For years I had always assumed that service stations were not dog friendly places – I only had memories of seeing service dogs in them. Then after the first lockdown I treated myself and my Staffie Bruno to a week in Cornwall, and was informed by a client that the Hog and Hedge on the A30 was extremely dog friendly, and it was. Bruno could come with me anywhere in the building, including the toilets.
My 2nd encounter was much more recent. Again, Bruno and I were on our travels, this time to Whitby. I stopped off at Leicester services, and as it was very warm, was not going to leave Bruno in the car. I decided to see how far into the building we could get, as getting as far as the toilets would be a win.
As it turned out, I did not need to worry. We wandered up to the food court, queued at a well-known fast-food burger chain (not that one, the other one), and not only did no one ask us to leave, Bruno ended up getting attention and fuss from every staff member who walked past (who doesnt love a Staffie).
This made me realise that there must be more dog owners out there who by default leave their dogs in the car when at a service station, not realising they can join them.
So, with this in mind, I decided to put together a list of all the known dog-friendly service stations in the UK:
- Annandale Water (A74(M), Dumfries & Galloway)
- Beaconsfield (M40, J2, Buckinghamshire)
- Bothwell (M74, South Lanarkshire)
- Cairn Lodge (M74, Lanarkshire)
- Cherwell Valley (M40, Oxfordshire)
- Cobham (M25, Surrey)
- Doncaster North (M18, South Yorkshire)
- Donington Park (M1, Derbyshire)
- Gloucester Services (M5, J11A–12)
- Hamilton (M74, South Lanarkshire)
- Hopwood Park (M42, Worcestershire)
- Hog & Hedge – Newbury (M4, Berkshire)
- Hog & Hedge – Okehampton (A30, Devon)
- Killington Lake (M6 Southbound, Cumbria)
- Kinross (M90, Perth and Kinross)
- Leicester Forest East (M1 Leicestershire)
- Reading (M4, Berkshire)
- Sarn Park (M4, Bridgend)
- Skelton Lake (M1, Leeds)
- Strensham (M5, Worcestershire)
- Tamworth (M42, Staffordshire)
- Tebay Services (M6, Cumbria)
- Telford (M54, Shropshire)
- Tiverton (M5, Devon)
- Warwick (M40, Warwickshire)
- Winchester (M3, Hampshire)
- Woodall (M1, South Yorkshire)
- Woolley Edge (M1, West Yorkshire)
Extra, Welcome Break, Roadchef, Moto now allow well-behaved dogs on leads inside foyer, seating & toilet areas
This is an ever-growing list. As I discover new ones, I will add them. If you discover new ones please let me know, and I’ll add them. If you ever have an issue at one of the services listed here please let me know, and I will remove them.
Happy travels, to you and your pooch!