charlie one:
I think that you and David are just a pair of old romantics. Well not old.Elderly maybe.
Well, one of us is anyway. 
Anyone remember the cafe just off j1 of the m50 on the old a38[still going i think].Family run for as long as i can remember 30+yrs by a man called brian and his wife and son.Excellent clean friendly cafe serving good food and excellent value for money.The cafe was nicknamed the pigeon fanciers by some due to brian being a big pigeon racer. Before i ret.i can remember the cafe being an old wooden shack across from were the present cafe stands[or stood].
If my tired old memory has not failed me it was called the Shuthonger.
charlie one:
If my tired old memory has not failed me it was called the Shuthonger.
Thatās the one Charlie,there was a pub near it but canāt remember the name.There was a big jar of pickled eggs on the bar and the further down they went the blacker they got. 
Do you know if the Wychbold is still going,side of the M5 on the A38 Droitwich turn-off?That was a decent place to eat as well.
Blimey Chris it gave me a headache remembering the Shuthonger. I phoned an old mate of mine and asked him about the Wychbold.He tells me its gone and there are now houses on it. Canāt remember the pub either.Not a lot of use today. Sorry.
Well I have only just got around to looking at this thread and agree there are some good and not so good cafes and restaurants about. Now and also in the past.
Yes Spardo LāOasis on the N137 is still going as is the routiers on the lights opposite the turning to St Jean de Liversay, Marans. Also as you said La Chene Vert D949. Turn right off the 137 direction Lucon and its about 1 km on the left opposite McDonalds. Serves a superb meal for 10euros (wine included).I think I know most of the eateries around the Charente as itās my neck of the woods. Again Lāair Marin is another good one that serves superb food. But does anyone remember the restaurant just before it southbound on the right.(must have been shut 18-20 years I think) It was called Halte du Marioullet and run by Me.ROUGER Faustine. Beautiful food and the best wine for miles. I know that for certain because it was donated on a regular basis by my mate Andre who used to drive a wine tanker out of Minervois,Carcassonne.
You are dead right Spardo the derelict restaurant in the photo is on the N148 just southof the village of Pouille. I used to pass it 3 or 4 times a week and Iām sure it was shut back in the late 70ās. A great pity as its on a busy route and would be an ideal position. I last passed it in July 2007 whilst going from Lucon to Oradour-sur-Glane. (you may know it?)
Well Spardo this is where we are going to disagree over the bloody āBakehouseā !! I know that I am going to make a few enemies but the only way I can describe it is āThe Watford Gapā of France. Full of flat caps,0 - 1erās, furry clogs,wallets and keys on chains,loads of Fās etc. Although the food must be good 'cause 6 million flies and 5 million cockroaches surely cannot be wrong!! And the parking? Well full of long vehicle signs and not a french truck in sight. I think that tells itās own story! This is where I sit back and await the flakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk ! ! !
I must agree with you about the āBakehouseā TIR Original. I only went in there 3 or 4 times at the mostā¦I preferred the Shell at Nantua myself.
TIR Original:
And the parking? Well full of long vehicle signs and not a french truck in sight. I think that tells itās own story! This is where I sit back and await the flakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk ! ! !
No flak from here although I have to admit being a bit young for the Bakehouse and Pops.
But anywhere like Macon, The Mistral or the defunct Cabbage Patch is best avoided, as your post suggests, if itās full of Long Vehicle plates rather than French plates, I drive past too 
Only went in the Bakehouse once myself .Not impressed with the food.There was a terrible smell of diesel and brake dust as the entire british contingent tried to out shout everyone else Apart from that it was lovely. I have to concur with TIR Original On his observations.
charlie one:
Blimey Chris it gave me a headache remembering the Shuthonger. I phoned an old mate of mine and asked him about the Wychbold.He tells me its gone and there are now houses on it. Canāt remember the pub either.Not a lot of use today. Sorry.
Well Charlie I googled Shuthonger and came up with one pub called the Crown but whether that was the one I canāt remember 
.
Anyway not to worry,donāt fancy a pickled egg at the moment.
Shame about the Wychbold,it used to open at 0700 and was nearly always my first call after a 0430 start from Sheffield en route to South Wales.I once fiddled back to Sheffield from there on the old log book as I was a bit in front of myself .
Must have been crackers,pal!
Mind you Iāve fiddled further than thatā¦
Well Chris I think the Crown sounds about right.I stopped at the Shuthonger a few times. Also the Kempsey Cafe south of Worcester on the A38.Of course there was no motorway in 1960. Youve raised a few memories there.
The one you were talikng about at Blyth was the one run by Trevor and Maureen I think it was Blyth cafe (on the right in to Bawtry) and the one a bit further on (on the l;eft) was Tom,s Cafe.
You will probably remember The Cheerio on the A17 @ Cranwell this was run by Mo & Trevor as well I remember Trevor used to run the drivers in to Retford to the pub at night and come back for em at closing time cos it was a hell of a long walk back to the cafe at midnight (or later depending if you had a lock in) 
Burkhills on the A580, Carr Mill, St Helens.
Further to my last post about the Sh Sorry Bakehouse,I was shipping out on Seagull Ferries from Southampton one Sunday and got into conversation with a new lad. He asked me if I was going to Italy. When I said yes he asked would I be going past the Bakehouse.Yes. Could he follow me? Yes.He said that he wanted to buy some bread. When I explained that it was a resturant he said that he was looking forward to a meat and potato pie! No comment.
NEJ:
The one you were talikng about at Blyth was the one run by Trevor and Maureen I think it was Blyth cafe (on the right in to Bawtry) and the one a bit further on (on the l;eft) was Tom,s Cafe.You will probably remember The Cheerio on the A17 @ Cranwell this was run by Mo & Trevor as well I remember Trevor used to run the drivers in to Retford to the pub at night and come back for em at closing time cos it was a hell of a long walk back to the cafe at midnight (or later depending if you had a lock in)
Ah yes,NEJ the Cheerio near Cranwell.Full of fishermen from Sheffield on their way to the Lincolnshire rivers - lorry park was crammed full of cars and coaches on a Sunday.If you managed to get your wagon parked the staff would fetch you to the front of the queue to get served else youād have been there all day 
.
There were one or two arguments when that happened,but it was worth it - always a good breakfast .
My mate had a bit of a row with a group off a coach when he said āFishing,huh,a jerk at one end waiting for a jerk at tāotherā. Best about it was he was a diehard fisherman on his days off!
TIR Original:
.
You are dead right Spardo the derelict restaurant in the photo is on the N148 just southof the village of Pouille. I used to pass it 3 or 4 times a week and Iām sure it was shut back in the late 70ās. A great pity as its on a busy route and would be an ideal position. I last passed it in July 2007 whilst going from Lucon to Oradour-sur-Glane. (you may know it?)
Well Spardo this is where we are going to disagree over the bloody āBakehouseā !! I know that I am going to make a few enemies but the only way I can describe it is āThe Watford Gapā of France. Full of flat caps,0 - 1erās, furry clogs,wallets and keys on chains,loads of Fās etc. Although the food must be good 'cause 6 million flies and 5 million cockroaches surely cannot be wrong!! And the parking? Well full of long vehicle signs and not a french truck in sight. I think that tells itās own story! This is where I sit back and await the flakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk ! ! !
Thanks for the update on LāOases, I havenāt been that way for a while but felt sure that such a successful place wouldnāt die.
The derelict on the N148 looks even more forlorn now, most of the old trucks in the park are gone, or disappeared under the weeds, I think just the remains of the Renault are still there.
Now, the Bakehouse. When I first passed that way in the late 70s it was āthe place to beā and I must admit to being swept up in the camaraderie of the place. I knew that the clientele was mainly N.European whereas the French and Italians congregated down the road at, I think, Le Logis-Neuf. The reasons for that didnāt register with me at the time and later, swept up in the romanticism of elopement and more or less convoy-like operations (WhiteTrux) it didnāt occur to go anywhere else. To accommodate the weekenders setting off for Italy on Sunday evening it served Sunday lunch before closing 'till Tuesday, a rare occurrence for a routier.
Thinking back, it did seem strange that I, rabid Francophile that I am, should have patronised it for so long but, and here I do take issue with you, IMHO the food was good and the cockroaches in the shower a source of amusement.
Now, I wouldnāt give a second glance at a resto with no French in, but you live and learn.
The one you were talikng about at Blyth was the one run by Trevor and Maureen I think it was Blyth cafe (on the right in to Bawtry) and the one a bit further on (on the l;eft) was Tom,s Cafe.
no i mean the one on the A1, you can see the ramp still on the left as you run up to the roundabout northbound, just been told it was the blue star
The cafe up the ramp just before the start of the A1(m) at Blyth was called the Hilltop. I was weekended there a few times. Nothing special but was somewhere to put your head down. A short walk down to the village. Couple of good pubs. Pulled there one Saturday night. Happy days. Yes it was a long time ago but my memory still works.
its the blue boar, not the blue star.
Sorry mate the āBlue Boarā was or is still Watford gap services on the M1 north of jct. 16.