I may be wrong but my memories of the UK driving scene is one of vanishing transport cafes whereas here in France there is an abundance of good family run places.
But I saw this thread on a US drivers’ site and the following is the opening post:
Name a truck stop that you can never, ever find a spot in, even on Christmas or other holidays. Even if the place was burning down and zombies were eating drivers and driving their trucks away. The FJ in Ontario CA comes to my mind.
There folowed 7 pages of awful giant super service station type s hitholes littered with ‘lot lizards’ shaking the truck to wake you up for a price.
Just one example of many:
That place is not only always full, but it ■■■■■. I think they advertise to a secret society of retarded and brainless drivers that this is the place to be! If I have to stay around Allentown, I do the J at Frystown. At least you can move around there.
I told them how lucky we were in France 
, any in UK you would like to add? 
BTW the obliterated word in para 5 is s ucks, even Yank censors allow that. 