I have just finished my move to Spain,last part drove my car down.Well i got to La jonque so being full of the joys of spring i poped in to see if i could see any of my old mates.The scariest part being there was not one english truck parked there,so on my way past the service areas i glance a look in only to find not one englishman parked at the weekend.To me this is a frighten thing is there no work coming out of the UK,i seen lots of poles rumanians and the like we will end up like a third world nation of drivers if this carries on.
had many a good weekend at la jonquera myself alf, do you remember the abandoned fridge motor that was slowly stripped of all the useful bits? must be about 8 or 9 years ago now. it was heaving with brits then. euro works dying a lingering death now for groupage firms. 
I prefer to stay away from the border posts and services for my W/E break. La Jonquera has now got a bit of a rep’ for drivers being robbed and a motorway service area is a MWSA whatever country its in. They are all a bit on the pricey side (some countries are worse than others) and are a bit monotonous.
My last W/E in Spain, I drove an hour up the road to Simba’s, (on the National between Castelon and Valencia,) at Nules and then an hour back south on Monday am to start loading. I had a good W/E with a mixed group of drivers and locals, which was although not cheap, was not too expensive and I felt secure.
That “Upsatirs, Downstairs” club was an eyeopener!! Been down to Spain a few times and I love the place.
Couldnt agree more,from where I now live I can see spain from my window,and once or twice a month sometimes maybe more go to la jonnqura(pordon the spell)just to fill the tank up or do lunchand sometimes go down to gerona and since Ive been here I can count on one hand the number of brits Ive seen and in that you can add the irish.the last brits I saw was 2 of denbys.
Jonboy that fridge used to have a scania attached to the front i think, and as i went thru there regular it dissapeared bit by bit then they set to work on thr fridge 
the only time i get to go to spain now is on hols I drive down cos i do miss the journey , (going by plane)but I go own the other side now & we stay at La Manga
is “the morrocan” restuarant still open in jonquera just down from parking on left in side street 
UnionJack:
Jonboy that fridge used to have a scania attached to the front i think, and as i went thru there regular it dissapeared bit by bit then they set to work on thr fridgethe only time i get to go to spain now is on hols I drive down cos i do miss the journey , (going by plane)but I go own the other side now & we stay at La Manga
is “the morrocan” restuarant still open in jonquera just down from parking on left in side street
I thought it was a Man on Dutch plates impounded coz of exotic herbs onboard
or was that another one, there was another one at zona franca in the tir park were all the english used to park up against the fence not far from the showers, if memory serves, that was on old 112 scania with a tilt trailer guards caught some guys one night trying to nick the tilt off it also the cab got slowly stripped think the guards put a big piece of wire round the cab to stop drivers getting in and nicking bits, never did know what happened to the driver, I know it was there every time i went in there, anyone remember the scare stories that were put about at the time about not taking a shower late at night as the gypsys used to come over the fence at night and stab and rob you in the shower, used to have many a novice quaking in there freshly purchased cloggs
Hey man what the hell you are on about,la jon is full of eastern european trucks,parked up for a while,just wait a couple of weeks and they will parked up in UK,the moorish cafe is no where to be seen,the whole place is just full of truck stops and more are being put up.
The only Brits still going to Spain seem to be in removals, or Fridges, there are a few soft sided trucks, but I have gone days without passing another Brit truck recently…I always park at Lloret De Mar if I am near to the Border, I’ve had too many locks chewed up at La Jonquera to stop there any more