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Extra Mile Books is a Bristol-based independent publisher. Need a gift for a foodie? Shop books now. Out now!

Home of #1 best-selling guides to British farm shops, independent cafés, coastal cafés, and memorable spots to eat near motorway and main-road junctions. http://www.centralbooks.com/extra-mile-the.html

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The journey is part of the adventure. Unless of course that journey involves soulless, expensive motorway service stations, bland food, restless children and a six-mile tailback. Motorway

services are boring – motorways are boring – but they’re a necessary and convenient evil when you need to break the journey, especially when travelling with kids and pets. The Extra Mile is an easy-to-navigate guide highlighting the best places to pause - within easy reach of arterial routes - for a more enjoyable and rewarding break. For us, that means good-quality local food from makers and growers, space for children and pets to let off steam, and attractive surroundings no more than 15 minutes’ drive from a junction. Eating and resting better and supporting local businesses without adding much to overall journey time.

18/11/2025

At Extra Mile we love a farm shop. Which means we also love the association, who support Britain’s brilliant farm shops and cafes. That’s why, we’re donating 10% of sales using the code FRA10DONATION until 31st Jan. Just head to extramile.guide/shop to order (don’t forget to enter the code FRA10DONATION).

17/11/2025

Bill Bryson famously said: “You’ve never been to Durham? ...You must go at once! Please, take my car.” To this, we add: ‘and stop by Broom House while you are near’.
Starting life as an outlet for organically reared Aberdeen Angus beef, lamb, and rare breed Saddleback pork, the farm shop has improved with age and now showcases over 60 regional suppliers.

Browse the goodies then refuel in the café with locally roasted coffee and one of their famous scones. The breakfasts (don’t miss ‘The Broomy’) and lunches are hearty. In winter, warm up by the cosy wood-burner; in summer relax on the meadow-view terrace. The grassy playfield and forest adventure make for happy chaos during the summer holidays. Follow a riverbank walk or explore Durham’s city and impressive castle while in the area.

😀 Broom House Farm is one of the many places featured in THE FARM SHOP GUIDE. Grab your copy there or online at https://theextramile.guide/shop/, or your usual online bookshop. 😀

15/11/2025

Who knew that Waitrose and Partners had their very own farm with a (predictably delightful) farm shop and café in the heart of the Hampshire countryside? We all know now: 'you're welcome' as they say. Part of the Leckford Estate near Andover, Longstock Park has views as satisfying as the dining, drinking, shopping and National Collection appreciating you can indulge in here.

Ready to make farm-to-table dining easier, Libby and her team ensure that café ingredients are harvested or crafted on the estate or by local artisanal producers. Morning classics include smoked salmon bagels and Hoxton sourdough toasts; freshly-baked cakes feature Leckford flour and fruit is only sold in season (come for home-grown apples and pears in late summer). The farm shop and deli selections include a generous range of meats, cheeses, crafts and foodie gifts; the café overlooks the nursery and Walled Gardens which are a horticulturalist's dream. Tack on a garden design consultation or wonder at the Water Garden while here. Dogs are welcome though not in the farm shop or café.

😀 Longstock Park is one of the fab places to eat in THE EXTRA MILE: DELICIOUS ALTERNATIVES TO MOTORWAY SERVICES. Buy your copy there or, if they’re out of stock, visit https://theextramile.guide/shop/ today. (It’s also available via the usual suspects online.) 😀

13/11/2025

Rhos-on-Sea’s white sandy beach is one of its greatest assets, with millions of pounds of recent investment helping it shine. Paddle in the rockpools or the sea, go crabbing off the quay, or visit the seafront’s teeny tiny chapel. When you’re sand-dusted and hungry, step into family-run Rayner's where the atmosphere is warm and welcoming.

People rave about the cooked breakfasts, Welsh rarebit, and hearty soups, and it is hard to resist the pâtisserie and fruit-topped cakes (with plentiful gluten-free and vegan options).

Try the warm apple pie with clotted cream and a locally roasted coffee for the ultimate comfort snack. To walk off any excesses, ascend to the Bryn Euryn hillfort and nature reserve behind the town for fabulous views out over the bay.

😀 Rayner's is one of the awesome places in THE COASTAL CAFÉ GUIDE, which you can buy there, or from https://theextramile.guide/shop/, as well as your favourite online retailers. 😀

-on-sea 🏰

11/11/2025

We at Extra Mile love farm shops. Which means we also love the association, supporting Britain’s brilliant farm shops and cafes. That’s why, we’re donating 10% of sales using the code FRA10DONATION until 31st Jan. Just head to extramile.guide/shop to order (don’t forget to enter the code FRA10DONATION).

10/11/2025

The lovely Stubbings nursery provides respite from the M4 and M40 motorways.

The Glasshouse Café is part of the established family-run nursery. It is a popular destination, overlooking the 18th-century, Grade-II listed walled garden alongside. Take a table by the window to watch the wildlife in the beautifully tended garden as you fill up on tasty local food, from grilled breakfasts to soups, quiches, jacket potatoes and sandwiches. The freshly-made scones are especially recommended. Dogs and their owners are welcome on the covered south-facing decking, set with colourful tables and decorated with bunting.

Musically as well as horticulturally talented, the family sometimes run a short opera summer season; they have also recently hosted productions of Shakespeare and outdoor cinema screenings. Stubbings is home to year-round events, from Breakfast with Santa to Ghost Walks – check out their website for details.

😀 [Name of venue] is one of the fab, independent places to eat in THE EXTRA MILE: DELICIOUS ALTERNATIVES TO MOTORWAY SERVICES. Buy your copy there or, if they’re out of stock, visit https://theextramile.guide/shop/ today. (It’s also available via the usual suspects online.) 😀

08/11/2025

The sprawling Rothiemurchus estate covers one of the largest remaining areas of ancient Caledonian pine forest, which once enveloped the whole of Scotland.

Stretching from the River Spey to the Cairngorm Mountains, it is truly remarkable. With spectacular views, forested hills, and an elegant loch, it was also voted Britain’s best picnic spot. The farm shop – where they’re passionate about low food-miles – gathers flavours from across the estate, from tender wild venison to rainbow trout and heather honey. The shelves are weighted with strawberries, kombucha, gins, Scottish tablet (akin to fudge), oatcakes, and store cupboard essentials.

Shop online to select pre-packed boxes and hampers to collect – perhaps a ready-made picnic or meal kit to impress. The Barn is the renovated wooden building opposite the shop. It now hosts a spacious café and has a take-away hatch for those on the move. Expect warming stews, hunks of cake, and steaming pots of tea.

😀 Rothiemurchus is one of the many places featured in THE FARM SHOP GUIDE. Grab your copy there or online at https://theextramile.guide/shop/, or your usual online bookshop. 😀

06/11/2025

The buzzy East Quay development is breathing new life into the Exmoor town of Watchet. Explore the art gallery and check out the ever-changing programme of events (drawing classes, yoga sessions, gigs) in the community-focused creative hub before filling up at the East Quay Kitchen. The breezy, bunting-strung courtyard is the perfect spot for indulging in mouth-watering and often Middle Eastern- inspired dishes. Breakfast on Turkish eggs or granola bowls, lunch on flatbreads dipped in beetroot labneh.

The café is frequent host to international supper clubs too: grab a spritzer and let the flavours of the world come to you.

Before you go, visit the statue of the Ancient Mariner on the Esplanade – Watchet’s pretty harbour is said to be the inspiration for the epic eponymous poem.

😀 East Quay Kitchen is one of the awesome places in THE COASTAL CAFÉ GUIDE, which you can buy there, or from https://theextramile.guide/shop/, as well as your favourite online retailers. 😀

04/11/2025

Isabel Revill set up shop in Defford just off the M5 in Worcestershire in her rustic stable 20 years ago, with coins for fresh asparagus dropping into a tin on a trestle table. A farm shop and café now thrive on the very same spot, overseen by son-in-law, Darren. The asparagus is as good as ever, though Revills' carrots, beetroot, raspberries and baby courgettes are catching up and causing their own stir.

The shop stocks succulent sausages, game, vegetables, cheese from small local dairies and gifts from fellow growers and producers across Worcestershire.

With Christmas nearing, the turkey, goose, cockerel and duck orders fly (so don't delay!).

In the Farmhouse Café, excellent breakfasts and lunches are served on charmingly mismatched crockery in the timber-and-brick barn. Soups, sarnies, towering cakes and clotted cream teas are lovingly made to order and you'll find Meadows bacon, Clay Hall eggs and Macneil's smoked meats on the menu. Stretch your legs along the Avon before hopping back into your car.

😀 Revills is one of the fab, independent places to eat in THE EXTRA MILE: DELICIOUS ALTERNATIVES TO MOTORWAY SERVICES. Buy your copy there or, if they’re out of stock, visit https://theextramile.guide/shop/ today. (It’s also available via the usual suspects online.) 😀

31/10/2025

It’s the warm reception and personal service that regulars to Gin and Pickles, just off the M40, south of Birmingham, praise so highly. What started as a simple penchant for gin and pickles has turned into a winning deli-café combination that’s hugely popular with the locals.

Zöe behind the counter is an ardent supporter of local producers, from the eye-widening cheese selection, to salted caramel brownies, English charcuterie and honey from the village bees. The menu mainly features finger food, but you’re bound to find something to stave off the hunger pangs, whether a salted caramel brownie, deli platter or a bowl of tortilla chips. At weekends cinnamon buns and Portuguese custard tarts are served warm from the oven, and kids love the gingerbread dinosaurs and milkshakes. If you like what you see, fill a deli basket with snacks and holiday groceries or sample one of over 100 small batch gins.

Sit under the (dog-friendly) awning outside to watch the world go by. Coffee can be made to go if you have your own cup (or would like to buy a Keep Cup), as disposables have been phased out.

😀 Gin & Pickles is one of the fab, independent places to eat in THE EXTRA MILE: DELICIOUS ALTERNATIVES TO MOTORWAY SERVICES. Buy your copy there or, if they’re out of stock, visit https://theextramile.guide/shop/ today. (It’s also available via the usual suspects online.) 😀

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29/10/2025

The quirky Yare Valley Farm Shop at the Mack family’s working farm runs on an original honesty system. Fill up your totes with teas, dog treats, local kombucha, sauces, crumpets, chocolate, eggs, and charcuterie, then tot up what you owe, §ash a card, and hey presto! The family grows spuds and other crops, and raises grass-fed Belted Galloway cows here. Their own rapeseed oil goes into the all-natural dressings, balms, and more, and you will find fresh fish and joints of tender beef in the fridge.

If you seek food on the hoof, Teles Pâtisserie is on hand for a coffee and perhaps a flaky Portuguese custard tart. There’s occasional off-grid camping (check ahead) and, if lucky, you might be able to book a half-hour slot in their ‘time-share’ swimming pool. Explore Yare Valley on the Wherryman’s Way after.

😀 The Yare Valley Farm Shop is one of the many places featured in THE FARM SHOP GUIDE. Grab your copy there or online at https://theextramile.guide/shop/, or your usual online bookshop. 😀

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Bristol

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http://www.theextramile.guide/

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