How to Eat Well on a UK Road Trip

On a long drive across Britain many people find that their day is dictated by where they happen to be when they get hungry. This usually means a stop at a motorway services where you can buy sandwiches packed in cellophane and cups of coffee that you drink while standing up. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. With a little planning, the food you have on a road trip can be remembered long after the journey has finished for all the right reasons, not just because you needed to eat it to carry on driving.

Plan your stops around towns, not junctions

First, just look 10 or 15 minutes off the motorway and you will often find market towns. Detour in and you will usually find an independent café, a local bakery or a pub serving food cooked on the premises. Before you set off, take two or three of these towns at sensible intervals and plan to stop at them along the way. As the Highway Code recommends a break of at least 15 minutes every 2 hours of driving, incorporating meals into these breaks will help you to have a restful journey, and a good meal too.

You would think that timing would matter less than it does. Many rural pubs stop serving food in the middle of the afternoon and then serve nothing until the evening, so arriving at half past three can leave you with just crisps. If lunch is the meal that matters most to you then aim to sit down by 1pm.

Pack a proper cool box

A well-packed cool box takes all the hassle out of keeping things cool. Freeze two large water bottles the night before and put them in the box as ‘ice blocks’. Drink them as they thaw out. Put the things you will eat last at the bottom of the box and try to keep the lid shut as much as possible. Chilled food is safest kept below 5°C. In warm cars a cool box will struggle to keep things cool for the whole day. Eat the meat, dairy products and foods with mayonnaise first and save the fruit, cheese and oatcakes for later.

Farm shops are the road tripper’s best friend. They are generally located on A roads with easy parking, and many sell local produce such as pork pies, cheese, bread and fruit. These make far better picnic lunches than those sold on forecourts.

Keep the driver fed and alert

The afternoons are harder to drive after having had a heavy meal. It’s best for the driver to eat lightly at lunch and have a good meal once the driving is done. Make sure you have enough water within reach and choose snacks that you can eat with one hand, like nuts, apples or cut vegetables.

Road trip food questions

Is packing food really cheaper than stopping?

Usually yes. Especially for families, a packed lunch for 4 people to take on a journey is likely to cost less than buying 4 separate meals at motorway services en route. And the money saved can be spent on a single, good quality meal at a suitable location for your party.

How long will a cool box keep food cold?

The longevity of the cold food in a cool box depends on the size of the box, how full it is and the temperature in the car. A full cool box with lots of frozen items, such as bottles of water, packed around the cold food will keep it cool for a lot longer than a half-empty cool box. Fill the gaps and try to keep the cool box out of direct sunlight and store it in the footwell of the car rather than in the boot.

How do I find good food near my route?

Look at the map for market towns a few miles off the main road, then check recent reviews for a café, bakery or farm shop there. Local tourist information sites often list independent places that don’t show up among the big chains.