Going The Extra Mile to avoid motorway service stations

The Extra Mile is a new guide book that steers motorists away from grim motorway services and into tasty local alternatives. It offers a hand-picked and dependable list of brilliant and independent outlets with good-quality local food (often direct from makers and growers), space for children and pets to let off steam, fascinating attractions and knock-out views. Farm shops, cosy cafes, quirky attractions and gastronomic pubs that restore a bit of magic to a journey, without adding too many miles.

Find out more at theextramile.guide

Win a copy of The Extra Mile

We have five copies of The Extra Mile to give away. Simply leave us a message at the bottom of the page and we will pick winners next week.

Why it's worth going the extra mile...

In the 58 years since the first motorway service area opened at Watford Gap on the M1, Britain has lagged behind other countries when it comes to rest stops for long-distance motorists.

In the early 1960s, motorways offered the dream of fast and comfortable long-distance personal transport, and a post-Festival of Britain hubris ensured the designs of the earliest service stations were ambitious. The vending machines, ‘robot’ kitchens, foot-operated taps and styling inspired by Americana and aviation enchanted motorists, but the originality of these early sites soon gave way to a homogenised approach to service area design.

As the number of service stations in Britain multiplied over the years, they gained a reputation for over-priced fuel and anodyne surroundings serving food that was both expensive and of questionable quality. The introduction of well-known burger concessions brought nothing if not consistency to the motorway service station dining experience. And all-the-while no provision was made for the non-commercial rest areas provided for drivers in America and on the continent. Such stops offer a free-to-use landscaped area away from traffic with tables, benches, loos and, occasionally, showers.

Ethical insurance

The ETA has been voted to provide the most ethical insurance.

The Good Shopping Guide each year reveals the good, the bad, and the ugly of the world’s companies and brands, with a view to supporting the growth of social responsibility and ethical business as well as a more sustainable, just society.

Beating household-name insurance companies such as John Lewis and the Co-op, we earned an ethical company index score of 89 – earning us joint-first place with Naturesave.

Your Journey Our world

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Twenty seven years on, we continue to offer home insurance, cycle insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

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