Irish MSAs

[exiled]

I have visited four in the Republic and it was a really pleasant MSA. Yes, singular, they were all good but exactly the same, be it on the M1, the M11 or I think the M6.

In the UK I do like Peterborough if on the A1 route to the ports.

[roadtester]

I have visited four in the Republic and it was a really pleasant MSA. Yes, singular, they were all good but exactly the same, be it on the M1, the M11 or I think the M6.

In the UK I do like Peterborough if on the A1 route to the ports.

I like Peterborough as well - in fact I like Extra in general.

The main building at Cambridge is more or less identical to that at Peterborough, right down to having more or less the same shops in the same positions, or at least it was to start off with - there have been modifications since then so I'm not sure if they've kept them completely aligned.

[Glenn A]

Cumbria has Killington Lake, Tebay and Todhills( constructed around the former Little Chef on the A74), which are smallish, pleasant service stations, then there's the ugly, rundown and dirty Southwaite Services, which seems to be stuck in the seventies for its ugliness and poor customer service.

[AndyB]

There is also no footbridge at Irish MSAs. I expect nobody quite saw the point of the expense when if you want to visit the "wrong" side you can drive to the next junction.

[Berk]

I quite like Cobham as long as it's not too busy.

In fact, busy or not is the main factor in whether you get a pleasant visit or not at most of them, I think.

The problem for many drivers is that Cobham is the first service area on the M25 for anyone travelling anticlockwise since Toddington on the M1 or Reading on the M4, and you will have just had to negotiate the always congested section past Heathrow, so you may not be in the best of moods when you get to the services. It would have been very helpful if a MSA could have been built somewhere near the M25/M4 junction, but that was not to be.

Google puts Toddington - Cobham at 57 miles, with Heathrow-Cobham via J14 at 16 miles, which would make Toddington-Heathrow around 40/41 miles.

I can’t believe no-one has ever applied for permission for a Heathrow services. Then again, thinking of the potential traffic, you can see why not.

[Owain]

I have visited four in the Republic and it was a really pleasant MSA. Yes, singular, they were all good but exactly the same, be it on the M1, the M11 or I think the M6.

In the UK I do like Peterborough if on the A1 route to the ports.

I like Peterborough as well - in fact I like Extra in general.

The main building at Cambridge is more or less identical to that at Peterborough, right down to having more or less the same shops in the same positions, or at least it was to start off with - there have been modifications since then so I'm not sure if they've kept them completely aligned.

You both like them?

The Peterborough Servs have a great location, but that's the only positive I can come up with! I've been there far too often, and find them utterly miserable. One night I was even treated to a fight in the car park, which the security staff just stood watching.

I think the hellish Cobham is run by the same people.

[Berk]

I was shocked how busy Peterborough services was when I visited. Anyone would think it was the only one around for 100 miles.

Not quite an exaggeration...

[Johnathan404]

I can’t believe no-one has ever applied for permission for a Heathrow services. Then again, thinking of the potential traffic, you can see why not.

You probably can't believe it because it's not true. But who bothers looking things up nowadays?

[Berk]

Oops.

[Vierwielen]

... snip ...

Cobham is an absolute hell hole, while Gloucester is the equal of Tebay for providing a pleasant and relaxing place to stop.

Cobham is interesting in that you can rent meeting rooms there and after the meeting, return the way that you came. This is in contrast to most MSAs that are designed for visits by travellers en route to somewhhere, not as a destination in their own right.

[Vierwielen]

I have visited four in the Republic and it was a really pleasant MSA. Yes, singular, they were all good but exactly the same, be it on the M1, the M11 or I think the M6.

In the UK I do like Peterborough if on the A1 route to the ports.

Do local people have easy access to Irish MSAs? I live fairly close to a British MSA which can only be accessed by the general public via the motorway. (MSA staff have passes and can use the rear access routes though).

[AndyB]

I stand to be corrected, but I'm not sure that many (if any) Irish MSAs have local access roads.

That isn't a big problem due to the gaps between junctions.

[nowster]

I stand to be corrected, but I'm not sure that many (if any) Irish MSAs have local access roads.

Satellite view shows there are local access roads to Enfield services on M4 (IRL). StreetView hasn't been that way since it was built, though.

[NICK 647063]

Our MSA’s in the Uk are bound to be a little more dated as we have had them for decades, it’s a pretty new concept in Ireland, saying that I do like some of the older ones for their unique locations, I always like Leicester forest east as it’s dining area is above the M1 and it’s had quite a bit of improvement over the last few years....

We also have newer ones like Cobham and Wetherby, with a nice new extra services opening at Leeds later this year and that one is really eco friendly with a huge living roof.....

I have visited the Irish ones and yes they are pleasant but to me very small and many you actually wonder if they are even cost effective, I like to see the busy UK ones as to me they feel far more alive.

[Johnathan404]

Cobham is interesting in that you can rent meeting rooms there and after the meeting, return the way that you came. This is in contrast to most MSAs that are designed for visits by travellers en route to somewhhere, not as a destination in their own right.

The 'destination in its own right' rule has not applied for a long time now. The rule is now basically 'do whatever you like'.

Do local people have easy access to Irish MSAs? I live fairly close to a British MSA which can only be accessed by the general public via the motorway. (MSA staff have passes and can use the rear access routes though).

All of the current state-designed Irish services have rear access. None of them are particularly urban compared to the British ones, but there is usually a junction nearby.

[Berk]

My grandad always used the rear access of Corley Services - particularly as a shortcut when we used to visit my uncle. It cut at least 5 miles off the trip.

He wasn’t a rule breaker, he figured that rear accesses served a purpose, a bit like an extra slip road.

But seeing as he would mainly have used it for the odd junction hop, there wasn’t much need for him to actually use the services.

[Bryn666]

My grandad always used the rear access of Corley Services - particularly as a shortcut when we used to visit my uncle. It cut at least 5 miles off the trip.

He wasn’t a rule breaker, he figured that rear accesses served a purpose, a bit like an extra slip road.

But seeing as he would mainly have used it for the odd junction hop, there wasn’t much need for him to actually use the services.

Passing a "No Entry except authorised vehicles" sign is the very definition of breaking a rule.

[Berk]

Only you’re talking about 30+ years ago, with someone who would be over 100 today, who learnt to drive during the war...

I wouldn’t do it myself, but there you go.

[roadtester]

Isn't there normally a dispensation allowing guests at MSA hotels to use the back entrances? I'm sure I've come across that in the past.

Here at Medway westbound on the M2, for example, the hotel is on the local access, which isn't at all hidden out of the way.

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.3400336 ... 312!8i6656

[Euan]

There is also no footbridge at Irish MSAs. I expect nobody quite saw the point of the expense when if you want to visit the "wrong" side you can drive to the next junction.

Usually service areas which can only be accessed and exited via one of the carriageways on a motorway will come in pairs opposite each other, either as two completely separate service areas or two halves of one service area. Footbridges would probably only be required if parking was on the opposite side of the motorway from the services buildings.