Ossonflags, the Limes is within half-a-mile of my door. It hasn't changed much since I last lived in these parts in the 1960s, except that the two pin tables have gone.

Jack's, mentioned by Sapper82, is truly exceptional. An institution, known to every long-distance truck driver in the UK. And also good for cheap accommodation in private cubicles.

The BBC did a feature about this dying community of eateries a year or two ago. It celebrated, among others, a family-run caff in Lincolnshire, where all the food served is produced with ten miles ofthe caff. Unfortunately I didn't catch the name and place, and never followed up. Can anyone provide more details?