you share with HGV’s. The parking bays are long and plentiful and for once no cars or vans. This is probably because this parking is at the rear of the main building. There is a door at the rear for entry so no long march to the front. Be careful walking across the car park as vehicles leaving the services use a road that bisects the lorry and coach park.
Apart from the main cafeteria there are several franchised outlets if you just want a quick snack or drink.
Toilets well signed and very clean.
Exit from the services does not go straight back onto the motorway but uses the roundabout for the M50. M5 South is well signed.
Harry Burrows Sept 2006

M5 
Bridgewater Services M5 Junc 24
- - - - Services are off motorway. Leave at junco 24 and follow signs for services.
Entry to the services was a little confusing by the signs. Then you eventually pick up a sign for caravans but it then disappears. I ended up in the lorry park. The least said about the parking here the better. It’s diabolical. It’s all up against 2 edges of the car park and requires you to reverse in, some at a tight 90 degrees. If the parking area is busy then getting in between two other vehicles is not for the faint hearted. I eventually found the caravan parking area which is with the buses. It’s just as bad as the lorry park if not worse. Parking requires reversing at 90 degrees into the bay and only 6 bays for caravans at that. I didn’t have need to go into the restaurant area itself so can’t comment.
Exit from the services is straight forward and takes you back to the motorway roundabout.
I can’t see the reason for such complex parking. I would definitely recommend you give these services a miss and go another 12 miles either way to the next. Unless that is you like a challenge.
Harry burrows Sept 2006

M5 
Exeter Services M5 Junc 30
- - - - Services are off motorway. Leave at junc 30 and follow signs for services.
This uses a large multi lane roundabout and you do need to concentrate on your lanes and look well ahead. You are directed into a lane only to find further round that its no longer the right one and you’ve got to switch lanes. A bit hairy when it’s busy. Once into the services caravan parking is signed and is shared with HGV’s. It’s easy to find albeit right at the furthest extremity of the site. There is a single door at the rear for entry. Long wide bays that would take about 2 or 3 lorries so parking a caravan is no problem. Care needed crossing this car park because of entering lorries (fast) and also diesel spillage which was slippery when wet.
Large spacious interior with main cafeteria and franchised outlets, including a M & S food court. WARNING 1 litre os water at M & S was 75p but out of stock. so used the services shop. 1.5 litre bottle of water £2.25. Like them all rip off prices.
Toilets where huge and spotless.
Exit from the services goes past the petrol station back out to the same roundabout with the same problems as entry.
Harry Burrows Sept 2006

M6. Top
Stafford
- - - - On run up & down from the north we stop here for a comfort break as the sites are fairly modern.
Northbound services.
Separate parking for caravans well signposted, parking area OK just a bit dismal - only problem is that you have to cross lorry parking area to get to service station, a bit of a hike and the lorry parking area smells like a public urinal that hasn’t been cleaned in a LONG time!!!
Southbound Services.
Newer and fresher that Northbound.
Separate parking for caravans well signposted at far end of car park. Parking ok, area open and airy.
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- - - - Update to M6 Stafford M/W services.
They now have a M&S Simply Food - Stocking enough goodies to stock an empty fridge....a godsend on our way to Anglesey, as no time to shop before departure.
M&S Simply Food are marked on the services signs.
Chris Carr (june/July 2005)
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- - - - I saw this one on the way south. Sign shows a lorry with a red diagonalline. I took this to mean no lorries. It doesn’t, as you leave the slip road there are two signs - one for car park, one for a lorry park. What there isn’t is a caravan parking area.
John Haseltine. (June/July 2005)

M6 Top
Westmorland Services
- - - - These services are situated just north of J38 at Tebay. They are the only privately owned services on the UK motorway network. And by god it shows! I always stop here for breakfast on my way north.
Owned and run by a local company the food is all locally sourced as far as humanly possible. prices are much more reasonable than the nationally run ones and cleanliness is as good as a CC club toilet block. The shop is well stocked as well. Even the prepacked sandwiches are locally produced. There is also a "speciality" food shop selling all sorts of foods from jam to freshly killed meat. I can particularly recommend the wild boar sausages and some of the unusual flavours in the cheeses of Sillfield Farm Products.
- - - - Caravans have their own parking area and generally speaking there is an "attendant" on duty to ensure that cars coaches and HGV’s all use their own areas. No reversing is necessary. At peak times this is great because you know that you can get on [assuming 30 odd other caravans don’t have the same idea!] But there is a back up plan - see below. Tebay Caravan Park is just off the exit slip road on the northbound side and in busy periods they now allow travellers to park in the site free for an hour. The site is also accessible from the southbound side. All comments apply to both sides. I have not stayed on the site but it is on my list to try for a weekend.
- - - - these services are well worth a visit for anyone travelling in the area. More information on their website www.westmorland.com
David Cuff. September 2005

M6. Top
Knutsford (M6 Cheshire)
- - - - services are being altered and no vehicles over 7.5t will be allowed on (supposedly) after September. There is a purpose built lorry park called Poplar 2000 at Lymm (A56) which has taken over the HGV’s. Poplar 2000 as it’s called now was started by a farmer serving bacon butties out of a caravan on the edge of his field, he then changed the use of the field to accommodate a few lorries overnight, after 7yrs of trading and upgrading he then sold his field for 15 million squid!!!! It can now hold 250 X 44tonner’s overnight!!!
Graham Jones (June/July 2005)

M6. Top
M6 Toll
- - - - Good modern and new services. Caravan area separate from the main car park and on the times I have used it not invaded by cars or vans!
David Cuff (August 2005)

Bishop Stortford Service, junc 8 M11
- - - - These services are off the motorway at the roundabout and serve both North and Southbound carriageways and at the time of our visit were very busy. Entry is easy and caravans are directed to a dedicated caravan parking area which seems to take forever to reach. The reason for this is that it is near the exit. There are 11 bays in all but room for 12 if like me you park on the end in the hatched off area. Why, because two transit vans had parked in two of the bays, otherwise parking was ok. The toilets in this complex were absolutely spotless and were even being cleaned at our visit, midday. Very large franchised food outlets along with various small shops. There is also overnight hotel accommodation here if you are solo. With the caravan parking being near the exit it was a bit of a bottle neck to leave because of the other vehicles converging onto the out lanes. The exit onto the roundabout is traffic light controlled so we had to queue to leave. Access onto the motorway is then very simple.(July 2006. Hary Burrows)

Thurrock Services, M25, junc 30 just before The Dartford Crossing.
- - - - Leave motorway at the above junction and follow signs to services. The road markings are not the best and lane changes were necessary because of confusing lane markings. Once you work that out it’s fairly easy and the caravan service area is well signed once into the complex. the caravan area is quite large with easy entry and exit. However, when we arrived, 8pm, the whole site was taken over by lorries, I’ve never seen so many parked up for the night. We got the last lane in the caravan area and we wished we hadn’t. We were parked adjacent to what started life as a nice shrubbery. It has now turned into a giant open air rubbish bin again I’ve never seen so much rubbish. It’s never been cleaned for years. Not only used for rubbish but obviously by the smell also used as an open air toilet by presumably the overnight lorries, it is a bit of a walk to the main complex. It was nothing short of disgusting. If it wasn’t for the fact that we were en route for Dover I would have seeked out someone to complain.
- - - - The services themselves have the usual franchised fast food outlets and also the customary overpriced restaurant. The only reason I’ll use these services again is if needs dictate. (July 2006. Harry Burrows)

Warwick Services. M40 Junc. 12-13
- - - - On the way home from Herefordshire we stopped at the southbound services on the M40 between Warwick and Banbury. The signs for caravans took you into the normal car park-no sign of any special caravan parking! Ended up parked across about a dozen car parking spaces. Other vans were having similar problems. North bound you are directed into the lorry park but South bound, despite signs there does not seem to be anywhere to park except in the main carpark.
David Klyne. July 2008

Wentbridge Services, Yorks.
- - - - Southbound. There is no separate parking area for anybody here. In fact there are no parking bays marked out so it’s a bit of a free for all. Cars, trucks , caravans, buses etc. The car park is in very poor condition. As the services are at the bottom of a hill the exit can prove dangerous because of the short and narrow slip road which is uphill. It’s bad enough for cars to pick up speed so I wouldn’t recommend it for caravans.

July 2008. The following comments were added
- - - - Just to add to the existing report on these services. I would agree with every word about the parking. it’s diabolical. Whoever designed these parking areas needs to look at their qualifications. No thought whatsoever has gone into the car park. It’s not to good for solo cars either, far to tight. The caravan bays are at a 60 degree angle to the service road and about 10 metres long. I had to leave the caravan area as my outfit being about 11.5 metres long could not get in. 1.5 metres left overhanging the service road. So I had to fight my way out against cars trying to come in. Then I saw an area for buses. About 2 dozen bays in a very large area. It was totally empty, not one bus. At the entrance the sign says "Buses only, no lorrries or caravans. Clamping in operation". So we eventually got parked in the lorry park, which was very easy, there were no clamping signs here, although you do have to reverse in. I got in between two lorries so effectively was hidden from view. If you intend using these services and you outfit is over 10 metres long then don’t bother following ’Caravan’ signs it’s a waste of time.
Harry Burrows

- - - - I agree with Harry on this having stopped there once myself. On the way home from Bromyard on Friday we stopped at the southbound services on the M40 between Warwick and Banbury. The signs for caravans took you into the normal carpark-no sign of any special caravan parking! Ended up parked across about a dozen car parking spaces. Other vans were having similar problems.
Location : Warwick Services between junctions 12 and 13. North bound you are directed into the lorry park but South bound, despite signs there does not seem to be anywhere to park except in the main carpark.
David Klyne

- - - - We’ve used these services many times, with and without the ’van. Yes, the ’van bays are shorter than we’d like but not by much, but they are useable, and they’re not miles from the entrance; we’ve never had aproblem going in or out, the only problem is light commercials (white van men) forgetting they haven’t got a van on the back, (but then I always was a charitable soul) and using OUR spaces.
Nik Dennis

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