The Extra Mile

We’re just days away from launching The Farm Shop Guide, the latest in Prinstlinger’s guide book collection.

We are proud to be donating 1% of The Farm Shop Guide book sales to Sustainable Food Trust, supporting the important work they do to: accelerate the transition to more sustainable food and farming systems that nourish the health of both people and planet.

Pre-order your copy of The Farm Shop Guide - get a fabulous new guide book AND support this incredible charity!

To celebrate the launch of our new book, The Farm Shop Guide, we’re giving you a chance to win a copy of each of our three UK travel guides: The Extra Mile: Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services; The Coastal Café Guide; and of course, The Farm Shop Guide.

Surf, turf, and all the roads between - you’ll always be able to find somewhere to eat with these three guides by your side.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of being the lucky recipient is:

🛣️ Follow The Extra Mile
🌊 Like this post
🧑‍🌾 Tag your fav travel buddy

For an extra entry:

🗺️ Share this post

Giveaway open to anyone aged over the age of 18. Closes midnight BST on Monday 14th October 2024. Winner will be picked at random and announced on Tuesday 15th October 2024. UK residents only.

This Giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Meta.

Spooky season is coming, and we couldn’t be more exited 🎃 👻

Head to just 9 minutes off the M180 at Junction 4.

Pumpkin picking is free to enter - just pay for what you pick!

Or for just £5 experience the whole spooktacular experience including:

☠Sid and the Cursed Pirates Giant Maze
👻Two spooky mini mazes (ideal for little legs)
👹Monster High Woodland Walk
🎃Pumpkin Patch Entry & use of our wheelbarrows (pay for what you pick, price depends on size)
🎃Carving Station; leave us with those ghastly insides!
🧟‍♀️Ghoulish Garden Safari
🕷Jumping Pillow (weather depending)

Book online to guarantee entry, or turn up on the day if you’re passing.

Find Uncle Henry’s in The Extra Mile and the brand new Printslinger publication The Farm Shop Guide, hitting bookshelves SOON!

Take your minds off the impending autumnal chill with a gorgeous Sunday Roast, back at from today!

Just 9 minutes off the M25 at Junction 5.

Get your copy of The Extra Mile and find the best place to stop for a roastie just off the motorway.

🐕 Dog Friendly Stop of the Week 🐶


4 minutes off the M90 at Junction 8.

This farm and foodie hub is a destination unto itself, with staggering scenery that makes it a truly worthy diversion. The Larder stands at the heart of the family farm with panoramic views of Loch Leven.

Visitors from the Loch’s Heritage Trail find it the perfect place to refuel with a plate of imaginative local food. There’s a buggy-friendly ‘whatever-the-weather’ walk and a play area, too: perfect for lovers of fresh air and fun, and a great place to bring your pooch.

Find dog friendly places just like this in The Extra Mile guide, get your copy now.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person travelling to Bath, in possession of The Extra Mile, must be in want of a delicious place to stop just off the motorway.

Whether you’re in search of your own Mr Darcy, or just a really good book, we hear Jane Austen Festival, Bath, UK is the place to be this week.

Don’t settle for a dreary service station, get your copy of The Extra Mile, stop and grab some grub somewhere local, independent and/or family run.

https://theextramile.guide/product/the-extra-mile-ed-4-2023/

🐕 Dog Friendly Stop of the Week 🐶

Meikleour Arms Hotel & Restaurant
16 minutes off the A9 at Junction Stanley.

The Meikleour Arms stretches our ‘distance from the motorway’ a tad but, with its focus on sustainable farming and a field-to-plate restaurant ethos, we knew you’d want to know more.

The lion’s share of the menu is estate-grown. Vegetables and herbs flourish in the walled garden and venison comes from the nearby forest.

Grab you copy of The Extra Mile to make sure you can find somewhere to stop with your four legged pals.

https://theextramile.guide/shop/

On the road this autumn, and want to stop and grab a pumpkin on the way?

Whether you’re looking to carve pumpkins, or make home made pumpkin soup, The Extra Mile is full of places to stop and get your autumnal fix.

Check out Cammas Hall Farm Syston Park Farm Shop and Cafe Manor Farm Shop and Farmhouse Kitchen Kenyon Hall Farm Rhug Estate Farmer Copleys Strawberry Fields Farm Shop and more.

Check individual places for opening hours and availability before travelling.

Grab your copy of The Extra Mile so you can always find somewhere delicious to stop.

https://theextramile.guide/shop/

If you have an electric car, use The EV charger map in the front of The Extra Mile, and find somewhere to recharge your car and refuel your body.

📷 where their car charger is powered by energy made right on the farm!
9 minutes off the M180 at Junction 4.

Grab your copy of The Extra Mile so you can ways find delicious food right off the motorway.

Uncle Henry’s Farm Shop will also feature in our brand new coming in October.

🐕 Dog Friendly Stop of the Week 🐶

Ginger & Pickles
5 minutes off the M6 at Junction 18.

Swing off the M6 and into the Cheshire countryside to find the Ginger and Pickles tea-room at Lowe’s Farm Shop.

The Cheshire-roasted coffee is good and strong to power your onward journey. Sunday’s popular roasts are worth the detour and are available ‘until they run out’. Short on time? Order ahead online and your selections will be ready for you to grab and go.

There’s plenty of seating outside, so feel free to bring your dog.

Find oodles of dog friendly places in The Extra Mile - grab your copy and never visit a Service Station again.

Finishing off the festival season this weekend? There’s no need to stop at a dreary service station.

Wherever you’re travelling from, stop somewhere a little bit better with The Extra Mile by your side.

Here’s a few of our favs but grab your copy, and find somewhere independent, family run, full of deliciousness wherever you go on the road.

🐕 Dog Friendly Stop of the Week 🐶

Priory Coffee 2 minutes off the A303 at Junction Stoke-sub-Hamdon.

To escape the traffic of Somerset’s A303, pop into Priory Coffee for a mood-lifting cake and a cuppa to sharpen the senses.

This is a community-focused speciality coffee shop (with beans from Clifton Coffee) where staff and locals love a friendly natter.

Ham Hill Country Park is close by, and is a nice spot to let children or dogs loose.

Grab a copy of The Extra Mile and plan delicious stops with your four legged pals, wherever you go.

https://theextramile.guide/product/the-extra-mile-ed-4-2023/

If you’re headed to Reading Festival this weekend, you don’t want to ruin the mood in a boring service station.

Here’s a few places to stop, whichever direction you’re coming from, to grab delicious food, have a much needed rest break, and get ready for a fun packed weekend.

Grab a copy of The Extra Mile to find more places to stop and make every journey an adventure.

https://theextramile.guide/product/the-extra-mile-ed-4-2023/

The Extra Mile was on today's BBC Breakfast show (the piece starts at 2:51:35 in) with Kerry talking about the 10th anniversary of Gloucester Services. (We know it's a service area and that our book is about places that are not: but it really is rather different and is also a huge farm shop that supports over 100 suppliers, makers and crafters within a 30-mile radius, which is everyone loves it so much. They'll also be in our next book, The Farm Shop Guide, out in Oct.) Happy listening: our bit starts from 2:54:20 in and this footage is available for 24hrs only. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00225c5/breakfast-19082024

Gloucester Services Tebay Services Cairn Lodge Services Farm Shop Guide Coastal Cafe Guide BBC Bristol BBC Breakfast

Breakfast - 19/08/2024 The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC's Breakfast team.

Just 5 minutes off the M5 at Junction 30 you’ll find a vibrant farming, shopping and eating hub.

Reconnect with nature by visiting the animals, following the farm walk or spotting wildlife from the wetlands bird hide.

Their Pick-you-own-sunflowers is now open every day 10am-4pm until they’re gone. With a suggested donation of £1 per stem, and all donations going to , make sure you grab a few on your way through.

Grab a copy of The Extra Mile to find amazing places like this to stop on the road, and avoid boring service stations.

We are so thrilled that Darts Farm will also be featured in our brand new coming later this year. Make sure to follow to be the first to get your hands on a copy.

🐕 Dog friendly stop of the week 🐶

The Hub & Spoke Cafe Harlington.

5 minutes off the M1 at Junction 12.

You can tell that founders Rob and Sue are sailing folk, for every spare cubic inch of hidden storage is cleverly used in this wonderful community café to keep the space clear for the good stuff.

Don’t leave your furry best friends at home, they’re welcome here too!

Find lots of dog friendly places in The Extra Mile guide - click on the link to get your copy.

Exciting news for sustainability journey - they’ve been featured by Visit England as a sustainability case study! 🌱💚♻️

Visit the Visit Britain website (link in bio) to find out how they got started, and what they have been doing to get help in their journey.

Stop off at Berwick Lodge if you’re travelling along the M5, just 8 minutes off Junction 17.

Get your copy of The Extra Mile and find more amazing places working to be more sustainable.

🛝 Happy Play Day 🧒🏼👧🏻

Celebrated on the first Wednesday in August, Play Day is a campaign held to celebrate the importance of play in children’s lives.

If you’re on the road and need to stop to eat,and let the kids burn off some energy, there are some great places with play areas just off the main road. Here’s just a few of our favs.

Grab your copy of The Extra Mile so you don’t have to drag the kids into a boring service station.

🐕 Dog friendly stop of the week 🐶

Loulabelle's Sweet Treats Innerleithen, Scotland.

0 minutes off the A72 at Junction Chapel St.

Loulabelle’s drips with good food accolades for its admirably homemade (and ‘special diet inclusive’) menus.

Muddy paws and soggy jackets are welcome, and the Scotland-roasted coffee and roaring fire will quickly lift weather-worn spirits.

Don’t risk leaving your furry family member a service station car park - pick up a copy of The Extra Mile and find places to stop where they’re welcome too.

Are you on the road in the heat this week? ☀️

Our favourite way to cool off… ice cream of course! 🍦

Some of our fav places to stop to escape the heat just off the main road:


9 minutes off the M5 at Junction 6


5 minutes off the M6 at Junction 18


3 minutes off the A38 at Junction Peartree


2 minutes off the A1 at West Drayton


10 minutes off the A1 at Junctuon Muskam

If you’re on the road this summer, grab a copy of The Extra Mile and find some great places to stop on the road with kids, for a bite to eat and a run around.

https://theextramile.guide/product/the-extra-mile-ed-4-2023/

Just 5 minutes off the M27 at junction 1, you’ll find Furzey Gardens with its thatched tea-room, play area, serene lake and fairy doors scattered across the tranquil woodland.

This summer pick up a story trail map for £2 and follow their new interactive art trail - featuring 15 five-foot storyboards, each uniquely decorated with a different fairytale scene by talented local artists, plus a giant decorated ‘Once upon a time’ on the top lawn. Kids will have a great time helping the Fairy Queen and King recover their stolen gemstones and restore their powers.

Please note that the tea room is free to visit, (and well worth a stop on its own) but tickets must be bought in advance for the gardens.

If you’re headed to Camp Bestival Dorset this weekend, you don’t want to ruin your festival vibes at a dingy service station.

Here’s a few places to stop, whichever direction you’re coming from, to reenergise and get ready to dance your wellies off!

Ivy House Kitchen Lemon & Jinja: Refill Shop and Café The Brush & Broom Restaurant at Hillbrush Bird & Carter Farm Shop Rafikis Ashburton Honey and Ginger: Farmshop & Cafe Helen Browning's Royal Oak The Kitchen Croxley

Grab a copy of The Extra Mile to find more places to stop and make every journey an adventure.