'I visited all 97 UK service stations and people need to be aware of these red flags'

'I visited all 97 UK service stations and people need to be aware of these red flags' Rich Cross, also known as the 'Service Station King', has spent more than a decade visiting all 97 official service stations in the UK. Now, he's sharing what he saw. A man dubbed the 'Service Station King' has made it his mission to visit every service station in the UK, and he's got some eye-opening observations to share — including the biggest warning signs to watch out for. Rich Cross has spent over a decade traversing the nation's roads, stopping off at all 97 official UK service stations in his two-door Smart Car. The 28-year-old from Bristol has been making these pit stops for 13 to 14 years, and it's all thanks to one man — his father. The self-styled Service Station King would travel with his dad during school holidays, with the pair regularly pulling in at service stations for a breather. It was during these trips that Rich's curiosity about how service stations operate truly took hold. In fact, Little Chef — a brand that has long since disappeared from our roads — was one of the first names to really capture the enthusiast's imagination. Now, he's lifting the lid on the key red flags he's spotted throughout his travels, revealing which service stations have left him most surprised, and offering his verdict on those in Gloucester, Tebay, Beaconsfield, Rugby and Cairn Lodge — all of which have recently been crowned the UK's finest service stations in new research, reports the Express. Service station red flags Speaking to SMC Coach Hire about the most glaring warning signs he's encountered across the UK's 97 official service stations, Rich shares: "I don't like it when sites are too busy. If you're getting poor customer service because it's too busy, you're less likely to return. People want to be able to pop in and out quickly if they need to. If the toilets are a mess, that's a big red flag. "The condition of the road through the site is a big thing for me. It's a big topic especially for the lorry drivers, who are the most regular customers. Things like pot holes are a big problem." Service stations that stand out While telling SMC Coach Hire that picking a favourite from all 97 is no easy task, Rich does have a shortlist of stations that have genuinely impressed him throughout the years. The 'Service Station King' says: "So the iconic one is Lancaster Services on the M6. It's got the Pennine Tower that towers above the site. That's usually one that crops up in conversation quite frequently. Back in the day it used to have a restaurant at the top there with views of Lancashire but unfortunately that's closed now. "You've got Charnock Richard (M6), Keele (M6) and Leicester Forest East (M1) which have bridges where you can sit above the motorway and eat your food. Those are quite quirky. Some of the newer sites like Leeds Skelton Lake and Rotherham are trying to do something a bit different and blend it into the environment. One of those has a big country park behind it with a 2k walk, so that's really different." The perfect service station So, what does Rich consider to be the ultimate service station experience? "A site has to have a variety of offers to cater for different types of customers. The more brands you have in the building the better, it gives people options. "Clean toilet and shower facilities are also really important, as are EV chargers. You need to have plenty of them, especially at the moment as the country moves more towards that revolution. Ease of access to the site is also a hot topic. There are two types of entrance - online sites and offline sites. "Online ones are the ones directly on the motorway that you just access via a sliproad. Offroad are ones where you have to come off at the junction and you've got to drive a little bit to get there. Online sites are preferred because you don't have to faff around as much." The UK's best service stations - do they live up to the hype? Gloucester, Tebay, Beaconsfield, Rugby and Cairn Lodge are frequently cited as the UK's finest service stations - but what does Rich actually make of them? He shares: "Gloucester, Tebay and Cairn Lodge are all run by the same company, so they all have the same style. They have a farm shop style, with a different and alternative set up. That's why they always rate highly. They offer locally sourced produce and everything is made freshly on the day. They are all very landscaped, there is plenty of green space. "Rugby is one of the newest ones, it opened in 2021. It's fantastically landscaped out the front. There is plenty of EV charging for people who need that. The site is well laid out despite being a junction site. There are plenty of brands inside for people looking for a variety. "Beaconsfield used to have the UK's only Wetherspoons. It's all about choice there, I think there are about 15 different brands there. It's also the first site when you get to on the M40 when you come out of London, so it's popular for that reason as well - people stop before they go in or straight after they come out. They've really invested in EV charging there as well."