A study has named the best service station in the UK for drivers on the nation's motorways. Service stations became popular when the country's network of motorways began to grow. Many of them are quite large, with toilet and shower facilities as well as restaurants, shops and cafes. Nowadays, some are far superior to others, as many service stations around the country are places drivers would rather not visit if they could avoid them. However, some are spectacular, according to UK drivers.

Consumer group Which? recently conducted a survey, asking its members to rank the 90 service stations dotted around the country. The service station that took the number one spot scored perfectly in almost every single category. Once again, Gloucester Services, located on the M5, was named the best in Britain. Survey participants ranked it highly for cleanliness, food and drink options, general services and the quality of outside space. The station is owned and operated by the Westmorland Family, who own two other service stations that scored highly.

"The three Westmorland sites repeatedly top our survey because they are sparkling clean, have excellent facilities and outdoor spaces that are a pleasure to be in," the consumer experts at Which? said.

Westmorland's Tebay outpost on the M6 won second place in the survey, while third place went to the Moto service station in Rugby. The Westmoralnd family's third service station, Cairn Lodge on the M74, just missed out on a top-three spot.

Gloucester Services scored 85% in the survey. Its only downfall was in the 'Price of goods in shops and food outlets' category, where it got only three out of five stars. However, none of the service stations on the list scored higher than three stars in this category.

The results were compiled based on a survey of 8,677 experiences from 4,078 Which? Connect members.

Respondents sang high praises when asked about Gloucester Services. Which? revealed: "A service station that you look forward to going to and plan your journey around, according to some readers? It's hard to believe. But Westmorland, the family-run business behind Gloucester, Tebay and Scotland's Cairn Lodge, has always done things a bit differently.

"You won't find anyfast-food chains or franchises. Instead, there's a farm shop with locally sourced produce and a kitchen cooking meals from scratch, including hearty meat and veg dinners to lunchtime flatbreads and vegan pancakes."

The top ten service stations in the UK, according to the survey, are:

Meanwhile, the worst service station in the UK, based on the survey results, is Moto's Bridgwater site. It scored just 23% overall, with only one star in most categories. The full survey results can be viewed here.