I stopped this week at Dundee truckstop. I thought it was due to close down and i’m not sure how i thought this, maybe something i read or heard i can’t really remember. It was never what you would call a good truckstop, but it was a truckstop. I believe the land has been bought by Stagecoach next door and who’s fault it is i’ve no idea but in common with a lot of industrial properties across the country you can see the dereliction and lack of any property management about the whole place. Filthy, unkempt etc… (appearance of the exterior buildings and grounds i’m talking about). There’s not too many truckstops out that way so i’ve always been happy to stop there, there is the company of other trucks which can make for amusement in the restaurant and saftey in numbers i.e. more eyes on the look out !! You can fuel there too. Showers, toilets ok, the food is great and about £6.25 for your tea and a pudding or starter. Its crap to park on as its full of mud and there is a security guard. Price is £8 to overnight. Oh , i nearly forgot, the bar there has closed and that was the main attraction for me.
Now back down towards the capital on the M25 there is a place that has just got a drinks licence. Same dance, parking full of mud (or maybe worse), your main meal is £5.95 (no pudding or starter in the price), no fuel and same captive audience. Freezing cold washroom /toilet, dirty showers ,low pressure and lukewarm. The ability to make a gammon steak look like a bacon chop and it costs you £20 per night to stop. Granted your meal is included in that price so that effectively makes it £14.05 to park. And no draught beer that i see unless it was in the upstairs bit that wasnt open, it was in cans from the restaraunt. Apparently there is such need for a facility as this as there has been numerous drivers (i presume) sign all the petitions for this place to keep it going !! How bad would a place need to be for you not to sign? You’d be better off parking in Waltham Abbey Industrial estate and walking the few hundred meteres into the town centre and eating and drinking there !! At least you’ll not have mud all over your lorry.
Further along at Thurrock is the Titan Truckstop, i’ve no idea what its like as every time i’ve been you can’t get in and i’ve been turned away. The place is massive but apparently its almost all contract parking. Very few actuall parking spots for joe bloggs passing by.
Back up North , Tebay. Junction 38. Secure, great food, immaculate toilets,showers washroom and all warm too. Loads of staff milling about cleaning. Small bar,great shop, fuel ,adblue, water, free cash machine. £8 to park and £2 off your dinner making it effectivley £6 to park.
Which brings me to…Truckstop news have a ‘vote your favourite truckstop’ thing going. I’m sure others do this too. Now to my way of thinking this is absolutley worthless. Its no good finding out or knowing that the best award winning truckstop in the country is in Aberdeen when you are nighting out in Exeter. There should be a region by region (or county by county) guide to who is best in the area.
You were in Dundee? You should have got your banjo out, there’s a lot of banjo music theer which isn’t coming from the radio. 
My granny was fae Dundee! I’ve never forgiven the dump!
My missus Dad is from Dundee and her ma from Kirkintulloch !!! I get the shivers everytime i go up there, and this morning it was -5 
Lockerbie look to be setting out on the right foot, £5.50 for a brekkie and at Exelby you can get a brekkie for £3.60. Essex will see you paying £3 for a bacon bagette from a butty van. No problems with price from the Welsh as they just don’t talk to ya !! Although i’ll check it out in the morning as i’m off to Angelsey
Coffeeholic:
You were in Dundee? You should have got your banjo out, there’s a lot of banjo music theer which isn’t coming from the radio.
The bit about the bar in Ridgway truckstop has upset me, unfortunately I used to be week-ended quite often in Wester Gourdie or in Sainsburys Baldovie. Neither was my favourite, at least I could get into a stupor and sleep through it
Did you not have to notify thepolice youd be at a certain location/time so you parked at that dump. 
M25 park at s mimms wander back to r/bout head north small village 1/4 mile 2 pubs great people
you tend to end up cooking savoury rice outside wagon at 4 in the morning .
scania245:
you tend to end up cooking savoury rice outside wagon at 4 in the morning .
i think the truckstop at dundee has had stay of exacution for a while
Never been to Dundee, but have stopped at J26, albeit only the once.
Got to agree about the mud…but then that is a common theme to many places these days. But when i was there the toilets were clean and lovely and warm. The food was ok, not brilliant but not bad.
Leeming Bar is a mud pit, with no security.
Barton Park is a mud pit.
DonutUK:
Never been to Dundee, but have stopped at J26, albeit only the once.Got to agree about the mud…but then that is a common theme to many places these days. But when i was there the toilets were clean and lovely and warm. The food was ok, not brilliant but not bad.
Leeming Bar is a mud pit, with no security.
Barton Park is a mud pit.
travel further north of dundee and you eventually come across stracathro services, it too is a mud pit, if you want to try the food out of the restraunt then good luck to ya as it sits under heater lights most of the day and is like rubber by tea time, if i have to park there i eat out of the freezer at the petrol station, there is a micro there to heat up what you buy out the freezer and is safer than ending up with a dodgy stomach 5 mile up the road
scotstrucker:
DonutUK:
Never been to Dundee, but have stopped at J26, albeit only the once.Got to agree about the mud…but then that is a common theme to many places these days. But when i was there the toilets were clean and lovely and warm. The food was ok, not brilliant but not bad.
Leeming Bar is a mud pit, with no security.
Barton Park is a mud pit.travel further north of dundee and you eventually come across stracathro services, it too is a mud pit, if you want to try the food out of the restraunt then good luck to ya as it sits under heater lights most of the day and is like rubber by tea time, if i have to park there i eat out of the freezer at the petrol station, there is a micro there to heat up what you buy out the freezer and is safer than ending up with a dodgy stomach 5 mile up the road
I love Stracathro services, OK the toilets could do with a bit of an upgrade, but the food to me is some of the best, it is home cooked fare that compares with the scones at the Farm on the A17
Loses a bit in translation I gather. You could go further and fare worse
They even have a monkey box
A nicer ambience than Moto or Welcome Break methinks
Wheel Nut:
scotstrucker:
DonutUK:
Never been to Dundee, but have stopped at J26, albeit only the once.Got to agree about the mud…but then that is a common theme to many places these days. But when i was there the toilets were clean and lovely and warm. The food was ok, not brilliant but not bad.
Leeming Bar is a mud pit, with no security.
Barton Park is a mud pit.travel further north of dundee and you eventually come across stracathro services, it too is a mud pit, if you want to try the food out of the restraunt then good luck to ya as it sits under heater lights most of the day and is like rubber by tea time, if i have to park there i eat out of the freezer at the petrol station, there is a micro there to heat up what you buy out the freezer and is safer than ending up with a dodgy stomach 5 mile up the road
I love Stracathro services, OK the toilets could do with a bit of an upgrade, but the food to me is some of the best, it is home cooked fare that compares with the scones at the Farm on the A17
Loses a bit in translation I gather. You could go further and fare worse
They even have a monkey box
A nicer ambience than Moto or Welcome Break methinks
they do a nice bacon and egg and mushroom butty i’ll give em that. i think they have even got a shower now but the toilets will never be changed as that would involve spending money which i dont think the owner likes doing lol
Titan at Thurrock is £15 to park and the facilities are just a toilet / shower block , the main lure is that its secure parking , surrounded by fence and cameras and also a security patrol , it is difficult to get in at night but if you ring during the day they will hold a spot for you.
‘‘The Last Drop’’ in dundee had a sign up last year saying they where closing in september due to higher rates on the land or something. I’m no sure who owns it but i was always under the impression it belonged to PS Ridgeways. As you see their staff cleaning out the bins , cleaning up diesel spills at the pumps. But then the stagecoach pits are in the truckstop, who knows 
I find it grim, yeah its clean and the grub is ok but it just depresses the life out of me, needs a lick of paint to brighten it up. Plus it has potholes the size of your truck
the pumps and land and buildings are indeed owned by ps ridgeway
scotstrucker:
DonutUK:
Never been to Dundee, but have stopped at J26, albeit only the once.Got to agree about the mud…but then that is a common theme to many places these days. But when i was there the toilets were clean and lovely and warm. The food was ok, not brilliant but not bad.
Leeming Bar is a mud pit, with no security.
Barton Park is a mud pit.travel further north of dundee and you eventually come across stracathro services, it too is a mud pit, if you want to try the food out of the restraunt then good luck to ya as it sits under heater lights most of the day and is like rubber by tea time, if i have to park there i eat out of the freezer at the petrol station, there is a micro there to heat up what you buy out the freezer and is safer than ending up with a dodgy stomach 5 mile up the road
stracathro youre better eating the mud its fresher,at least you know what youre eating.where s gordon ramsey when you need him theres things on that hotplate that now pay council tax.
i was thinking about stracathro the other week,as the foods not changed in 20+ years theres consistincey for you ,any wher else the cook would have been burnt at the stake even then 20 years ago but no truckstop he/she/it is still turning out tasteless overcooked definatly overpriced DOGFOOD.
only in scotland,
Dont get me started on the toilets/washbasins,
they were closed 10 year ago for refurb?
stopped a few months later think they put a new floor tile down.
scania245:
stracathro youre better eating the mud its fresher,at least you know what youre eating.where s gordon ramsey when you need him theres things on that hotplate that now pay council tax.
PMSFL
Rob K:
scania245:
stracathro youre better eating the mud its fresher,at least you know what youre eating.where s gordon ramsey when you need him theres things on that hotplate that now pay council tax.PMSFL
We all have different tastes I suppose. I always ask for a veggie burger in Wishaw
I think from the midlands right upto lesmahago are some very good truckstops 1 truckers rest 2 lymm 3 truck heven 4 J38 5 penrith. 6 Heywood But down here in the south there are to few truckstops and as for the south east kent its services or nothing. There are some good ones up the m1 j23, j29, the stock yard , york, castleford , Thats why i like doing the north runs