With the possible exception of Tebay services – a family-owned affair on the M6 in the Lake District, which won Egon Ronay's British Academy of Gastronomes' Grand Prix award last year and has a farm shop – motorway service stations haven't progressed very far up the culinary scale since the first one opened 50 years at Watford Gap.
Some people love them – "unique and lovable living thing[s]" full of "people going places", according to comedian Alex Horne – and there's a site dedicated to user reviews. Others put up and shut up. But many more loathe these brutalist structures, "the pits for pitstops". Eight out of 10 motorists recently surveyed by car rental firm Europcar said they'd gone hungry rather than refuelling on service station soggy chips and overpriced snacks.
Of course you don't have to stick to motorway services, there are thousands of great places to eat just a few minutes from any junction. The Guild of Food Writers teamed up with Europcar to produce a free-to-download Roadside Gastro Guide (europcar.co.uk/EBE/module/render/gastro-guide) – to "escape the tyranny of the motorway service food offering and celebrate the diversity of Britain's local, independently owned eateries". Guild members picked a "hidden gem" – from the Highlands to the Dorset coast, from pubs to garden centre caffs – not far from a major road. Some of them are listed below.
It's not a new idea, of course. Near the Motorways (previously Breaks near the Motorways), a handy glove-compartment companion, is in its eighth edition and offmotorway.com has been going since 2003. But the timing is good – with a third of Britons holidaying on home soil this summer – and the Guild Guide means there's another good reason to hang a left off the motorway. Obviously it's not a comprehensive guide, so let us know about some of your favourites just off the main drag.
The Skyreburn Teapot, Cardoness, Scotland
It started 45 years ago as a caravan with a teapot on top, then became a recycled railway carriage. Eight years ago, the Skyreburn Teapot transmogrified again into today's modest, wooden roadside cafe. It may appear little more than an overgrown garden shed but appearances deceive. Inside, friendly staff serve outstanding cooked breakfasts, filled baked potatoes (including haggis filling), sandwiches and cakes, and high-quality coffee. No fewer than two dozen homemade cakes and tray bakes are offered daily, and there's award-winning Cream O' Galloway ice-cream made three miles away, with intriguing flavours like caramel shortbread and banoffee. The cafe is on the shore of Skyreburn Bay, so sit out back and take in the breathtaking view across Solway Firth to Sandgreen.
• Cardoness, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, +44 (0)7845 722843. Open 7am-7pm every day but Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
• Directions: The cafe is in a lay-by off the A75 at Cardoness.
George & Dragon, Clifton, Cumbria
The Lowthers are big landowners and farmers in Cumbria. So in 2008 when Charles Lowther transformed this roadside boozer, on the northeast fringe of the Lake District, into a stylish pub with rooms, he was well placed to offer a menu laden with regional produce. There's Shorthorn beef, lamb, free range chicken, game, venison, eggs, organic vegetables all sourced from Lowther land. Salmon and trout come from the rivers Lowther and Eden and fish from nearby Whitehaven. Geordie chef Paul McKinnon, keeps everything admirably simple – shorthorn beef burger with chips, beer battered fish and mushy peas, lemon and lime risotto and the never-off-the-menu sticky toffee pudding, are all staples. Décor is elegantly low key with oak tables, schoolroom chairs, restored flagstones, leather sofas and a palette of contemporary chalky hues. And you can check intto one of the 10 bedrooms.
• Clifton, Cumbria, +44 (0)1768 865 381, georgeanddragonclifton.co.uk. Open every day 12-2.30pm & 6pm-9pm. Booking advisable.
• Directions: the George & Dragon is an approximately five minute drive from Junction 40 of the M6 south of Penrith. Leave the M6 at Junction 40 and take the A66 east. At the next roundabout take the fourth exit onto the A6. Continue south through Eamont Bridge to Clifton. The George and Dragon is on the left.
The Olive Branch, Clipsham, Leics
Set in glorious Rutland countryside, The Olive Branch is a labour of love for founders Sean Hope (the chef), Ben Jones and Marcus Welford. They transformed the rundown village boozer into a gastropub with knobs on, offering food that ranges from pub classics such as fish and chips with minted peas, to fancier restaurant cooking, such as lemon sole with potted shrimps and caper mash. The wine list here is something else. Don't be surprised if you see an ice bucket full of a dozen different dry sherries chilling on a summer's day, or homemade sloe gin and damson vodka made with berries from the surrounding hedgerow to warm you up during the winter months.
On balmier days sit outside on the flower-filled terrace. And if you don't fancy jumping back in the car, you can always stay in one of their six bedrooms in the Beech House across the road (worth it alone for the cooked breakfast made with Northfield Farm sausages and bacon).
• Main Street, Clipsham, Leicestershire, +44 (0)1780 410355, theolivebranchpub.com. Open Mon-Fri 12-2pm, 6-11pm, Sat 12-11pm, Sun 12-10.30pm.
• Directions: Leave the A1 at Stretton and follow signs for Clipsham. The pub is just a couple of miles drive from the motorway.
Café Skylark, Wimblington, Cambs
Café Skylark is part of Skylark Garden Centre, owned and run by a local farming family. Housed in a separate light and airy building entered via the plant house, the Café has plain pine tables and a flagged floor. It overlooks the well-kept Garden Centre farm animals. Popular with old and young, families and travellers alike, it provides low-priced food with a big local produce input. The Fenland breakfast uses Skylark's free range eggs, locally produced sausages, bacon and fenland field mushrooms. A mere £2.99 will buy you free range eggs and Fenland chips (made with potatoes from nearby fields), piled high on a simple plate, fluffy and crisp. The range of cakes are homemade and the portions are generous. Simple but well-prepared salads and fresh-cut sandwiches are also on the menu.
• Café Skylark and Skylark Garden Centre, Manea Rd, Wimblington, Cambridgeshire, +44 (0)1354 741212, skylark.uk.com. Open every day 10am-4pm.
• Directions: Heading towards March on the A141, Café Skylark is on the A1093 which is the first right-hand turn from Chatteris, opposite Wimblington Church signposted Manea. About a mile on the right hand side there are clear signs for Skylark Garden Centre with ample parking close to the Café.
The Tea Shop at Watts Gallery, Guildford, Surrey
Housed within the grounds of a gallery dedicated to the work of well-known Victorian painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts, the Tea Shop was long renowned for its cheesey rarebits and home-baked traditional cakes. During a closure for a long-overdue refurbishment, loyal patrons were fearful that it would lose its character in the process - but it emerged in February 2010 from its makeover with all the positive traits intact. Emma Leony Palmer and her assistant Val Goddard have embraced the ethos of the former Tea Shop menu while instilling some magic of their own. They buy all their produce from within a 10-mile radius, and produce artisan chutneys and jams for use in the teashop. A specials board featuring seasonal produce may announce delicious homemade soups (such as celeriac and orange and courgette and rocket) and healthy salads, while a core menu runs alongside. Cakes and scones emerge daily from the kitchen and in busy periods are accompanied by those from a local bakery at Loseley House. The gallery itself is currently closed for renovation and will reopen in Spring 2011. But the nearby chapel on the hill adjacent to the gallery in Downs Way is open and well worth a visit.
• The Tea Shop at Watts Gallery, Down Lane, Compton, Guildford, Surrey, +44 (0)1483 813590, wattsgallery.org.uk. Open Tuesday to Sunday (and Bank Holiday Mondays) 10.30am to 5pm (Closed Tuesday after Bank Holidays).
• Directions: Compton is signed just off the A3 south of Guildford. Take the B3000 from the A3 signed to Godalming/Farnham (brown tourist signs to Loseley House) and then Compton. After the roundabout at the end of the slip road take the first left on the B3000. This is Down Lane. The Gallery is on the right a few hundred yards down the road.
Hiker's Rest, Saddlescombe, East Sussex
Nestled in the foothills of the South Downs, around four miles from the A23, the Hiker's Rest is a tranquil place to take a break and enjoy no-nonsense, freshly made food. It is foremost, as its name suggests, a welcome stopping point for walkers. However, being located just five minutes drive from the A23, it makes a perfect place to refuel. Coming by car, park in the car park opposite then take a short stroll past a duck pond on the right and into the converted 17th-century barn. There's seating for 50 (tables outside and in an open barn), laid with tablecloths, quirky old bone china and vases of flowers. Much of the food is organic and local, including salads, sandwiches on a variety of different breads and a tempting array of homemade cakes (some of which are wheat-free). You will also find daily specials such as homemade spicy potato cake with goat's cheese and salad; duck and orange pâté in a pitta pocket with pickle; or local honey-roast ham, cheese and pineapple olive bap. Prices range from £5.50 to £6.00 for savouries, from £2.50 for Sussex cream tea.
• Saddlescombe Farm, Saddlescombe Road, Saddlescombe, East Sussex, southdownsway-hikersrest.com.Open Monday to Friday (closed Wednesdays) 11am-4pm. Weekends 11am-5pm. Closed January and February.
• Directions: From the A23 take the A281 exit to Henfield and turn left into Beggar's Lane. Continue on to Saddlescombe Road and look for a chalkboard sign on left "Sussex cream teas". Limited parking is available opposite the Hiker's Rest – parking is not available in the adjacent farm.
