The UK’s ‘best’ service station for foodies – with 16 eateries

Summer is the perfect time for a road trip and more often than not a service station break is all part of the journey. According to a new study, there’s one service station that is the best for “foodies on the go”.

Located off the M40 at J2 is Beaconsfield Services, which the motoring experts from Moneybarn Car Finance say has “the most variety of eateries” out of all of the service stations included in the study.

Here, visitors can enjoy their pick of 16 different eateries, ranging from pubs to fast food joints.

“Beaconsfield on the M40 has the most eateries, with 16 in total,” said the study.

“McDonald’s, KFC, Nando’s, JD Wetherspoon (The Hope & Champion) and Pizza Express are among the 16 options at Beaconsfield.

“With three shops, an average petrol price of 141.23p per litre and 540 parking spaces – the third highest number of service station parking spaces, Beaconsfield is well equipped for foodies travelling between London, Oxford and Birmingham.”

Dining options at the service station include Chopstix Noodle Bar, El Mexicana with Don Churro, Greggs, J D Wetherspoon (The Hope & Champion), KFC, LEON, McDonald’s, Nando’s, PizzaExpress, Starbucks, Tapori, West Cornwall Pasty Co., Costa Express, Krispy Kreme, M&S Coffee to Go and a Starbucks Drive Thru.

There are also three shops on-site, including M&S Simply Food, Top Gift and WHSmith.

Amenities include an ibis budget hotel, Changing Places, Quicksilver, Regus Express, and Showers, plus outdoor space including a lakeside walk behind the hotel, a dining terrace, a picnic area and a children’s play area.

However, Hopwood Park service station, just south of Birmingham on the M42 was dubbed “the best service station” in the entire country.

Hopwood Park was commended for its range of parking, electric charging points and associated costs, earning it a service station score of 7.58 out of 10.

“Hopwood Park has 460 parking spaces and 46 electric vehicle chargers, all of which are rapid chargers with a capacity of at least 25kW,” said the study.

“The average price for electric vehicle chargers is £0.52 per kWh, and petrol and diesel cost 140.2p and 148.26p per litre, respectively. Hopwood Park also has 13 eateries, with Burger King, Chopstix Noodle Bar, and KFC among them.”

The study also noted Fleet (Southbound) on the M3 has the second-highest number of eateries, with 15 in total, including KFC, Burger King, Chopstix Noodle Bar and even Pret.

Cobham on the M25 has the third-highest number of eateries, with 14 in total, including Pizza Express, Leon and Starbucks. Interestingly, Cobham also recorded the highest number of parking spaces compared to any other service station in the UK, with 716.