Fangirl's adventures in Butterland

At 8.45am today I had made good time on my journey - after 2½ hours I'd got from Berkshire to Butters' part of the world. Fearing that coronavirus panic would at any moment start people panic buying fuel, I decided I should top up my tank, and nipped off the M5 at the West Bromwich junction to go to a Tesco Extra which I knew to exist just up the A41. I knew it was there because I had with me my file of strip maps of all the main motorways and the superstore petrol stations within easy reach of the junctions, which I've painstakingly compiled from Google Maps and the 4 main store locators.

But when I drove into the car park, I saw that the petrol station was in a separate bit - and worse, the store wasn't a normal store, it was part of one of those annoying shopping centres where you have to validate your parking by buying something. And it had ANPR, so you had to pay just for driving in, not parking. I couldn't just sit in the car park and eat an apple and check my route, I had to buy an egg sandwich and some Ecover cleaning spray to get a parking voucher. And the parking machine wouldn't accept it, I had to use my mobile phone to call a number which summoned a burly security guard to help me.

And I still had to get my petrol. And when I got back to the M5, I ended up in a 3 mile traffic jam and took ½ hour to get onto the M6. And some gite in a modern Mini cut me up on the M6. I hope it wasn't Butters driving.

There's a handy supermarket just off the M6 at Carlisle.

And a Morrison's on the A1(M) at Boroughbridge.

It's all coming back to me now.

WhatDoesThisButtonDo? wrote:There's a handy supermarket just off the M6 at Carlisle.

The Tescos at J43? I filled up there yesterday.

There's also an Asda quite near J44 which I haven't tried.