It was billed as the most advanced motorway services in the world when it opened at the beginning of the 1990s, but time has not been kind to Thurrock services on the M25.



This week it had the dubious honour of being rated the worst services in England, in an independent survey that rated 111 motorway sites based on food and drink, toilets and staff friendliness.

“It’s a dump. You have to queue for the showers and it’s not been updated for years,” says 64-year-old Trev, a truck driver from Yorkshire, who stops here twice a week. “They are better off knocking the whole place down and turning it into a playground.”

Sitting in the front seat of his truck, Trev says his issues are with the facilities and the food. “There are no proper food places, only takeaways, and the showers are not nice.”

‘The showers are not nice’: lorry driver Trev from Yorkshire. Photograph: Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi/The Guardian

He says service stations in other European countries are far better. “In this country there are not many service stations that are good, they are way better abroad. You don’t pay in Europe to park overnight but you pay to use the showers, only a few euros, and they are clean.”

He adds: “They also have better food in their service stations, things that are freshly cooked.”

Other drivers visiting the site agree. Lee Armston, 29, who is away from home all week delivering farm machinery across the UK, says he usually avoids stopping in Thurrock but he had to come here today as he ran out of driving time.

“I have experienced lots of service stations and this is among the worst. The showers here smell like wee. It’s down to lazy drivers not looking after them. A bit of drain cleaner would not go amiss,” he says.

Thurrock services were designed to offer motorists a little bit of suburbia in an urban setting. A long, curving entry road from the motorway leads to the now faded white structure, situated next to a lake made from a filled-in gravel pit.

Inside there are dimly lit arcade rooms, a Burger King, a WH Smith, a Costa, an M&S and a few other cafes and shops. Downstairs are the showers and the toilets. In the ladies’ facilities, six toilets have “out of service” signs on them.

A spokesman for Moto, which runs the services, said: “We are conscious that major redevelopment works at Thurrock and Toddington South had a negative impact on our customers’ perceptions, especially during washroom improvement work.”

The women’s toilets at Thurrock. Photograph: Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi/The Guardian

Michael Hill, 72, who has stopped on his way home to Cambridgeshire to walk his dog Caspar and take a rest, says the service station used to be nice but it is now looking a bit rundown. Like others, he thinks it would be good if it served healthier food.

When service stations were first built in the late 1950s they were intended to be for fine dining and associated with architectural merit. The construction of these sites was taken seriously, with table service and a concierge at some of them. One of the first service stations was built at Newport Pagnell, near Milton Keynes, and its design was bold, bright, and modern.



One company, Top Rank, was particularly notable for its bold architecture. Postcards of the services were sold at various sites, along with cards showing parts of the M1, M6 and M62.

But over time motorway service areas came to be built for convenience, with little attempt to innovate. At the start of the 1970s, the number of sites grew quickly and buildings became more generic. Instead of offering table service, fast-food outlets were brought in.

Sean Waller, 51, another truck driver, from Deal in Kent, isn’t hugely impressed with Thurrock but does like Gloucester services, one of the UK’s newest motorway service areas. “Gloucester services are really nice. They have a farm shop there, not a Burger King.”

The Gloucester site, between junctions 11a and 12 of the M5, is perhaps what modern service stations could be. The environmentally friendly building has food that is sourced primarily from local suppliers. It’s a family business, started in 1972. The website says: “Our farm still feeds our business and our farm heritage is important in everything we do”.

‘The choice of food here is pretty shocking’: Denis and child. Photograph: Alecsandra Raluca Dragoi/The Guardian

Perhaps, says Denis Muldrew, 32, from Dover, Thurrock’s problem is that it has failed to evolve with the times. Muldrew is at the service station with his wife, Ashley, and their baby. He uses the site frequently in his work as a tipper driver. Today they had come in to feed their child and use the toilets.

“The choice of food here is pretty shocking. They need to serve a healthier selection,” he says. “If service stations are to be better they need to be modernised to become places you want to stay in.”