{"id":982579,"date":"2026-05-24T21:55:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/982579\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T21:55:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:55:25","slug":"i-have-seen-every-motorway-service-station-in-britain-and-this-is-one-of-the-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/982579\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I have seen every motorway service station in Britain and this is one of the best’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new Channel 5 show has unveiled the nation’s favourite motorway service station, with contributor Rich Cross sharing his own verdict<\/p>\n

Kimberly Nhundu<\/strong> Under 35s Screen Time reporter<\/p>\n

21:42, 24 May 2026Updated 21:45, 24 May 2026<\/p>\n

\"Rich<\/p>\n

Rich Cross has spent thousands visiting every service station(Image: Channel 5)<\/p>\n

A man who has toured every motorway service station <\/a>across Britain has identified one that made a lasting impression.<\/p>\n

On Sunday evening (May 24), Channel 5<\/a> broadcast its new programme Britain’s Best Service Station presented by JLS member JB Gill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The pop star embarked on a journey to explore the “weird and wonderful world of UK service stations,” speaking with specialists throughout his travels.<\/p>\n

At one of his destinations, JB met with so-called ‘Services King’ Rich Cross, who has invested more than \u00a310,000 visiting every motorway rest area nationwide.<\/p>\n

When pressed to select his preferred service station, Rich declined to pick one. “I couldn’t possibly have a favourite. They all have their own quirks and their own interesting features,” he said, reports the Mirror<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Rotherham<\/p>\n

Rich said Rotherham Services stands out as one of the best service stations in the country(Image: Channel 5)<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the recently-launched Rotherham Services ranks amongst his top choices.<\/p>\n

Rich elaborated: “This site stands out for me because it is just a completely different design to what we’ve seen before. The interior has depicted a typical Yorkshire High Street with mock shop-fronts.”<\/p>\n

He continued to outline his passion for rest stops, stating: “They [service stations] certainly are an exciting experience for everybody, not just kids.<\/p>\n

“They offer something completely unique and completely different, kind of mini shopping centre on the side of a motorway.”<\/p>\n

Rich’s distinctive pastime began during childhood. As the son of a truck driver, he treasures recollections of spending Inset days and school<\/a> holidays travelling along motorways with his dad.<\/p>\n

\"Rich<\/p>\n

Rich has been interested in service stations since he was a child(Image: Channel 5)<\/p>\n

Although Rich was unable to select a personal favourite, Channel 5 ultimately revealed the nation’s top five service stations, as determined by a Which? survey.<\/p>\n

Prior to the broadcast, however, viewers had already made their preferences known on social media. Taking to X, formerly Twitter<\/a>, one user declared: “It’s Tebay and that’s it.”<\/p>\n

Another concurred: “Tebay is obviously going to win, but really it should be Markham Vale or Skelton Lake,” while a third simply stated: Tebay. End of.”<\/p>\n

It appears viewers were not entirely on the mark, as the survey placed Tebay Services in second position, with Gloucester Services ultimately claiming the coveted top spot.<\/p>\n

Britain’s Best Service Station is available to stream on Channel 5<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new Channel 5 show has unveiled the nation’s favourite motorway service station, with contributor Rich Cross sharing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":982580,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5018,3,4],"tags":[748,1458,393,77,4884,81387,1144,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":["post-982579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-britain","category-uk","category-united-kingdom","tag-britain","tag-channel-5","tag-england","tag-entertainment","tag-great-britain","tag-jls","tag-northern-ireland","tag-scotland","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wales"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116631786583132407","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/982579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=982579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/982579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/982580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=982579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=982579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=982579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}