Maximum Stay

You come off the road, onto the slip road and past the sign notifying ‘end of motorway regulations’: Still humming and vibrating as you decelerate into the service station, a limbo state between destination and departure. Existing to offer a momentary respite to the weary traveller, a chance to slow down and make use of the amenities and provisions provided. Yet extended stays are disapproved of; a maximum free stay is allocated: ‘Charges apply for all vehicles after two hours. Camera enforcement in operation’; you are warned as you drive in. I used the maximum given stay of two hours to wander through the areas in and around each service station exploring and documenting what I experienced. The more I visited these locations, the more that the familiar surroundings became peculiar. There was an uneasy sense of balance between the banal and the romantic as if I was walking through some sort of nostalgic dream.