Rest area & services - what's different?

[s2sol]

At the top end of the M6, there's what looks like an MSA, but is described as a rest area. Anyone know the difference?

Tesco on the A69 into carlisle is cheaper for everything and less than a mile off the motorway, anyway....

[Truckosaurus]

I suspect a rest area would be little more than a car park and toilets (maybe a shop during peak hours), rather than a full services with petrol and restaurants etc.

[mrmr96]

One's got a hotel?

[rottie102]

I love the "rest areas" in continental Europe.

There's so many of them, always very clean. Just simple: few tables, benches and loo. Not like in the UK where you have to spend loads in overpriced greasy spoons like Little Chefs etc.

[mkblues]

only difference I see is that at a MSA you have to part with a lot more of your cash to buy anything, called into an MSA earlier this week on M5 and they were flogging gallon ( or should that be 5 litre) screen wash something like 7 squid having a laugh I think, how they survive is beyond me

M

[s2sol]

The one on the M6 has petrol and a restaurant, but I couldn't see a hotel. Could be it, but I'm pretty sure hotels in MSA's are a fairly recent thing.

[AndyT77]

They survive because they have a captive audience. If you're travelling up the motorway and need some screen wash, you're going to buy the stuff at the MSA, or risk not having any at all (which is dangerous in some circumstances).

I needed some water to top up my windscreen wash resevoir some time ago and didn't fancy paying to use the water/air dispensing machine, so i took an empty bottle into the toilets and filled it up that way!

[RZ1]

Rest Area = Dogging location

[ewenm]

RZ1 said:

Rest Area = Dogging location

You seem very sure about that so must be speaking from experience. Very brave to come out on a public website

[RZ1]

ewenm said:

RZ1 said:

Rest Area = Dogging location

You seem very sure about that so must be speaking from experience. Very brave to come out on a public website

Erm someone told me about it.
Am i getting rest areas mixed up with picnic areas?

[s2sol]

You must be. The smell of a forecourt and the prospect of a Little Chef full of indignant, unwilling voyeurs must surely spoil the beauty of the moment of knocking one out over the windows of a Mondeo? If that's what dogging is.

[Prak]

Steven Wright said:

And then I saw a sign saying, "Next rest area 5 miles". And I thought ... Wow, that's pretty big ... People must get really tired around here.