Latest news with #EddieStobart
Spectator
05-08-2025
- Automotive
- Spectator
Why truck stop cafés trump motorway service stations
There's something about motorway service stations that seems to encourage the very worst in human behaviour. They're places where no doubt usually responsible members of society have long decided that it's permissible to drop semi-industrial amounts of litter on to the verges, urinate all over the toilet floor and belch with impunity while queuing up for a Whopper at Burger King. For me, it was the full-to-the-brim child's nappy that someone had left on a chair in the revolting 'sit down café' at a services near Preston that made me decide that I would never set foot in a Welcome Break, Moto or Roadchef ever again. I'm lucky; I have a bladder that can tolerate journeys of four or five hours by car. My fiancée, however, is not equipped with such sturdiness. So, over the past few years, we've been seeking out alternative forms of respite from the road. Truck stops are, I always assumed, not the kind of establishment in which a journalist and an intensive care nurse on their holidays would be welcome. Perhaps like many people not involved in the heavy transportation industry, I assumed these were malodorous, members-only places where entry would strictly be restricted to men of a certain age who were covered in axle grease and wearing grimy hi-vis jackets with trousers that comfortably showed at least two-thirds of their backside at any given time. My pompous snobbery was duly kicked into touch when we stumbled across Skelmersdale truck stop café. The first thing to tell you about truck stops is that they are not hard to find, presuming you have a smartphone. Nearly always independently owned and typically situated in an industrial estate around ten minutes' drive from the motorway itself, the locations are frequently aesthetically unedifying. So far, so absolutely predictable, you might say. But what surprised us was the welcome that a couple in a 2014 Ford Focus attracted when pulling into these places. Firstly, there is always parking for cars, as well as articulated lorries. And secondly, there's absolutely no grumpy official telling you that the place is for Eddie Stobart employees only. Inside the café itself; well, the décor is not going to be to the tastes of Philippe Starck. But, then again, neither would the interior of a Welcome Break. Be in no doubt, truck stop cafés are greasy spoons of the type that you seldom see on high streets any more. There will be Formica. There will be a TV showing (silently) football highlights from Bosnia or Colombia. There will be several red-top newspapers discarded across the tables. But there will also be an invariably cheerful woman ready to take your order at the counter for a made-from-scratch cooked breakfast of outstanding quality, and at a price that wouldn't get you a Rustlers microwave burger at a petrol station. Last summer, my Skelmersdale trucker breakfast of two bacon rashers, two sausages, fried egg, black pudding, beans, mushrooms and two slices of toast cost £4. I didn't need to eat again for 12 hours. The typical truck stop café (and there are dozens and dozens of them around the UK) doesn't limit itself to fry-ups, either. Since then I've eaten cottage pies, Cajun wraps, chicken curry, asparagus soup and carrot cake. You'll seldom find a main course that costs more than a fiver and the tea usually comes in mugs that could comfortably hold a tenner's worth of 1p pieces. It's worth remembering the first table-service restaurant in the world was set up to cater for road users. Boulanger's, located near the present day Rue de Louvre in Paris, opened in 1765 to offer 'restoratives' to travellers, including meat broths and sheep's foot in white sauce. The truck stops of Britain today are doing little more than replicating the ethos of Boulanger's. The food isn't intended for, or marketed toward, the majority of the general public. It's simple, homemade, exceptionally keenly priced, and best enjoyed while engaging in low-level conversation with your partner about the road ahead and the likelihood of getting good reception for Radio 4 on the car radio once north of Peebles. The only worry I have about truck stops is that they're seldom very busy. No matter how many trucks there are in the vast parking areas, I've never been to a truck stop café that is anything more than 10 per cent full. It's gratifying after myriad experiences waiting in the festival-length queues for the toilets at a Moto. But I suspect that many of these homespun operations would actually welcome a few more diners who aren't behind the wheel of a ten-ton behemoth. Perhaps the truckers are only here to sleep in their bunk behind the wheel or simply use the shower facilities. But what's become clear to me since I began using truck stops is that it's not necessary to complain about the appalling state of our 'mainstream' service stations when there are so many superior alternatives which we car drivers simply don't use. I no longer gripe about the state of a typical Welcome Break. I just make for the Red Lion truck stop near Northampton (which even sells its own range of sweaters, T-shirts and other merchandise), the Bury St Edmunds lorry park (which is unusually well signposted) or the Lesmahagow truck stop in Lanarkshire, which offers superb views of the rolling hills of the Clyde Valley. Of course, you could just pack your own sandwiches, 'hold it in' and not stop at all on a long drive. But there's something about a cooked breakfast on the road that brings out the Jack Kerouac spirit in me. OK, I'm not jumping off goods trains in Colorado in the dead of night while wired on Benzedrine. But I am hungry. And a litre of tea and some fried bread in a truck stop café beautifully evokes the original itinerant elan of longer haul road trips. Truck stops are the places where the loners, the drifters, the riders of the night congregate for warmth and sustenance. And, as I'm now certain, they're eating better than anyone joining the queue at a motorway Costa.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ed Stobart's wife says her passport has stopped working
The wife of Ed Stobart - heir to the haulage firm - says her passport has stopped working at airports after cosmetic surgery. Influencer Ashley Stobart said she has a facelift, nose job, brow lift and lip flip. And the 35-year-old content creator says her transformation is making travelling a problem. 'My passport because I've had that much work done, it doesn't work on the barriers,' Ashley said. She goes by thecosmeticconsult on Instagram, where she has over 90,000 followers. 'I'm not even joking,' the mum-of-one told her podcast Nip, Tuck, Not Giving A… ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement READ MORE: Teen's life changed forever after dangerous choice leaves her using nappy pads READ MORE: I used 49p kitchen item to kill every weed on my drive and they're still gone 'It doesn't work on them. You know when you put it through and you look in and it's like no, no. I got stopped and they were like this is not you, have you got like credit cards on you and stuff. Ashley Stobart is known for her cosmetic expertise -Credit:Jam Press 'He was like 'What the hell'. I was like, nose job, brow lift, lip flip, face lift.' Eddie Stobard - who died last November, aged 95 - set up the trucker giant in the 70s. Ashley's husband Ed is his grandson. He is the son of Eddie's son William. Eddie was said to be worth an estimated £22m. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Eddie Stobart is a renowned British logistics company, celebrated for its distinctive green and red lorries. The company traces its roots to the late 1940s when Eddie Stobart began an agricultural business in Cumbria. In 1970, this venture was incorporated as Eddie Stobart Ltd. Eddie's son, Edward Stobart, joined the business and, by 1976, had taken full control. Under Edward's leadership, the company expanded from a modest haulage firm into a major logistics enterprise. The company operates over 2,700 vehicles and approximately 3,500 trailers, with 43 operating centres throughout the UK, employing around 5,000 people. Its operations extend to the UK, Ireland, and Belgium, serving sectors such as retail, consumer goods, e-commerce, and manufacturing. Ashley says her new look causes travel trouble -Credit:Jam Press In 2021, Eddie Stobart was acquired by the Culina Group, a logistics company owned by Müller. Following the acquisition, the company was rebranded as "Stobart," and the tradition of naming each truck—often with female names like "Suzi" or "Dolly"—was discontinued. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Beyond its logistics operations, Eddie Stobart became a cultural icon in the UK. The company's lorries garnered a fan following, leading to the establishment of a fan club and the production of branded merchandise. The company's operations were also featured in the television series "Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers," which aired on Channel 5. Eddie Stobart, the founder, passed away in November 2024 at the age of 95. Although he started the business, it was his son Edward who significantly expanded it into a major logistics company. Eddie was known for his modest lifestyle and religious devotion, often expressing that he never anticipated the company would achieve such prominence.
Wales Online
07-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Ed Stobart's wife says her passport has stopped working
Ed Stobart's wife says her passport has stopped working Ashley Stobart says she has had to prove her identity when travelling Ashley Stobart says her passport doesn't work at airports (Image: Jam Press/@thecosmeticconsult ) The wife of Ed Stobart - heir to the haulage firm - says her passport has stopped working at airports after cosmetic surgery. Influencer Ashley Stobart said she has a facelift, nose job, brow lift and lip flip. And the 35-year-old content creator says her transformation is making travelling a problem. 'My passport because I've had that much work done, it doesn't work on the barriers,' Ashley said. She goes by thecosmeticconsult on Instagram, where she has over 90,000 followers. 'I'm not even joking,' the mum-of-one told her podcast Nip, Tuck, Not Giving A… 'It doesn't work on them. You know when you put it through and you look in and it's like no, no. I got stopped and they were like this is not you, have you got like credit cards on you and stuff. Ashley Stobart is known for her cosmetic expertise 'He was like 'What the hell'. I was like, nose job, brow lift, lip flip, face lift.' Article continues below Eddie Stobard - who died last November, aged 95 - set up the trucker giant in the 70s. Ashley's husband Ed is his grandson. He is the son of Eddie's son William. Eddie was said to be worth an estimated £22m. Eddie Stobart is a renowned British logistics company, celebrated for its distinctive green and red lorries. The company traces its roots to the late 1940s when Eddie Stobart began an agricultural business in Cumbria. In 1970, this venture was incorporated as Eddie Stobart Ltd. Eddie's son, Edward Stobart, joined the business and, by 1976, had taken full control. Under Edward's leadership, the company expanded from a modest haulage firm into a major logistics enterprise. The company operates over 2,700 vehicles and approximately 3,500 trailers, with 43 operating centres throughout the UK, employing around 5,000 people . Its operations extend to the UK, Ireland, and Belgium, serving sectors such as retail, consumer goods, e-commerce, and manufacturing. Ashley says her new look causes travel trouble In 2021, Eddie Stobart was acquired by the Culina Group, a logistics company owned by Müller. Following the acquisition, the company was rebranded as "Stobart," and the tradition of naming each truck—often with female names like "Suzi" or "Dolly"—was discontinued. Article continues below Beyond its logistics operations, Eddie Stobart became a cultural icon in the UK. The company's lorries garnered a fan following, leading to the establishment of a fan club and the production of branded merchandise. The company's operations were also featured in the television series "Eddie Stobart: Trucks & Trailers," which aired on Channel 5. Eddie Stobart, the founder, passed away in November 2024 at the age of 95. Although he started the business, it was his son Edward who significantly expanded it into a major logistics company. Eddie was known for his modest lifestyle and religious devotion, often expressing that he never anticipated the company would achieve such prominence.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Eddie Stobart heir's wife: I've had so much cosmetic surgery my passport doesn't work at the airport e-gates
The wife of the heir to the Eddie Stobart haulage fortune has told how she has had so much plastic surgery that her passport no longer work at airport e-gates. Beauty influencer Ashley Stobart revealed on her podcast recently she has had a face lift, nose job, brow lift and lip flip. The 35-year-old, who is married to Ed Stobart, son of current CEO of the family firm William Stobart, was describing how her transformation is making travelling a nightmare. 'Because I've had that much work done, [my passport] doesn't work on the barriers,' the influencer, who has more than 90,000 follows on Instagram, said. The mother-of-one told her podcast Nip, Tuck, Not Giving A...: 'I'm not even joking. It doesn't work on them. 'You know when you put it through and you look in and it's like no, no. 'I got stopped and they were like this is not you, have you got like credit cards on you and stuff. He was like 'What the hell'. 'I was like, nose job, brow lift, lip flip, face lift.' Ashley Stobart hosts the podcast alongside fellow influencer Lauren Elizabeth. Government guidance states that people do not need a new passport if they get plastic surgery - but experts say that in the case of extreme changes, it may be necessary. Cosmetic surgery that results in drastic changes to the eye and nose area in particular can affect facial recognition technology. Eddie Stobart - who died last November, aged 95 - set up the trucker giant in the 70s. Ashley's husband Ed, who avoids the limelight and has rarely been pictured, is his grandson. The couple welcomed a baby girl together in December 2023. Ed is the son of Eddie's son William, who took over the haulage firm following his the deaths of his father and older brother. William previously made headlines last year after he carried out works on two period properties next to his estate in Cheshire. The haulage firm has become a staple on UK motorways, and has a range of children's toys and books based on it Locals at the time accused the haulage guru of 'intentionally damaging' the cottages in the leafy village of Over Peover. Mr Stobart and his team insisted the works were necessary due to the poor condition of the properties. Edward Stobart, who was seven years older than brother William, died in hospital in 2011 following a health battle with heart issues. The original Eddie was said to be worth an estimated £22m.
