Are UK Motorway services basically a NO for over-nighting?

[Auld Pharrrt]

Wow so many replies in 15 minutes! Cheers everyone.

Yes I am a full member, but there is actually a bit of a dearth of stop over places between Abington and Stirling that are also pretty close to the M74 and I'm thinking it will be around there, when the sleepiness will hit me. The CU at Bellshills puts me off as i used to live not too far from Glasgow and lets just say that Glasgow can be, well, trying...

I think I shall provisionally pencil in the CU in Abington as my overnight location for now.

Thanks for the link to the Motorway Catalogue Mark61 Its good to know that if desperate, i can overnight there at a cost!

Melissa

Hi Melissa,

You have a fair range of choices.
Once you reach Junction 16 when norfbound, you can peel off the motorway, use the services at Annandale for anything you might need, then proceed on the OLD A74 now named as the B7076. As you meander northward along this road (it runs parallel to the motorway most of the time and you will be on the A701 for a short distance, then either back on the m/way at J15 or continue on the B7076) you will find a good few places where you could probably stopover ... in my days as a trucker, I would occasionally pulls off the m/way and use this road for a change of scenery, especially if I was feeling tired. It is possible to follow this road all the way to Glasgow, but I'd recommend re-joining the m/way if planning on heading further norf.

Alternatively, you can also peel off the m/way at J15 and follow the B7076 from there. Again, you can follow it up to J14 where you have the option of rejoining the m/way or carrying on along the B7076 (or follow the A702, the B7076 changes to A702 at J14.)

Once again you have the choice of m/way or continuing on the A702 through Abington village and on to J13 at Abington services. At Abington services, there is a layby on the A702 (signpotsted for Lanark) which is right beside the service station, but not within the services. If you stopover there, you can turn around in the morning and go back to J13 ... if you decide to continue off the m/way from here, then follow the signs as if re joining the m/way but take the B7078 (the B7078 is on the opposite side of the motorway from the services and is quite a small road, so if you miss it first time around, simply circumnavigate the roundabout and try again, DON'T join the m/way, unless you want to.)

If you follow the B7078, this will take you a wee bit further from the m/way than the previously mentioned route (you might prefer this) but eventually it will come to a T junction beside J12 ... YOU CANNOT JOIN THE M/WAY AT J12 FOR NORTHBOUND ... just keep following the B7078 by passing under the m/way and turning left, which will take you to Cairn Lodge services. After Cairn lodge services, I'd usually return to the m/way, but you could continue off it if you wished by following the B7078 into Leshmahagow where you can join the m/way at J10, or continue on to J9.

Again, your choice of m/way or navigating from there, but normally I'd have rejoined the m/way somewhere before here because I worked nights and never liked to drive through all the wee places in the middle of the night in a truck ... I only ever followed this road from J16 at Annandale Water to Leshmahagow once where I rejoined the motorway.

Have fun.

 

[Auld Pharrrt]

That looks an interesting place but alas probably too far for me given my plans on that first evening - may bear it in mind for the second evening though
Thanks

Also expensive ... there's a cafe/restaurant on the opposite side of the road as you enter the village coming from the south ... I believe there's a water tap at the rear too. Finally, there's a wee local shoppie just past the Green Welly on your right, reasonable sized carpark for stopping for supplies.

 

[Auld Pharrrt]

A word to the wise, if you decide to stay in one of the motorway services make sure you park in the car section and NOT in the wagon / HGV section.

Obviously look out for any height / width restrictions but you`ll find it a lot quieter in there than the wagon / HGV section.

The wagon / HGV section can be prone to delivery / logistics companies swapping trailers over during the night and trust me they can make a hell of a racket.

We`ve suffered that fate twice over the years with the barstewards leaving their engines running just inches away from our motorhome in the early hours.

We`d parked well away from the other wagon and there was acres of room for them but they still came right next to our motorhome to swap over.

The second time it happened i got out at 02.30am and complained to them but they just laughed.

The two companies concerned DHL and TNT said their professional drivers would never do anything like that.

Yeah, I knew a few drivers who took great delight in doing that, their attitude was this is the HGV park, and our company has made arrangements with the service station to use their lorry park for this purpose (they aint supposed to do it without permission.) Personally, I always kept as far from other vehicles as possible. I used to drive a rig called a wagon and drag ... that's a 17t truck with a trailer about the same size on the back. The cargo box on the truck is de-mountable, which means you can drop a set of legs and drive out from under it leaving the box free standing ... generally you'd drop either box or trailer, then swap over with other driver in a similar fashion.

The main reason I always stayed well clear was not really to do with consideration (although I did try to think of others,) I kept away mostly because I have seen some silly things happen ... the funniest was when the driver I met up with had forgotten to apply the manual brake to the old trailer he brought for me ... he happily worked away getting organised as his trailer started rolling down the car park all on its own! The newer ones had failsafe air brakes which automatically applied when the air lines were disconnected, even they couldn't be trusted 100% because sometimes the valve would get sticky and not apply ... once you've chased after a trailer in a car park trying to get the brakes on, you learn to always check BEFORE you release the pin.

All great fun!

p.s. Part of the reason for leaving the engine running is the loss of air pressure when un-couling and re-coupling trailers ... believe me when I say there would be a LOT more noise if they had to re-build air pressure in order to drive off.

 

[Auld Pharrrt]

If you want a much more relaxing journey after you come back into God’s country I would suggest you come off at Gretna, through Gretna Green and take the B7076 all the way up past Kirkpatrick Fleming, Lockerbie & Johnstonebridge till you hit the A701 Dumfries to Moffat. A mile or so on that & again back on to the B7076 to Abington.

At the motorway JCN take the B7078 towards Douglas Water.
On that road is the Redmoss Hotel & truckstop About | Red Moss Hotel

You are only about 45 mins from Hamilton services.
Maybe worthwhile having an earlier stop and and set off earlier in the morning.

This trip is always within sight of the motorway but is virtually empty so you dont add much time to your journey but saves a lot of stress !

I have also followed that route, but never thought to mention it as your OP mentioned around Abington area, but yes, it is a nicer, more leisurely drive than the m/way and a lot less stressful if the m/way is busy.

 

[Wooie1958]

Yeah, I knew a few drivers who took great delight in doing that, their attitude was this is the HGV park, and our company has made arrangements with the service station to use their lorry park for this purpose (they aint supposed to do it without permission.) Personally, I always kept as far from other vehicles as possible. I used to drive a rig called a wagon and drag ... that's a 17t truck with a trailer about the same size on the back. The cargo box on the truck is de-mountable, which means you can drop a set of legs and drive out from under it leaving the box free standing ... generally you'd drop either box or trailer, then swap over with other driver in a similar fashion.

The main reason I always stayed well clear was not really to do with consideration (although I did try to think of others,) I kept away mostly because I have seen some silly things happen ... the funniest was when the driver I met up with had forgotten to apply the manual brake to the old trailer he brought for me ... he happily worked away getting organised as his trailer started rolling down the car park all on its own! The newer ones had failsafe air brakes which automatically applied when the air lines were disconnected, even they couldn't be trusted 100% because sometimes the valve would get sticky and not apply ... once you've chased after a trailer in a car park trying to get the brakes on, you learn to always check BEFORE you release the pin.

All great fun!

I`ve had HGV Class 1 since i was 22 and i`ve done my fair share of night trunking etc. including meeting half way and swapping trailers.

I would never have dreamt of doing a trick like that and the two in question quite clearly went out of their way to get as close as they could to us.

They were virtually parked on the through road and there was no way in hell that that was where they normally dropped and swapped trailers.

The couple of times since we`ve used the car section and had quiet nights.

 

[Auld Pharrrt]

I`ve had HGV Class 1 since i was 22 and i`ve done my fair share of night trunking etc. including meeting half way and swapping trailers.

I would never have dreamt of doing a trick like that and the two in question quite clearly went out of their way to get as close as they could to us.

They were virtually parked on the through road and there was no way in hell that that was where they normally dropped and swapped trailers.

The couple of times since we`ve used the car section and had quiet nights.

Yep, I know what you are saying, I'm not excusing their behavior in any way, let's face it, it's just plain ignorance ... I also knew a driver who took great delight in blowing his horn in the middle of the night as he passed people sleeping in a layby ... the one I mentioned beside Abington services on the A702 in particular was a favourite of his to do it at ... I made the mistake of sleeping over there one night myself when he went by a year or two after I'd left the company, but he did apologise when I gave him a mouthful of abuse on the CB ... I knew it was him, right time, right place etc.

He has retired now, so it should be a quieter night these days.

 

[kimbowbill]

I don't know your direction but there's a cracking little cl in Brampton, £8 Inc EHU.

 

[jim dalton]

If you want a much more relaxing journey after you come back into God’s country I would suggest you come off at Gretna, through Gretna Green and take the B7076 all the way up past Kirkpatrick Fleming, Lockerbie & Johnstonebridge till you hit the A701 Dumfries to Moffat. A mile or so on that & again back on to the B7076 to Abington.

At the motorway JCN take the B7078 towards Douglas Water.
On that road is the Redmoss Hotel & truckstop About | Red Moss Hotel

You are only about 45 mins from Hamilton services.
Maybe worthwhile having an earlier stop and and set off earlier in the morning.

This trip is always within sight of the motorway but is virtually empty so you dont add much time to your journey but saves a lot of stress !

Agree, that is a lovely piece of road to travel and the Redmoss is OK too

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Hi ya Wisewoman,,,,
SO,,,Are you sorted in the Route you are taking & The Stops your making ?.
Not long now I bet your already packing lol lol.

 

[Wisewoman]

Already packing!? I'm packed man - a month ahead of schedule - tins of food, stuff to do, ferries booked, itinerary and ideas of things to do already printed out! If the Zombie Apocalypse should happen in the next month, I'm surviving it, in my van!

As for my first night, I'm going to play that by ear, so to speak. I have noted a few locations and will just decided when the time is right, when the time is right.

I have four ferries booked, first one on the morning of the 10th. My main fear with them, is that I will get sea sick and feel ghastly for a while afterwards but I've been assured that these ferries should be big enough for that to not happen. (So no, I don't now want to hear stories of ferries making people feel sea sick! lol)

Now I've just got to pray for the Weather Gods to behave.

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Well I'm sure all will be just Fine n Dandy for you Trip & the Ferry Crossings. Oh & don't worry about the impending Zombt Apocalypse, I've had a word with the Lads, You'll be ok !.

 

[Wisewoman]

Well I'm sure all will be just Fine n Dandy for you Trip & the Ferry Crossings. Oh & don't worry about the impending Zombt Apocalypse, I've had a word with the Lads, You'll be ok !.

Ohh Secretly, i'm rather hoping for a ZA - it's what the world could do with right about now!

 

[Nesting Zombie]

Ohh Secretly, i'm rather hoping for a ZA - it's what the world could do with right about now!

Well, it would be nice to see all my mate's again.

Hey,,I've just had a Thought !. It involves Wine, Cider Donuts a Cpl of Chairs, A KFC Bargin Bucket, Cheryl Cole, Adriana Grande, & a Paddling Pool of Pink Custerd !.


Ooops sorry Zoned out a bit there...

 

[flyinghigh]

we travel from Kent to Scotland on a regular basis and use a few of the WC stops but one that we use the most is the Toby carvery carlyle. It's just of Junction 43 M6. the rear carpark is quiet (No road noise) and if we arrive before 2100 then we have a carvery, if later we usually have a light meal in the MH and get up early for the carvery breakfast, ( very good value) in comparison to motorway services and eat as much as you like if you are famished,

as a bonus when driving back to the motorway (3mins) there is a large Tesco on your left for cheap fuel and any food stuffs you require,
Ooh i forgot to say no charge for parking so a win win IMO

 

[David & Ann]

I have a huge trek to Scotland planned in the van in April and I've been wondering about Motorway service stations and their feasibility as stop over / overnighting places. On the odd occasion I have gone to a motorway services in my car, I've noticed signs like 'automatic plate recognition' and no parking for longer than 2 hours. Is this essentially the norm now for all those huge car parks attached to these places, thereby making them a total no hoper for overnighting in?

I'd also wondered about HGV / truck stops too and the legality of using them too though I don't especially fancy them as those monsters would dwarf me!

Cheers,
Melissa

It is true, find a spot some where just off the high way, usually at an Industrial site or dead end or on a road where a night will cause no problems, or pay the asking price around £10 to £12 for a motorhome, (no idea of the price). Two hours is max and you will be held to account for even a minute slip up on your part.

 

[Nesting Zombie]

we travel from Kent to Scotland on a regular basis and use a few of the WC stops but one that we use the most is the Toby carvery carlyle. It's just of Junction 43 M6. the rear carpark is quiet (No road noise) and if we arrive before 2100 then we have a carvery, if later we usually have a light meal in the MH and get up early for the carvery breakfast, ( very good value) in comparison to motorway services and eat as much as you like if you are famished,

as a bonus when driving back to the motorway (3mins) there is a large Tesco on your left for cheap fuel and any food stuffs you require,
Ooh i forgot to say no charge for parking so a win win IMO

YESSS, YES I Think I've stayed there on TWO occasions if its the same one your on about, Come off M6 North, Turn Left, Breath a few mile then Take a Right to get to Tesco, OR Straight on To the Toby all within a few mile Car park is just before the big Red Toby Wall. Now the first time I went there I turned AFTER the Toby thinking it was the carpark, BIG MISTAKE, I had to reverse back out onto the Busy Road The 'A Something or other' NOT GOOD very embarresing !.

Top Pub Grub !.
But VERY VERY busy on a Sunday !.

 

[Channa]

I haven't read the complete thread, but if you stop at say the moto in Carlisle , you have 2 hours free parking, if you buy a ticket from WH Smiths normally it might cost £15 ...but they give a £10 voucher to spend on meals etc , and I assume shower facilities for the ladies too.

Channa

 

[ian68]

Parking

Stop parking in abnormal load bays.

 

[delicagirl]

Yep, As Mark says,
It 'CAN be a convenient spot to rest up over night if your just covering the motorway miles, But an expensive one. You don't even get a food voucher to use in the café like the lorry or coach drivers do !, But Some MOTO services have got Showers, If you have re fillable gas system, then stopping for the night, Having a HOT shower, Something to eat, Fill up with Fuel n Gas all in one place has its advantages,,, But NO not for me, 2hrs & I'm off.

last time i asked about the cost of a shower it was £11 !!!! rip off is right

 

[Channa]

last time i asked about the cost of a shower it was £11 !!!! rip off is right

I wouldn't disagree with that, However an additional £4 would get you an overnight stop and a food voucher to redeem ? I cant find any clause that relates to specific to the HGV lads. I haven't spent that much time researching so could be wrong

Channa