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Taking time to live well
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Eat better service stations

Lottie Storey August 10, 2018

Anyone who despairs of shoddy motorway service station food and the appalling provisions available in petrol stations throughout the land should know there are alternatives. And they are handily listed in the glove-box sized The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services, which proffers motorway by motorway suggestions of off-piste cafés, tearooms, pubs, farm shops and delis around the country.

Try these for starters:
M4: The Bell at Ramsbury, Wiltshire, SN8 2PE
A Georgian era coaching inn off junction 14 of the M4, on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, The Bell offers seasonal food and drink drawn from the local Ramsbury’s estate’s own brewery, distillery and smokehouse.

M5: Court Farm Shop, Cheltenham, GL52 7RY
With a ridge of the Cotswoldian Cleeve Hills as a backdrop, Court Farm Shop started life as a roadside egg shop but has blossomed into a purveyor of local produce. Two thirds of its wares are sourced within a 30-mile radius, and the farm’s own livestock is the basis for acclaimed burgers, sausages and meatballs. A hop from junction 11.

M11: Shelford Deli, Cambs, CB22 5LZ
Off junction 11, the Shelford Cafe-Deli serves up delectable homemade sandwiches, salads, cakes, pizzas, ice-cream, coffee and much else beside – all with a contemporary twist – that have made it beloved of foodies far beyond those simply stopping by off the motorway. Its assets also include a sunlit garden with a wendy house to play in.

M6: Whale Tail Café, Lancaster, LA1 IXN
A Mecca for vegetarians and vegans, this caff, off junction 34, is famed for its meat-free breakfasts, and cakes that are ‘masterful examples of alternative baking’. Ingredients where possible are free trade and organic.

Foodie pitstops taken from The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services by Alastair Sawday and Laura Collacott (Printslinger)

Turn to page 68 of August's The Simple Things for more detours worth making. 

 

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InEscape Tagsissue 74, august, school holiday ideas, games, travel
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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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