Stop but don’t shop on the motorway

Big mark-ups on snacks and fuel at motorway service stations mean that people could blow their spending money before they arrive at their destination, says Which? Car.

With the first May Bank Holiday round the corner, the car magazine visited 51 sites around the UK from Folkestone to Stirling to check up on the British service station as it celebrates its 50th birthday. It found bottles of water on sale at four times the price they'd cost in a local supermarket, diesel at 13p a litre more than at a non-motorway fuel station, and cappuccino that cost £2.99.

Which? Car shopped for a selection of snacks that cost £5.48 at Sainsbury's. Six motorway fuel station shops charged more than £10 for the five items. The most expensive was Moto Reading on the M4, charging £10.31, while Cairn Lodge at Happendon on the M74 was the cheapest at £7.49.

Bottled water had the biggest mark-up, costing £1.89 in the main service area at Moto Southwaite on the M6. The supermarket price for a 500ml bottle of Buxton or Evian water was just 43p.

Filling up at a motorway service station cost £7.15 extra in one case. At BP / Moto Hilton Park services on the M6 it cost £61.55 to fill a 55-litre tank with diesel (111.9p per litre) compared with £54.40 at the cheapest alternative site within a five-mile radius (98.9p per litre).

It's not all bad news, however. The toilets were generally impressively clean and well-presented; some even had flowers in the washrooms. The only three exceptions were Welcome Break Leicester Forest, RoadChef Watford Gap and BP Connect Heart of Scotland, which had dirty floors and toilets when inspected.

Richard Headland, Editor, Which? Car, says: "By all means stop at a motorway service station to use the toilets or have a break from driving, but remember they don't always offer value for money.

"If you're trying to save this summer, buy food and drinks from a supermarket in advance and fill up your car from your cheapest local fuel station before you leave home."