M62 Breakdown
Recovery Service

The M62 is the great trans-Pennine motorway, the road that binds the cities of northern England together by crossing the backbone of the country between Liverpool and the Humber estuary. At 107 miles, it links six major urban areas — Liverpool, Warrington, Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, and Wakefield — and climbs to 1,221 feet above sea level at Windy Hill between Junctions 21 and 22, making it the highest motorway in England. The famous Stott Hall Farm, which sits in the central reservation between the eastbound and westbound carriageways, is one of the most photographed landmarks on any British road.

The western section from Liverpool through Warrington is flat and urban, passing through the Merseyside docks area and crossing the Manchester Ship Canal at Barton. Between Liverpool and Manchester, the M62 is one of the busiest east-west routes in the country, carrying commuters, freight, and Liverpool-Manchester intercity traffic in volumes that regularly exceed capacity. The Croft interchange at Junction 10, where the M6 crosses, is a critical junction for traffic from all directions. East of Manchester, the character of the M62 changes dramatically. The motorway begins its ascent into the Pennines, climbing through Milnrow and Rochdale before reaching the exposed moorland summit between Junctions 21 and 22.

The Pennine crossing is the defining experience of the M62. The road climbs through a landscape of dark millstone grit, peat bogs, and windswept moorland that feels more like Iceland than England. Windy Hill lives up to its name — gusts exceeding 60mph are not uncommon, and the M62 between Junctions 20 and 24 is closed several times each winter due to snow and ice. The long gradients on both sides of the summit — the climb from Rochdale in the west and from Huddersfield in the east — place enormous strain on vehicles, and HGVs in particular struggle with overheating on the ascent and brake fade on the descent. Beyond the Pennines, the motorway descends into West Yorkshire, serving Huddersfield, Leeds, and Wakefield before turning east across the flat Vale of York to its terminus near North Cave. The eastern section is straighter and flatter but carries heavy freight traffic heading for the Humber ports, and the Ferrybridge and Goole areas see substantial HGV movements.