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More top motorway stop-offs


Stopping at a motorway service station isn’t exactly the most enjoyable start to your holiday – the food is bad, the view is even worse, and there’s rarely any green space to stretch your legs. But by driving just a few miles from the motorway, you can be at a great canal or riverside attraction, and have a much more enjoyable break from your drive. Last year, waterscape brought you a selection of the best motorway stop-offs, and now we’re offering you even more ideas to make those long journey bearable.

From beautiful parks to take a walk in, to museums and country houses for a longer stop, these wonderful waterway attractions are all within just five miles of a motorway exit.

From motorway to waterway

A1 (M), Junction 48

Newby Hall and Gardens, Ripon, Yorkshire

An 18th-century country house, with award-winning 1920s gardens sloping down to the River Ure. Adults can enjoy the building, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, with interiors by Robert Adams, while children can let off steam on the the adventure playground, which features climbing frames, bridges, an aerial slide, pedalo boats, a sandpit and an interactive water play area for cooling off on those hot days.

M1, Junction 39

Pugneys Country Park, Wakefield, Yorkshire

This water sports centre consists of two lakes, located close to the Aire & Calder Navigation. A footpath runs the two miles around the larger lake, making it an ideal place for a family walk, with the added attraction of watching sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and kayaking on the lake. The smaller lake is a nature reserve, and offers two hides for wildlife-spotting.

M5, Junction 24

Somerset Space Walk and Maunsel Locks, North Newton, Somerset

This picturesque spot on the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal has a tea shop where you can enjoy some refreshments while watching the narrowboats pass by. If you fancy staying longer, boat trips depart from the canal centre, and it is also a stop on the Somerset Space Walk – a 22km walking route that also forms a scale plan of the solar system, with models of the planets along the way. Maunsel Lock is the location of the sun, and you can go in either direction to see the planets.

M6, Junction 15

Etruria Industrial Museum, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire

The last steam-powered potters’ mill in Britain offers a family-friendly interactive exhibition, which is a great place to learn about our industrial heritage. If you are lucky, you might arrive on one of the few days of the year when the boiler is lit and the historic mill machinery comes to life, but if not there’s still plenty to see and do. The museum is by the Caldon Canal and the Trent & Mersey Canal.

M6, Junction 36

Greenlands Farm Village, Tewitfield, Lancashire

Located close to the Lancaster Canal, this open farm is a lovely place for children to get hands on with animals, including ponies, rabbits, guinea pigs and mice, as well as enjoying horse and carriage rides and an outdoor playbarn. Also on site is the Village, where you can find a farm shop, wine shop, deli, restaurant, pottery and jewellery shop.

M8, Junction 2

Edinburgh Canal Centre, Ratho, Lowlands

For a really unusual lunch stop, try eating afloat on the Union Canal, on board one of the Edinburgh Canal Centre’s historic barges. Booking recommended.

M25, Junction 26

Lee Valley Park and Lee Valley Park Farm, Waltham Abbey, Essex
The Lee Valley Park is a 41km connected green space running along the banks of the River Lee, from Ware, Hertfordshire, all the way to the River Thames at East India Dock Basin. The part near Waltham Abbey is easily accessible from the M25, and offers loads of outside riverside space and fresh air. It is also the location of the Lee Valley Park Farm, where you can see pigs, goats and even meerkats, as well as riding the combine harvester and seeing cows milked and fed.

M40, Junction 15

Hatton Lock Flight, Hatton, Warwickshire

A steep flight on the [/canals-and-rivers/grand-union-canal], with 21 locks in just over 3km. [/services-directory/963/hatton-locks-café Hatton Locks Café] is a lovely spot for lunch, ideally placed for watching narrowboats ascending and descending the flight, and a walk around the area will reveal lots of interesting and historic sights, including the Maintenance Yard and Asylum Wharf.

M42, Junction 1

Tardebigge Lock Flight, Tardebigge, Worcestershire

At 30 locks, this is the country’s longest flight, raising the Worcester & Birmingham Canal 67m in around 3km. Its rural Worcester location make it an ideal spot for a walk and a picnic. Close to the top, you can find Tardebigge Engine House, once used to pump water from the nearby reservoir to the top pound, and now a restaurant.

M60, Junction 22

Daisy Nook Country Park, Failsworth, Greater Manchester

The Rochdale Canal runs through this delightful country park. It is so green and peaceful, it is hard to believe it is just a stone’s throw from the M60. With woodlands, walking paths and picnic sites, it is a great place to go for a breath of fresh air, and maybe spot some wildlife.

Last updated: 12/07/2011

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