The Extra Mile Guidebook

An insider's guide to alternative and delicious places to stop just off motorways and main roads

Motorways can be miserable and impersonal places. Frequently crowded, joyless and uninspiring, the food is dull and you can barely stretch your legs. What could be better than swinging into our wonderful countryside to refuel and recharge in a delightful farm shop, cosy pub or charming cafe instead?

Here are some of our favourite places to pull in for a pit stop, tranquil spots where the food is superb, the welcome warm and the children free to roam. Sometimes the grass really is greener.