Junction 15 m6 at the end of the lay by west bound,two caravans ,one for tea next one empty except for a mattress o the floor for extras. No I did not ! Joepipe
Dave the Renegade:
altitude:
What about that dump in the so called Cirencester lorry park ( the cafe and the lorry park ) what ever you have tastes the same----------------------- of whatever fat they use--------------and lot’s of it!!!
Good old Greasy Joe’s,John how could you.
Cheers Dave.
Hi all greasy joes no longer there the council would not renew the licence as they are closing down the lorry park I passed there the other day all flat cheers John
Wheel Nut:
Top or rather Bottom Three in any order you like.Queer Now Cafe A1
Ross Cattle Market
Swindon Truckstop
[zb] dangerous health hazards the lot of them
So sue me!!!
The Queer Now!!!lol,lol,lol 
Don’t forget stibbington diner ,what a dump ,I always make my decision on if bogs are clean and have soap ,add Kate’s cabin to the list too 3 times I’ve tried it ,3 times still no soap 
Another dump of a café springs to mind,the Boundary Café on the A41 at West Brom.
I called in there when on nights for MFS early 80s,full of BRS Oldbury drivers and local Rastas from the night clubs down Soho Road,B’ham.
Never again,what a scruffy hole. 
I once stopped outside Durhams Transport at Billingham one Friday afternoon and ordered a couple of cheese burgers from a caravan , I was starving , the grubby bloke handed me the first one which I took a big bite out of then just before he gave me the next one he wiped his dripping nose on his bare hand , the joys of motoring
Any of you older Lads remember the Tempsford Café just North of Sandy on the A1,a right dingy hole,
only ever stayed the once, owned by A Polish Guy,went to Bed with the Boiler Suit on Beds Crap whole place Freezing cold
Ben,
I only went into decent Cafes !! I had a good teacher on the Octopus and trailer at Brady’s ! 
It used to be Pats cafe on clay lane in Coventry .Dirtiest stinking filthy dump on the planet .The kitchen was woeful .Worst food ever bar none.Its a kebab dump now though.Think the old bird died
I owned a cafe a few years back and had spud vans .it’s not easy but it’s no chore to cook good and clean.
Tarmac duck:
best thing about the moss cafe was it was open all night the women (battleaxes) behind the counter frightened me to death though
^^^^^^^^^^^^
they were sweethearts really.
i ate there regulary for years and didnt think it was dire like some.it was just a poxhole of a place that served a purpose and nothing more.no point in making it pleasant for the drivers to hang around and relax in (them trucks need paid for).
they had the same logic as the hollies.never replace a plate just because its cracked.
i had to overnight there once round about 1980 as shap was closed for a cpl days with snow ( wooden scout hut round the back on camp beds)
hard to kip with 1 blanket on a cot,but it helped passing the time by watching the rats on the dining table during the night and wondering if it had any thoughts on snuggling in beside me for a heat…
The worst one for me was the ranch[watling st]Dunstable.A man called fred used to have it in the 70s,what a dump,the food was terrible and if for some dire reason you o/nighted there the beds were cubicles round the back[not to be confused with watling st café j9 m1]which is still open.
Standard kit summer or winter 1 army bed 1 sheet 1 blanket,Heating consisted 2 inch steam pipe.Winter freezing and condensation running down walls.Must be some old lads still remember this place. 
dafdave:
The worst one for me was the ranch[watling st]Dunstable.A man called fred used to have it in the 70s,what a dump,the food was terrible and if for some dire reason you o/nighted there the beds were cubicles round the back[not to be confused with watling st café j9 m1]which is still open.
Standard kit summer or winter 1 army bed 1 sheet 1 blanket,Heating consisted 2 inch steam pipe.Winter freezing and condensation running down walls.Must be some old lads still remember this place.
I agree with you Dave The Ranch was a poxy hole and Watling St. was no better but it served a purpose if you wanted a real early call which we did when we had to be at John Dickinsons in Hemel H. for 6 am, which was great as we could be coming out tipped at 7am, “Old Ted” as we knew him as was a demon on the FLT could tip you as fast as you could roll the reels onto his tray ! But he always got a Bottle of Scotch from us every Christmas until he retired. The best digs on that bit of the A5 was the Three Sisters which we used quite a bit in the early 70’s, it was run by a nice family. IIRC The Ranch was a favourite digs of Croppers of Kendal but some of them started to stay at the Three Sisters. We used to walk up into Flamstead for a drink or two at IIRC The Blackbirds or something similar ! Long time ago ! Cheers Bewick.
Reading these posts I can see why I always took my own grub with me! Only thing I ever went into a cafe for was to use the loo and have a mug of tea, and that would only be on my way back at the end of the working day as while stopping for a break loaded you could have half a dozen trucks go past you and that could add an hour or more to your day!
Pete.
Was the cafe on the old a.one at scotch on the south bound side called the piggery?
Bewick:
dafdave:
The worst one for me was the ranch[watling st]Dunstable.A man called fred used to have it in the 70s,what a dump,the food was terrible and if for some dire reason you o/nighted there the beds were cubicles round the back[not to be confused with watling st café j9 m1]which is still open.
Standard kit summer or winter 1 army bed 1 sheet 1 blanket,Heating consisted 2 inch steam pipe.Winter freezing and condensation running down walls.Must be some old lads still remember this place.I agree with you Dave The Ranch was a poxy hole and Watling St. was no better but it served a purpose if you wanted a real early call which we did when we had to be at John Dickinsons in Hemel H. for 6 am, which was great as we could be coming out tipped at 7am, “Old Ted” as we knew him as was a demon on the FLT could tip you as fast as you could roll the reels onto his tray ! But he always got a Bottle of Scotch from us every Christmas until he retired. The best digs on that bit of the A5 was the Three Sisters which we used quite a bit in the early 70’s, it was run by a nice family. IIRC The Ranch was a favourite digs of Croppers of Kendal but some of them started to stay at the Three Sisters. We used to walk up into Flamstead for a drink or two at IIRC The Blackbirds or something similar ! Long time ago ! Cheers Bewick.
AHH the three sisters.I stopped there a few times but could never get in half the time.I remember the boiler on the counter with the hot sign on it.Done the walk up to flamstead,great days.
I think it used to be aka the 6 ■■■■ 
Any pics of Finningley cafe?This was taken at Finningley when Butlers were supplying stone for the M180,they stopped on the way back for refreshment I can’t remember going in as a young lad then,hope someone can help.
dafdave:
Bewick:
dafdave:
The worst one for me was the ranch[watling st]Dunstable.A man called fred used to have it in the 70s,what a dump,the food was terrible and if for some dire reason you o/nighted there the beds were cubicles round the back[not to be confused with watling st café j9 m1]which is still open.
Standard kit summer or winter 1 army bed 1 sheet 1 blanket,Heating consisted 2 inch steam pipe.Winter freezing and condensation running down walls.Must be some old lads still remember this place.I agree with you Dave The Ranch was a poxy hole and Watling St. was no better but it served a purpose if you wanted a real early call which we did when we had to be at John Dickinsons in Hemel H. for 6 am, which was great as we could be coming out tipped at 7am, “Old Ted” as we knew him as was a demon on the FLT could tip you as fast as you could roll the reels onto his tray ! But he always got a Bottle of Scotch from us every Christmas until he retired. The best digs on that bit of the A5 was the Three Sisters which we used quite a bit in the early 70’s, it was run by a nice family. IIRC The Ranch was a favourite digs of Croppers of Kendal but some of them started to stay at the Three Sisters. We used to walk up into Flamstead for a drink or two at IIRC The Blackbirds or something similar ! Long time ago ! Cheers Bewick.
AHH the three sisters.I stopped there a few times but could never get in half the time.I remember the boiler on the counter with the hot sign on it.Done the walk up to flamstead,great days.
I think it used to be aka the 6 ■■■■
Spot on there Dave, I believe the original owners had been Three Sisters ( or six ■■■■ to the lads !) It was a Chap called Len IIRC and his wife plus a female family friend called Lou that owned and ran it when I used to stay. And your right it was always usually fully booked every night bar Fri maybe and closed Saturday but open again Sunday afternoon. Very decent digs good food and clean place altogether. Cheers Dennis.
charlie one:
Fergie47:
There was a cafe / digs at Kidlington, Oxford on the A34 heading to Banbury, think it was nick-named Paraffin Lil’s can’t remember its real name…It was a dump.
This happened in the early '70’s. One night, 3 of our drivers stopped there for digs, when they went to go to bed one of them pulled back the sheets and found them filthy, and the last guy had ■■■■■■ the bed. They threw all the bedding, off all of the beds, chucked them out the windows, got some diesel rags, and set fire to the lot. The owner called the old Bill, but nothing was ever done about it. Our company was banned from going in there, but that really didn’t bother us…If my tired old memory serves me right It was called Bobs but we always called it Paraffin Lils as you said Fergie.Dirty hole
Regards Charlie.
I used to stay at Kidlington a lot the first was the Orchard around 61-62 when I was on my school holidays it was in Kidlington on left northbound. My mother always knew when I stayed here as my clothes used to smell of parifin off the heater in the bedrooms. The site was a garage the last time I was through. Bobs Cafe was north of Kidlington the accommodation was in a house across the lorry park from the cafe. It was a Little Chef the last time I passed a few years ago.
transporter man:
charlie one:
Fergie47:
There was a cafe / digs at Kidlington, Oxford on the A34 heading to Banbury, think it was nick-named Paraffin Lil’s can’t remember its real name…It was a dump.
This happened in the early '70’s. One night, 3 of our drivers stopped there for digs, when they went to go to bed one of them pulled back the sheets and found them filthy, and the last guy had ■■■■■■ the bed. They threw all the bedding, off all of the beds, chucked them out the windows, got some diesel rags, and set fire to the lot. The owner called the old Bill, but nothing was ever done about it. Our company was banned from going in there, but that really didn’t bother us…If my tired old memory serves me right It was called Bobs but we always called it Paraffin Lils as you said Fergie.Dirty hole
Regards Charlie.I used to stay at Kidlington a lot the first was the Orchard around 61-62 when I was on my school holidays it was in Kidlington on left northbound. My mother always knew when I stayed here as my clothes used to smell of parifin off the heater in the bedrooms. The site was a garage the last time I was through. Bobs Cafe was north of Kidlington the accommodation was in a house across the lorry park from the cafe. It was a Little Chef the last time I passed a few years ago.
Used to be a good café when I used it 70/73.Used to have breakfast on my way to Basingstoke in there .I’m sure it used to be a coal fired stove in the centre of the café?