Re the Commercial Motor bit - From the days when there was time to stop ! I think I have got this right, most of these cafes i used, not all. One or two had gone before I got there. One of the first I tried was at Dordon where the London Manchester trunkers changed over. The building is still there but i cant remember the name, like a hut, with the gable end towards the road, on the Leicestershire side of the A5. The M1 was open but where I worked we still had 6LWs a short while so it was safer on the old road! Up till the early 70s you left the MI near the old Crick X roads to pick up the M6 at Gailey, which was about 44 miles and took you approx. 2 hours, without stopping off in any cafes! One of the old hands who taught me was still running to Liverpool up the A41 all the way!
A5 -to Weedon. At Redbourne was the “Bridge cafe”, open till the late 60s, good food, busy place. Then came the “Watling Street”, by the M1, with the old line of the Roman road running along behind it to the right of the A5 going north, lorry park was like a ploughed field after the summer of 2013, bit better now. Just up from this on the R.H. was the “Crow’s Nest”, good cafe if you could get in there, with a very steep lorry/car park, did a big breakfast where mushrooms were standard if you wanted them. Then the “3 Sisters” (6 ■■■■, the locals called it) biggish place on right, then came Markyate - roadway through village was only 15 ft wide or so and by-pass came late 50s, a few years before I started but the old hands used to talk about it. Just on corner on old road into the village was Harts garage and cafe. At other end of the by pass was the “Packhorse” cafe next to Packhorse pub, good cafe, featured in a film called “If”. Then came the “Ranchway” cafe on the right with a pylon in the middle of the lorry park, late night telly always on, Horse and Jockey next door? On tthrough Dunstable and down Chalk Hill, the “Sentinel”, next, one at Hockliffe (where the A50 forked right, lovely road to use, for Northampton and further beyond), then “Brickhill” I don’t really remember, and the “Pullman”, brick rebuilt 1950s, I stayed in digs once or twice, in between cabbing it. After Bletchley you had the “46” situated at the 46th milestone out of London, lately for the tipper boys, maybe an Indian Restaurant now, not sure, then the “48” a.k.a. the “Gluepot”, and a bit further on a good one called the “Nelson”, which became “Super Sausage” or something similar, and next was the “Towers” which became the"Trees", now since late 60s “Jacks Hill”, 60 miles out of London at Towcester. It was one of the 5 Tower cafes chain built for waggon drivers in the War, the others were at Biggleswade A1, Basingstoke, A30, Beenham, A4 and the “Lantern” at Milton Common, A40. As far as I knew anyway. Most of them were a bit run down/shambolic towards the end! At Weedon Beck some of the night trunkers turned off to pick up the A5 later and there were plenty of cafes along to Brownhill, but I never ran that way much. Back to the A5 - only a couple now still going “Watling Street” and the “Hollies” and the old “Coronation cafe”, since rebuilt, renamed, not sure about the many others, like the Birdcage (Aviary), Jubilee, etc. - all a long time ago. I have about 30 photos of old UK Cafes, not great shots, some of the cafes stood derelict, like the Triangle at Stibbington and Gardners cafe I think it was, at Long Compton…but not sure how to post them. Good luck. Churrs Drives Al
Bobs Cafe north of Kidlington & The Orchard in Kidlington.
