Paulwight Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 On a recent trip to York we decieded to leave late evening and stop off in a motorway service station over night. Working out the distance and route Cherwell service station seemed to be allright, after parking up at about 11pm I went to the Restraunt to pay, and was some what shocked to be told they wanted £19.00 for my piece of 8' X 21' of well worn tarmac. We declined the offer and found a very nice laybye in between the truckers for free. I am sure that last year the service stations only charged £8.00 which would be reasonable. Its not a Question of wanting something for nothing but I do think these Service stations should get more realistic after all we are constantly being told on the motorways that Tiredness Kills take a Break (so we can charge you £19). As a foot note I did find a great service station on a trip back from Scotland (Cairn Lodge M6/A70 area) who only wanted £3.50 for the privilage of staying the night ( whoops! shouldn't of said that it will be full of camper vans next time I'm up there). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Englands Gone mad ! I feel the same Tiredness kills but yet there is no where to park up. How often do you pull into one of those over priced stopovers to find out that you have to pay inflated prices or you find out that you cannot park there as they only make space for lorries. The lorry drivers look at you like you are mad you look around for a big bay to find out that its reserved for coaches . When will we ever get it right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Just a small correction on location of Cairn Lodge MSA it is actually off the M74 ,not the M6, at Junction 12 Northbound and Junction 11 Southbound they are also known as Happendon Services. Docted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulwight Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 Quite Right M74 J11/J12 Darn sat Navs Never know where I'm Going or been nowadays still got Scotland right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 i agree there should be a small tarif, they must have alot of overheads, rates, employ alot of people so fair enough a small charge but £5 tops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Our friends pulled into one very late at night looking for somewhere to park. They were on there way to Cheddar ? somewhere there sorry straight in and straight out air head. :D anyway it was very late they didn't see in the middle of the night that it was charged for they just thought that they were in a Motorway stop . The moved up with the lorries in the morning when they woke up they saw that there was a payment machine and a notice saying you will be booked you are on camera . sad thing is they had to pay £90 for not seeing it in the middle of the night the warning sign is placed high up on a lamp post . What a con. I think they are hoping you dont see it. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Motorway services seem to have upped their prices in the last couple of years, some give the option of including a voucher for food, £19 sounds like one of these, try a search for franks thread on truckstop booklet, these seem to be a lot better value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 If you are in a club why don't you try to get on a CS/CL site for the night. They are good value and some have service points and electric. Plus you don't get woken at 5 am by a truck starting off. Or worse, kept awake by a fridge unit trailer running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulwight Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 I agree a CL Site would be a good bet but sometimes when you are travelling late ie 11pm these sites may not be easy to find and may mean deviating from your route. Leave earlier I hear you say, Ah Ha but as well as being stuffed by the Motorway service stations us Isle of Wighters are first stuffed by the Ferry companies that do not reduce there fares until later on in the evenings (and charge extra for vehicles if they exceed 2.25metres high stop it i,m not going there I,ll only start getting upset). How do you get a picture in your message Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Oh Paulini, Long story you might like to do a search for Photo's on chatterbox or piccys .Make your search at the botoom 1 year . Its quite easy really from your control panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davenewellhome Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Maybe its just me but I wouldn't want to stay on a motorway services area at any time of day or night for more time than it takes to have a pee, cup of tea, something to eat, you are usually allowed two hours free of charge so a short rest stop is not a problem. Even if I were travelling late at night I'd get off the motorway and find somewhere quieter to stop. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 LIKE ? remember Dave you're in England :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Another good one if traveling to/from Scotland is Tebay in Westmoreland on the M6 or is it M74. They have a proper campsite about £12 but when that's closed we have stayed in the carpark/picnic area, paid £12 which include £6 food voucher. Good grub and they even allowed us to bring in a bottle of wine! Price may have gone up but worth checking. Another ok one is Annanwater/Johnstonbridge (M74?),parking by a manmade lake. think it may be pricey now though. Killington Lake ditto ike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolh Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 In June this year, Charles and I were travelling down to Dover via the A2 and stopped at Medway Services at about 10.30pm with the idea of staying the night. I went and found the attendant who said £14.50 - and I said to him 'what that's outrageous'! with a smile on my face - 'I could get a campsite with showers etc and a swimming pool for less' and he laughed - he was a nice man, and I was polite - but we didn't stay - we found a layby further on and stayed there for nowt! Our 18' van just only overhung the parking bay - there were bigger cars there who only needed to pay £8. Hmm Carol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 colin - 2007-10-01 3:09 PM Motorway services seem to have upped their prices in the last couple of years, some give the option of including a voucher for food, £19 sounds like one of these, try a search for franks thread on truckstop booklet, these seem to be a lot better value. Details of the Truckstop Guide - and how to get a free copy - are at http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/10561.aspx Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Thanks for the info re truck stop guide. Have asked for one to be sent to me. However :-S Do they allow non truckers to park overnight and are they as noisy as motorway service stations eg trucks coming and going, refridgeration unit noise etc? Cheers ike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 ike - 2007-10-04 5:41 PM Thanks for the info re truck stop guide. Have asked for one to be sent to me. However :-S Do they allow non truckers to park overnight and are they as noisy as motorway service stations eg trucks coming and going, refridgeration unit noise etc? Cheers ike As far as I know they do allow non-truckers to stay. However, having never attempted it I can't say for certain - and can't comment on noise etc. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocles Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 GJH - 2007-10-03 4:32 PM Details of the Truckstop Guide - and how to get a free copy - are at http://www.highways.gov.uk/news/10561.aspx Graham Its now unavailable...just got this Email - "Good Afternoon, Unfortunately the Highways Agency no longer have stocks of the truckstop guides and the publications team have no plans as of yet to reintroduce these at the moment. They have not totally ruled it out for the the future but at i am unable to process this request now. I do apologise." :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulwight Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hi RoclesI got the same reponse from the Highways however I have found a very useful site on the internet for Truckstop Cafes with overnight parking at reasonable rates. Try this www.transportcafe.co.uk.Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocles Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Paulwight - 2007-10-05 9:55 AMHi RoclesI got the same reponse from the Highways however I have found a very useful site on the internet for Truckstop Cafes with overnight parking at reasonable rates. Try this www.transportcafe.co.uk.Regards PaulHi Paul,thanks for that, seems a very comprehensive site, with SatNav files to download alsocheers,Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Parke Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 It does annoy me considerably that I can stay overnight on a continental M.S.A. and not be charged a single cent but try it in 'dear old England' and it is, dear!!! Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 davenewell@home - 2007-10-01 6:54 PM Maybe its just me but I wouldn't want to stay on a motorway services area at any time of day or night for more time than it takes to have a pee, cup of tea, something to eat, you are usually allowed two hours free of charge so a short rest stop is not a problem. Even if I were travelling late at night I'd get off the motorway and find somewhere quieter to stop. D. Just reviewed this thread. We've only ever stopped at M'way services during the day for around half an hour at a time. The thing that made me quote Dave's post, though, is the mention of getting off the motorway. If everyone who thought they might need a place to stop overnight lobbyed their local council to provide somewhere then perhaps we might end up with a few more far sighted authorities like Canterbury. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamworthkamper Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 We ve stopped on the m40 at oxford and m25 thurrock and m20 maidstone all three this year £8.00 at oxford I argued we were not a comercial vechile so now we just ask for private parking it seems to work.Ever tryed to get a lay by out side Dover after 20.00 double parked wagons . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Tam Forget the laybys on the way to Dover, either: 1) go to the Tesco store on the way there - I've seen van's parked up for the night but I haven't actually tried it, but if I was going to I'd certainly ask the manager first and tell him/her that I was then going to go and purchase some goods, only fair I think. or 2) go into Dover an dpark on Marine Parade where parking overnight for caravans and motorhomes etc is permitted, make sure you go on the 'permitted' bit though so as not to upset anyone. We've used it loads of times and not had any problems. I'd never use a motorhome stopover for a night, too noisey and expensive and I'm not sure I'd feel that safe there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEEANDEM Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 i have parked at marine drive many times over the years with no problems. And at the other side of the water i use the ferry booking car park. Derrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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