ovenight stops

[yvonnemumofjamesanddean]

driving to cornwall from manchester next summer would like to arrive not too long after midday so would set off friday evening any suggestions where to stop for the night either on a site not too far from motorway or at a services thanks to anyone who can help

 

[JonnyG]

Michael woods services just north of Bristol is around about 150 miles from Manchester. Exeter services is about 250 miles from Manchester. How far do you intend to try and get before parking up?And how far down into Cornwall are you going?

If you can put up with just a pullover night stop and a sink wash down, then if you could get to Exeter, traffic permitting, you should have an easier run down into Cornwall, but if you are going down in the real high season,be aware even Friday night traffic can be heavy and slow. good luck.

 

[Soozeeg]

You probably wouldn't get much sleep in a service station, there's too much coming and going, even overnight, and especially the lorries. And you may well have to park up in the lorry area, depending on the service station. Refrigerated lorries have their chillers going, which can be quite noisy too. The few times we've stopped overnight in a service station I've had hardly any sleep, both because of the noise and being nervous about the possibility of someone trying to break into the car or van (just my overactive imagination, probably!). As Jonny says, it would be better if you could tell us whereabouts you want to stop - just the county would do, you don't need to be too specific! lol.

 

[JonnyG]

Dont worry about parking up in a service station in the right place.Chances are you are going to be turning up at 10pm or later, most lorries are parked up and asleep, but also the car park area will be almost empy so i would advice parking there,and taking up a few bays. as long as you pay you should not encounter any problems and i can drive my 10 metre lorry around their so car and van should be fine. But remember its not cheap to park in these place £20 but offset that by the time trying to find a campsite and getting off and back on to your route, thats if anyone campsite will let you in at 9 or 10?pm

 

[RegandPat]

This may or may not be any good as it is a bit away from the motorway on the A303 just before Exeter is Cart Gate, like a servise station but not.
I have parked up for a sleep there but only for 3 hours but it is free and there is a cafe and loo's.
Thinking about it it will not be on route for you.
Sorry Reg

 

[Tango]

When we travelled down to Polmanter near St.Ives this year we stopped 4/5 times on the way. Set off at 4 in the morning from Blackpool and arrived on site at noon. Traffic was light early on but started to get busy once we left the M5 at Exeter. If we were going there again we would have set off the night before and travelled through the night so as to miss the traffic. Once you arrive they have a large area outside the main gates where you can arrive late, sleep in comfort and relative quiet, then just go onto your pitch when it’s ready.

 

[mikecandsarahb]

i wouldnt advise cart gate as thats just outside yeovil along way of course but good for a nap,oh and if anyone goes there look at the priceing of there food, as it cost more to get sausage and chips together than it is to get them sepratley.
why not come of a jn 17 m5 and go into asda or morisions car park, and stay there for the night, asda is 24hr and you can refuel there to, very high canopy, used to see loads of people parked up at asda when i lived near, and i dont mean the ones that normally are irish speaking.
mike

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

hi it would be of help to know the destinaion in cornwall in order to advise on stop over points and how long you intend to drive between stops. we have done this trip from west yorkshire about 9 or 10 times now using all the alternative routes and varying the distance between. the total distance from a start point is about the same though.

this last couple of years we have been down for a extended period so are not to worried about getting there quick and prefer to use the first and last weekend for a stop over and rest. near enough half way is weston or brean that is close to the M5 motorway there are several sites in this area. rather than do a allnighter consider setting off about 3-4am and calling for breakfast at asda or morrisons at jct 17 on the M5 below bristol should take about 4hrs exeter is about another hour and then depending on wether you are going down the A30 or A38 you can be well into cornwall by noon.
hope this helps
colin