Went in the Gate cafe Dunkirk late seventies early eighties but it’s been a Little Chef now for at least twenty years may be more.
KW:
And the ‘Truckers Paradise’ at Godmanchester,which then was on the A604 (Now the A14)
Aah! Happy Day’s!
But do you remember it when it was ‘The Afton’ before that? No different I don’t think. I always thought it was better not to watch, otherwise you’d starve to death.
Had to laugh one day in a canteen at Liverpool docks. A mate and I were in for a snack while waiting to tip (and suss it out for dinner, and breakfast, and dinner and…). Anyway my mate who was widely recognised as a real hard case gave his order ‘a ham sandwich and no butter’. Thinking he was joking, the vision in a pinny gave him a bog standard one, which he refused. Later he explained. He’d once been on a school trip to the Co-op butter factory and seen what the evil sods were putting in the vats. Vowed never to eat the stuff again. Good job he never went round all the other factories!
Salut, David.
does any one remeber GATES_CAFE on the A2 before little-chef took itover My girlfriend(wife) &I used to come overfrom germany for the cruise in chelsa-battersea park. the place was all ways spotless and had a great staff ,the food was all ways freshly cooked and we fehlt athome there
brit pete:
does any one remeber GATES_CAFE on the A2 before little-chef took itover My girlfriend(wife) &I used to come overfrom germany for the cruise in chelsa-battersea park. the place was all ways spotless and had a great staff ,the food was all ways freshly cooked and we fehlt athome there
Is that the one at the top of the short, steep hill, London bound Pete? If so, yes, I used to drop in there on my way back sometimes.
Salut, David.
trucky1955:
Went in the Gate cafe Dunkirk late seventies early eighties but it’s been a Little Chef now for at least twenty years may be more.
Hi trucky1955 ,many years ago we used to pick containers up from chatham dock,bin in that cafe a time or two,ithink it was norfolk line is all that still up and running…
YES that was the one when it was family run the service was 7-star and we all ways stopped there, and for1980 time itwas well ahead ofanything else GB had to offer,
Chatham docks is just for tourists now, no cargo like you remember.
brit pete:
does any one remeber GATES_CAFE on the A2 before little-chef took itover My girlfriend(wife) &I used to come overfrom germany for the cruise in chelsa-battersea park. the place was all ways spotless and had a great staff ,the food was all ways freshly cooked and we fehlt athome there
I think you must mean The Gate Inn,at Dunkirk,between Canterbury & Faversham.
I used to bike up there when I was a kid to watch all the trucks coming and going,they also had a pub there which if I remember rightly is now the Little Chef.
Perhaps this one has aleready been mentioned, but does anyone remember the old Pit Cafe, I believe it was off the M3, on the A-road to Eastleigh, perhaps the A31, it used to be an old well, shack, before it burnt down and replaced with a Potacabin.
Anyone remember the old forge cafe on the A24 southbound Givon’s Grove Dorking Surrey it was on a lay by on that short bit of dual carriageway, can just make out where the lay by was.
I remember they had the big steel frying pans there, OMG the things you remember 
hiya… was the gate cafe also know as farthing corner only i can’t remember where one or the other was.
the gate was at the top of the hill on the A2 north of canterbury. filling station plenty of parking and a little chef.
so where was farthing corner■■? was that the same place…
John
And was dunkirk a sod to drive through before they built the bypass.
The Gate cafe is now the little chef Dunkirk north of Canterbury, been that for 20+ years now.
Farthing Corner is the old name for the M2 motorway services now called Medway Services between junction 4 and 5
The Flying Sausage had to be the best and most famous during the 80’s 
Just off junction 27 of the M1, I was the first customer they had when they set up with a timy caravan and called on the CB one night, myself and Jaffa Cake went up to get a brew, it grew bit by bit untill eventualy became a perminant and very large mobile home type with it’s own power suplied from the mains. Various attempts were made over the years to have it closed down but protests from drivers ensured it’s prosperity for years.
The food was outstanding and good value and I made more friends the from regular night drivers than I can remember. 
There was a Pit Cafe on the A33, north of Winchester. It had a long layby opposite for southbound lorries. It closed soon after the M3 extension from Popham to Winchester opened in May 85.
There was another cafe called Dunkirk as I recall some years agoat the end of the M 56, A rundown sort of a place, but better than nothing, the was grub was decent & not badly priced, this was earley 80s, I wonder if it is still there, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
There was another cafe called Dunkirk as I recall some years agoat the end of the M 56, A rundown sort of a place, but better than nothing, the was grub was decent & not badly priced, this was earley 80s, I wonder if it is still there, Regards Larry.
I called over 10yrs ago and the cafe was closed then.Not been that way since due to retiring.
regards dave.
dafdave:
Lawrence Dunbar:
There was another cafe called Dunkirk as I recall some years agoat the end of the M 56, A rundown sort of a place, but better than nothing, the was grub was decent & not badly priced, this was earley 80s, I wonder if it is still there, Regards Larry.I called over 10yrs ago and the cafe was closed then.Not been that way since due to retiring.
regards dave.
Thank you,It seems that there is not many of the old haunts left now wherever we go, Regards Larry.
Lawrence Dunbar:
dafdave:
Lawrence Dunbar:
There was another cafe called Dunkirk as I recall some years agoat the end of the M 56, A rundown sort of a place, but better than nothing, the was grub was decent & not badly priced, this was earley 80s, I wonder if it is still there, Regards Larry.I called over 10yrs ago and the cafe was closed then.Not been that way since due to retiring.
regards dave.Thank you,It seems that there is not many of the old haunts left now wherever we go, Regards Larry.
larry can you remember the red bus in field jusy after the weighbridge at wetherby on a1, if memory serves me right i think a guy called peter had it
markwill:
Lawrence Dunbar:
dafdave:
Lawrence Dunbar:
There was another cafe called Dunkirk as I recall some years agoat the end of the M 56, A rundown sort of a place, but better than nothing, the was grub was decent & not badly priced, this was earley 80s, I wonder if it is still there, Regards Larry.I called over 10yrs ago and the cafe was closed then.Not been that way since due to retiring.
regards dave.Thank you,It seems that there is not many of the old haunts left now wherever we go, Regards Larry.
larry can you remember the red bus in field jusy after the weighbridge at wetherby on a1, if memory serves me right i think a guy called peter had it
I recall a bus cafe on the A64 Heading towards Leeds, The one past the W/bridge turn off comes to mind as a green portacabin ? but having said that the old gray cells are not as good as they used to be, Regards Larry.