Anyone remember the ranch on watling st nr dunstable. In the early 70s a guy called fred used to run it. He used to sit on a stool behind the counter watching tv and chain smoking.A driver one day asked for a bacon sarnie,fred buttered the bread with the ■■■ in his mouth and coughed.As he did so the ash dropped in the sarnie, fred covered it with bacon and sold it to the unsuspecting driver who had not seen what happened.There were2 more cafes on that stretch of road at the time.The 3 sisters which was the best[now a motel] and watling st which is still going.Hope this stirs a few memorys
Will certainly stir a few stomachs…
Hi Remember It Well Long Gone. Who Was It From Garston Liverpool That Had A Tractor Based There. scammel couplin leyland??
Starting from M1 going north on A5 the first one is still there combined with the Shell garage. Crows Nest was next I believe [last time I went past it was an Indian or Chinese], then the motel what was 3 Sisters. Through Dunstable to the Woburn turn and the forementioned Ranch, after that as you reach Bletchley was another cafe on the left [now a farm shop I believe]. Before the weight limit came into force you could leave M1 and head away from Dunstable towards Redbourne and there was a cafe there [but cannot remember the name anymore]…
If you carried on north on the A5 there were many cafes [remember this had been a trunk route before M1] – only one I can think of now is Hungry Sausage [was Freds cafe] at Pottersbury and finaly Jacks Hill where A45 crosses A5…
Big Leggy:
Starting from M1 going north on A5 the first one is still there combined with the Shell garage. Crows Nest was next I believe [last time I went past it was an Indian or Chinese], then the motel what was 3 Sisters. Through Dunstable to the Woburn turn and the forementioned Ranch, after that as you reach Bletchley was another cafe on the left [now a farm shop I believe]. Before the weight limit came into force you could leave M1 and head away from Dunstable towards Redbourne and there was a cafe there [but cannot remember the name anymore]…
If you carried on north on the A5 there were many cafes [remember this had been a trunk route before M1] – only one I can think of now is Hungry Sausage [was Freds cafe] at Pottersbury and finaly Jacks Hill where A45 crosses A5…
yeah big leggy i remember all of your cafe names on the old A5, do you also remember the Blue boar A5 at rugby, and further north Tubbys cafe, also Tonys of grantham on the A1,i was in one of the old and still going strong cafes a few weeks ago Red lodge on the A11 .
Big Leggy:
Starting from M1 going north on A5 the first one is still there combined with the Shell garage. Crows Nest was next I believe [last time I went past it was an Indian or Chinese], then the motel what was 3 Sisters. Through Dunstable to the Woburn turn and the forementioned Ranch, after that as you reach Bletchley was another cafe on the left [now a farm shop I believe]. Before the weight limit came into force you could leave M1 and head away from Dunstable towards Redbourne and there was a cafe there [but cannot remember the name anymore]…
If you carried on north on the A5 there were many cafes [remember this had been a trunk route before M1] – only one I can think of now is Hungry Sausage [was Freds cafe] at Pottersbury and finaly Jacks Hill where A45 crosses A5…
The Ranch was on the bottom side of Dunstable. As you come out of Dunstable, you go past the ■■■■■ Camp on the left, then there is a Scaffolding Place there now, they are on the site of what used to be The Ranch…
As for the on the A5 at Bletchley, if its the one i think it is, i believe, and i could be wrong, its still a Keyfuels site now, but the Brickhill Bypass makes you go round the village now, rather than thru it…
There used to be a Cafe between Chalk Hill Cutting and Hockiffe i believe many moons ago, its now a Little Theif with a Travel Lodge bolted to it…
There used to be a decent Cafe just off of J16 M1 IIRC years ago, but i cant for the life of me remember what i was called…(Not the Red Lion, it was if you turned left and headed towards Daventry)
What was the cafe at Hockliffe called then ?
If you go north up A5 untill the traffic lights at Hockliffe & turn right towards Woburn on that corner as you’ve turned is/was a 2nd hand car dealer – that’s where the cafe was ! I may be wrong but I believe that last time I passed by that way it was a company that panneled out transit type vans !!
I’ve got to get out more ! Spent ages trying to think of the name of that ex cafe at Hockliffe !! Was it not known as “Clives” ? Think the guy who owned the land that now has a house on it & is a car lot as well was a Polish guy – also seem to recall a female there who owned a school of motoring !!
The Cafe Were The little Chef Is At Hockliffe Was Named The Sentenol Cafe There Was A Cafe At Little Brickell And Then The Pullman Cafe And Filling Station Were Hunters Farm Shop Is Now. It Was Clives At Hockliffe Cross Roads. There Was Also One In Markyate High Street Tubby Harts Les Ran It For Years.Till It Closed.
Found a picture of Jesse’s, used to be just south of Markyate, on the old bit of the A5 , some Marston Valley brick lorries on the front and that’s a BRS Leyland Octopus and drag heading south on the NEW bit of A5 towards Friars Wash (J9 M1)
When you could lite up a senior service without a care in the world 
Dont forget georges at crick.
With ref to Jesse’s at Markyate. As an ex- Marston driver, 1964-6, that might have been me in one of those S-types, mine was fleet # 224. Later 428, Leyland Comet. I can remember my brother-in-law coming in there and dropping two bob on the table for about 6 teas. Another tale, the pavement was very narrow through Markyate and a lady had a dog on it’s lead and it happened to step into the gutter and got flattened under a Marston truck !
webby alpine:
The Cafe Were The little Chef Is At Hockliffe Was Named The Sentenol Cafe There Was A Cafe At Little Brickell And Then The Pullman Cafe And Filling Station Were Hunters Farm Shop Is Now. It Was Clives At Hockliffe Cross Roads. There Was Also One In Markyate High Street Tubby Harts Les Ran It For Years.Till It Closed.
Bewick Transport used the Sentinal site as a depot for a while in the late 70’s,the site had been cleared all but for the brick built kiosk which I assume was for the pumps when there was a filling station there.Cheers Bewick.
webby alpine:
The Cafe Were The little Chef Is At Hockliffe Was Named The Sentenol Cafe There Was A Cafe At Little Brickell And Then The Pullman Cafe And Filling Station Were Hunters Farm Shop Is Now. It Was Clives At Hockliffe Cross Roads. There Was Also One In Markyate High Street Tubby Harts Les Ran It For Years.Till It Closed.
Dont forget the old 46 cafe on the old A5 by the Milton Keynes Bowl