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| The M1 appreciation course | The M1 appreciation course |
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| By Stephanie Holmes BBC News | By Stephanie Holmes BBC News |
| There's more to motorways than tarmac, tailbacks and tepid coffee served at tourist prices. To prove it a lecturer took a minibus of students on a day-long tour of the M1. | There's more to motorways than tarmac, tailbacks and tepid coffee served at tourist prices. To prove it a lecturer took a minibus of students on a day-long tour of the M1. |
| Many people suppress feelings of mild dread at the idea of spending any time at all on a motorway. Few struggle with secret yearnings for the over-lit service stations areas that dot their routes. | Many people suppress feelings of mild dread at the idea of spending any time at all on a motorway. Few struggle with secret yearnings for the over-lit service stations areas that dot their routes. |
| Certainly, most would not choose to spend half their weekend thundering down the M1 - the road leading 193 miles (311 km) out of London - without the promise of, at least, arriving somewhere else.M1 in 1959 BC (Before Congestion)Enlarge Image | Certainly, most would not choose to spend half their weekend thundering down the M1 - the road leading 193 miles (311 km) out of London - without the promise of, at least, arriving somewhere else.M1 in 1959 BC (Before Congestion)Enlarge Image |
| But, according to David Lawrence, who is equipped with a PhD on motorway service areas, it was very different in the not-so-distant past. | But, according to David Lawrence, who is equipped with a PhD on motorway service areas, it was very different in the not-so-distant past. |
| As the shiny super-roads opened in the 1950s, "they became playgrounds for the fast and rich, rubbing shoulders with the newly affluent and motor-borne middle and working classes," says Mr Lawrence. | As the shiny super-roads opened in the 1950s, "they became playgrounds for the fast and rich, rubbing shoulders with the newly affluent and motor-borne middle and working classes," says Mr Lawrence. |
| "When the first motorways opened," he adds, "service stations were incredibly glamorous, modern venues which people would visit simply for the thrill of driving up the motorways." | "When the first motorways opened," he adds, "service stations were incredibly glamorous, modern venues which people would visit simply for the thrill of driving up the motorways." |
| As part of the London-based alternative education institute, the School of Life, Mr Lawrence is taking a small class of travellers, who have paid £95 each for the privilege, on a journey up and down the spine of England's motorway network - the M1. This is a trip into the familiar, to reveal the unknown. | As part of the London-based alternative education institute, the School of Life, Mr Lawrence is taking a small class of travellers, who have paid £95 each for the privilege, on a journey up and down the spine of England's motorway network - the M1. This is a trip into the familiar, to reveal the unknown. |
| Commerce and culture | Commerce and culture |
| He conjures up pictures of 1950s motorway service stations with staff whose sky-blue suits match the faux leather stools, neon light gleaming off the steel and Formica. | He conjures up pictures of 1950s motorway service stations with staff whose sky-blue suits match the faux leather stools, neon light gleaming off the steel and Formica. |
| While many might dismiss both motorways and their rest stops as inconvenient conveniences, Mr Lawrence wants us to view them as fascinating microcosms of modern life. | While many might dismiss both motorways and their rest stops as inconvenient conveniences, Mr Lawrence wants us to view them as fascinating microcosms of modern life. |
| "They are these strange concentrations of commercialism, branding, people, architecture and design," he says. "They change quite rapidly, becoming wonderful platforms to see how perceptions of popular and commercial culture are made, and erased, in rapid cycles." It is sometimes when you are on the road, that some of your best ideas come, that allow you a new perspective on your life Alain de Botton, writer | |
| It isn't all about the shopping, either, though you could be fooled into thinking otherwise as you wander amidst the bewildering array of items on sale - from milkshakes to Mars bars, via electric massage chairs and padded corduroy slippers. | |
| It's not just service areas that are the subject of this day-long lesson in motorway culture. There's the 193 miles of unbroken tarmac that connects Staples Corner in London with Hook Moor in West Yorkshire. | |
| Mr Lawrence enthusiastically points out how clumps of trees, varying gradients and curving embankments were incorporated in the original design of the road, which opened in 1959, to offer a subtly stimulating driving experience, or to prevent you falling asleep at the wheel. | Mr Lawrence enthusiastically points out how clumps of trees, varying gradients and curving embankments were incorporated in the original design of the road, which opened in 1959, to offer a subtly stimulating driving experience, or to prevent you falling asleep at the wheel. |
| The way we adopt a grin-and-bear-it attitude to motorway traffic jams reveals much about British culture, he suggests. | The way we adopt a grin-and-bear-it attitude to motorway traffic jams reveals much about British culture, he suggests. |
| "It's like something out of JG Ballard novel - all these people in their steel and glass bubbles, prepared to put up with moving at an incredibly slow pace just to ensure privacy," says Mr Lawrence, who actually does not own a car - preferring to get about with a combination of public transport and folding bicycle. | "It's like something out of JG Ballard novel - all these people in their steel and glass bubbles, prepared to put up with moving at an incredibly slow pace just to ensure privacy," says Mr Lawrence, who actually does not own a car - preferring to get about with a combination of public transport and folding bicycle. |
| 'Just passing through' | 'Just passing through' |
| Writer and philosopher Alain de Botton, who meets this class of itinerant scholars at the Welcome Break, Newport Pagnell, is another unlikely fan of the service station. | Writer and philosopher Alain de Botton, who meets this class of itinerant scholars at the Welcome Break, Newport Pagnell, is another unlikely fan of the service station. |
| For him, the squat concrete buildings, harsh neon lighting and bland pop tinkle that tries, in vain, to strangle the drone of cars has a poetry all of its own. M1 CONSTRUCTION FACTS One of first motorways to be opened in the UK, in 1959193 miles (311 km) in lengthMajor north-south route20 million tonnes of earth and rock excavated to build road5,000 road builders brought to work on double-decker busesWorkers' canteens needed every 2.5 milesConstruction cost in 1959, £50m class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7696004.stm">In pictures: Motorway sign madness | |
| "They are the sort of places that most people think of as nightmarish," he says, sitting at a table near the hot food counter. | |
| "They are lonely, but in a nice way. They are ugly but in a fun, interesting way. There is a special quality about them." | "They are lonely, but in a nice way. They are ugly but in a fun, interesting way. There is a special quality about them." |
| It's a quality, he points out, has inspired artists like Edward Hopper who returned repeatedly to the empty warmth of road cafes and petrol stations in paintings like Gas and Automat. | It's a quality, he points out, has inspired artists like Edward Hopper who returned repeatedly to the empty warmth of road cafes and petrol stations in paintings like Gas and Automat. |
| There is also a relief, Mr de Botton suggests, in surrendering to the embrace of loneliness in such a synthetic environment, where the feeling is almost a communal experience. | There is also a relief, Mr de Botton suggests, in surrendering to the embrace of loneliness in such a synthetic environment, where the feeling is almost a communal experience. |
| "It is a wonderful place to indulge that side of you that is lonely, that is sad, that is passing through. It's like listening to a very sad Leonard Cohen song. In a way it is grim, but it is also redemptive." | "It is a wonderful place to indulge that side of you that is lonely, that is sad, that is passing through. It's like listening to a very sad Leonard Cohen song. In a way it is grim, but it is also redemptive." |
| And, mingling with the heavy smell of fried food, there may also be just a whiff of romance. | And, mingling with the heavy smell of fried food, there may also be just a whiff of romance. |
| Where better, Mr de Botton asks, to feel that pang of desire than spotting a potential love interest across the food hall of a motorway service station - isolated, vulnerable and even unhappy. And flat broke from the cost of an over-priced full English, one supposes. | Where better, Mr de Botton asks, to feel that pang of desire than spotting a potential love interest across the food hall of a motorway service station - isolated, vulnerable and even unhappy. And flat broke from the cost of an over-priced full English, one supposes. |
| "That unhappiness, far from being off-putting, can actually be a peg on which your feelings of love can hang," he suggests. | "That unhappiness, far from being off-putting, can actually be a peg on which your feelings of love can hang," he suggests. |
| Altar to speed | Altar to speed |
| Love has oft blossomed in venues on the edges of motorways. In the 1960s, for example, the Ace Cafe - with its prime spot at the centre of a knot of motorways - gave teenagers a place to meet, listen to music, and, crucially, flirt.Ace cafe owner, Mark Wilsmore, has recreated a slice of motorway hey-day | Love has oft blossomed in venues on the edges of motorways. In the 1960s, for example, the Ace Cafe - with its prime spot at the centre of a knot of motorways - gave teenagers a place to meet, listen to music, and, crucially, flirt.Ace cafe owner, Mark Wilsmore, has recreated a slice of motorway hey-day |
| The man who brought the biker cafe back to life, recreating a venue where English breakfasts are served round-the-clock to hungry, leather-clad men and women, is 51-year-old Mark Wilsmore. | The man who brought the biker cafe back to life, recreating a venue where English breakfasts are served round-the-clock to hungry, leather-clad men and women, is 51-year-old Mark Wilsmore. |
| "It may sound corny but this space is as much about England as Windsor Castle, Tower Bridge or Stratford-upon-Avon," he says proudly. | "It may sound corny but this space is as much about England as Windsor Castle, Tower Bridge or Stratford-upon-Avon," he says proudly. |
| "This is almost a place held in as much esteem as Mecca and the Vatican. For those who love speed - who love wheels, rubber, tarmac and petrol engines - it's the high altar of speed." | "This is almost a place held in as much esteem as Mecca and the Vatican. For those who love speed - who love wheels, rubber, tarmac and petrol engines - it's the high altar of speed." |
| And, if the motorway is some kind of destination in its own right, then maybe we can all be pilgrims, spiritually inspired while moving at speed. | And, if the motorway is some kind of destination in its own right, then maybe we can all be pilgrims, spiritually inspired while moving at speed. |
| "It is sometimes when you are on the road, that some of your best ideas come, that allow you a new perspective on your life," muses Mr de Botton. | "It is sometimes when you are on the road, that some of your best ideas come, that allow you a new perspective on your life," muses Mr de Botton. |
| Mr Lawrence agrees. | Mr Lawrence agrees. |
| "We can still have adventure, even in our compressed and condensed society. That is the one thing that only the motorways can give us - the unpredictable unknown." | "We can still have adventure, even in our compressed and condensed society. That is the one thing that only the motorways can give us - the unpredictable unknown." |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| Am I the only person who doesn't see misery as a mandatory aspect of either the motorway or service stations? Granted, for £95 I'd have sooner got the train to Alton Towers with a friend, but I don't get steeped in depression whenever I close the passenger door. In fact, with the radio playing and somewhere exciting to be - even in traffic jams - I rather like the motor way. And service station have always just seemed like any other cafe to me - somewhere warm you can go for a rest and a drink before you get on with whatever the hell else you were doing. Am I the only person who hasn't felt suicidal purely at the sight of the decor?Steve Doran, Nottingham, UK | Am I the only person who doesn't see misery as a mandatory aspect of either the motorway or service stations? Granted, for £95 I'd have sooner got the train to Alton Towers with a friend, but I don't get steeped in depression whenever I close the passenger door. In fact, with the radio playing and somewhere exciting to be - even in traffic jams - I rather like the motor way. And service station have always just seemed like any other cafe to me - somewhere warm you can go for a rest and a drink before you get on with whatever the hell else you were doing. Am I the only person who hasn't felt suicidal purely at the sight of the decor?Steve Doran, Nottingham, UK |
| "Service stations...glamorous" - back in '63-64, when a student at Luton Tech, one or two of us had access to cars, and on a Saturday night, after the pubs had closed, or after our game of 10-pin bowls, we'd roar up the few miles from Junction 11 of the M1 (but no junction numbers in those days!) to Toddington Service Station - treating this as a late-night glamorous version of a coffee-bar...Paul, Braunton, UK | "Service stations...glamorous" - back in '63-64, when a student at Luton Tech, one or two of us had access to cars, and on a Saturday night, after the pubs had closed, or after our game of 10-pin bowls, we'd roar up the few miles from Junction 11 of the M1 (but no junction numbers in those days!) to Toddington Service Station - treating this as a late-night glamorous version of a coffee-bar...Paul, Braunton, UK |
| When I have to drive down into London I look forward to those Service Stations on the M74, M6 and M1. They're a kind of exciting stop because sometimes the journey is just as fun as the destination. It's the atmosphere of transience, of hot coffee and resting in the middle of something big. I hate jams though - so I tend to hit these places at night. And there's something very special about a usually busy place that's quiet. Andy, Highlands of Scotland | When I have to drive down into London I look forward to those Service Stations on the M74, M6 and M1. They're a kind of exciting stop because sometimes the journey is just as fun as the destination. It's the atmosphere of transience, of hot coffee and resting in the middle of something big. I hate jams though - so I tend to hit these places at night. And there's something very special about a usually busy place that's quiet. Andy, Highlands of Scotland |
| Although I live in the North West, I find that travelling to the South East using the M1 is more pleasant via the M62 and the M1 from the Leeds area than taking the M6 down to the Midlands and joining the M1 near Rugby. With regular congestion on the M6 in Cheshire/Staffordshire/Birmingham and no intention of paying to use the M6 Toll Road, this gives me the reason to go other ways. The A1 & A1(M) are also both more enjoyable than the M6 so sometimes I will use these instead for a variation of route.John R Jones, Preston, Lancashire | Although I live in the North West, I find that travelling to the South East using the M1 is more pleasant via the M62 and the M1 from the Leeds area than taking the M6 down to the Midlands and joining the M1 near Rugby. With regular congestion on the M6 in Cheshire/Staffordshire/Birmingham and no intention of paying to use the M6 Toll Road, this gives me the reason to go other ways. The A1 & A1(M) are also both more enjoyable than the M6 so sometimes I will use these instead for a variation of route.John R Jones, Preston, Lancashire |
| The M1 is my 'second home' as I live in Leicester and have lived in Sheffield, Wakefield and Leeds - all served by the M1. I have family living in Nottingham, Chesterfield and Sheffield as well The MOST annoying thing about the M1 now is the average speed restrictions. They serve no purpose at all, apart from annoying me!Helen, Leicester | The M1 is my 'second home' as I live in Leicester and have lived in Sheffield, Wakefield and Leeds - all served by the M1. I have family living in Nottingham, Chesterfield and Sheffield as well The MOST annoying thing about the M1 now is the average speed restrictions. They serve no purpose at all, apart from annoying me!Helen, Leicester |
| I think these guys should stop looking at the motorway through heavily-rose tinted spectacles before they have an accident!Mike, Nottingham | I think these guys should stop looking at the motorway through heavily-rose tinted spectacles before they have an accident!Mike, Nottingham |
| Only a person who does not own a car and therefore does not have to experience the complete horror that is driving on motorways in this country would say they are good.Craig, London | Only a person who does not own a car and therefore does not have to experience the complete horror that is driving on motorways in this country would say they are good.Craig, London |
| And let us not forget the vital role played by Watford Gap services in the social life and development of 60s pop. This was the place where long-haired musicians poured, exhausted, out of their cramped tour vans on their way to or from the next gig. As schoolboys from the north Midlands, on our way to the continent on a school trip, there was something exotic about Watford Gap beans-on-toast ... with the chance of rubbing shoulders with the Rolling Stones. In some way the M1 was the UK's Route 66.Andy Finney, Godalming, UK | And let us not forget the vital role played by Watford Gap services in the social life and development of 60s pop. This was the place where long-haired musicians poured, exhausted, out of their cramped tour vans on their way to or from the next gig. As schoolboys from the north Midlands, on our way to the continent on a school trip, there was something exotic about Watford Gap beans-on-toast ... with the chance of rubbing shoulders with the Rolling Stones. In some way the M1 was the UK's Route 66.Andy Finney, Godalming, UK |
| I travel the same stretch of the M1 Motorway, between Junction 24 and 44, Nottingham South to Rothwell, Leeds most days. Have done for 13 years in the same job. I have never considered it in the way that it is described in your article, though have seen some BIG changes during that time...... most recently the demolition of the iconic Cooling towers near Meadowhall, Sheffield. I will maybe look upon it in a different light on the way home tonight !Dave Goodman, Nottingham, UK | I travel the same stretch of the M1 Motorway, between Junction 24 and 44, Nottingham South to Rothwell, Leeds most days. Have done for 13 years in the same job. I have never considered it in the way that it is described in your article, though have seen some BIG changes during that time...... most recently the demolition of the iconic Cooling towers near Meadowhall, Sheffield. I will maybe look upon it in a different light on the way home tonight !Dave Goodman, Nottingham, UK |
| Of course the M1 was originally built to connect the two most important cities in Britain, namely, London and Leeds. But surely the A1 (which it flows into) is more romantic, and more historic?Hamish McGlobbie, Leeds | Of course the M1 was originally built to connect the two most important cities in Britain, namely, London and Leeds. But surely the A1 (which it flows into) is more romantic, and more historic?Hamish McGlobbie, Leeds |
| Utter NonsenseIan Collins, Derbyshire | Utter NonsenseIan Collins, Derbyshire |