THE summer holidays are in full swing, and with overseas travel restrictions in place, domestic travel is a popular choice.

With staycations the holiday of choice for many, the country’s roads have been full of holidaymakers in recent days and weeks.

But, with hotels and rentals becoming hard to come by, some people have had to travel a little further afield to get their well-deserved break.

The extra travel comes with the need for an extra break, and a new study has revealed the best places to stop off for a pitstop in the UK – ranking each and every motorway service station from best to worst.

While the journey rarely beats the destination, the study is useful for finding out which services has the most food options, the most interesting retail choices, and other facilities and amenities.

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Locally, the service stations in our area failed to rank anywhere near the top of the table, and one came in near to the bottom.

Of the 100 service stations surveyed, Severn View services off the M48 ranked at 95, with an overall score of 37 out of 100.

The main drawbacks here are the lack of food variety – with just three outlets, and no hotel for weary travellers.

Plus points included shower facilities, and a choice of 820 parking spaces, and though it was not measured in the survey, the view here is on par with the best of the best.

The remainder of local services were fairly middle of the road, with the M4 at Magor coming in 46th place.

That being said, typically, locals wouldn’t be using these services, and the best of the best, while further away, might actually get more use from holidaymakers from Newport and Gwent this summer.

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Taking the crown for the best motorway service station in the UK is Cobham Services, just off the M25 in Surrey.

Not only is it the busiest service station in the UK, it has the facilities to meet demand.

Here, there are 13 food outlets – including Nando’s and Leon, hotel facilities, and over 4,600 parking spaces.

Overall, the best motorway for the quality of its service stations was said to be the M40, with three destinations ranking in the top 15 – Beaconsfield (second), Cherwell Valley (sixth), and Warwick (15th).

Meanwhile, the study, carried out by vehicle rental firm Northgate, found that Carnforth on the M6 was the lowest ranking service station.

Located on the outskirts of Morcambe, there are just two food outlets, no charging points, and only 129 parking spaces.