roadtester wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 01:50
One thing that occurs to me - anyone who is local will know the situation far better than I do but to the best of my recollection there are already very few places to stop for a break/refuelling/leg-stretching/other bio needs, something that will be even more obvious as the route is increasingly tidied up and and off-lined, as well as presumably taking ever increasing volumes of traffic.
Quite how that need might be catered for, I'm not sure - it's about fifty miles between the A1(M) and the M6, far more than the normal interval between MSAs, if we can take that as some sort of benchmark.
Of course there's always the option of breaking up the journey by making a brief detour to Barnard Castle for a bit of sightseeing and an eye test along the way.
Well heading east to west we have
The Mainsgill Farm Shop and cafe - will be off the new route and so easier to access but probably wont be visible from the new road
Fox Hall Inn just past Mainsgill
Cross Lanes farm shop and cafe on existing D2 section - dodgy junction but lots of parking and an electric car charging point
The Bowes Moor hotel closed unfortunately and is now a private residence.
There's the Stainmore Cafe complete with dodgy flat junction.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@54.52375 ... 312!8i6656
Cafe 66 - eastbound only
Brough is a good place for break its just off the A66, there are public toilets, a decent chippy, a couple of pubs and a convenience store clustered around the junction of the B6276 and Main Street.
There is more in Appleby, but parking in the centre can be a problem but you can usually find a place in the car park at Broad Close.
Kirkby Thore has a garage, Inn and Cafe but will get a northern bypass so these will be some distance from the new road and may end up being closed.
Last but not least is the Llama Karma Kafe just outside Penrith.
https://www.llamakarmakafe.co.uk/
I think that at least some of these should be indicated from the new route with a Local Services sign but these have increasingly disappeared in recent years. It would have been even better if HE had included a proper rest area rather than just the odd layby.