Snack van

kspence

What a white snack van! 8th October 2008

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The owner of this snack van has been plying his trade in the same place for over 13 years, which says a lot about the business – mobile customers such as car and lorry drivers can very easily up and go somewhere else if they don’t like a place, but this snack van gets loads and loads of repeat custom, because for an operation of its type it is very, very good. It’s all hot-plate fried food – bacon, sausage, eggs, burgers, etc. and it’s all served between slices of bread or in rolls. There are also crisps and snacks and hot and cold drinks. You can get your tea or coffee in a proper mug, which you return afterwards, or in a disposable cup if you want to drive off with it. We are of course, talking about eating in your car here, and although there are usually a few garden seats set out in the summer for customers, it has to be said that you’ll be sitting outdoors in a lay-by by the side of a very busy road, and how much fun is that? Admittedly, what’s available is a fairly limited menu, but the food is fresh-cooked to your order on the spot and is extremely tasty. The bacon and egg / sausage and egg sandwiches are a real treat. The patron is nice and friendly too.

How can you find this hidden gem of a place. Well, despite the listing, it’s not exactly in Bath – but that’s about the nearest TrustedPlaces spot I could find. The snack van parks in a lay-by on the left hand side of the A46, going north (signposted to Stroud / Castle Combe), just off Junction 18 of the M4 – about 500m north from the junction. You’ll need to be using your own preferred method of transport as it’s geared up for road-traffic trade, but you can’t miss it. It’s there from quite early in the morning through most the day most days of the week – possibly with the exception of Sundays – but leaves pretty smartly after the lunchtime rush, so if you’re looking for anything after about 3-4pm it’s not guaranteed he’ll still be there (the van packs up and goes every night). As previously mentioned this business is well-known locally and quite busy – you may be able to squeeze into the lay-by with the van, but there is another pretty big lay-by directly opposite which is often a better bet. In a sense a good thing about this place is that people come and go quite quickly, so you should be able to find a parking space. The road - the A46 - is hideously busy, sometimes with a lot of thundering HGV traffic and is a real hazard to cross at this place, especially if you’re carrying fried egg sandwiches back to your car – so you should be extra vigilant and aware of this.

This being a lay-by in effectively the middle of nowhere, there are of course no amenities like toilets or places to wash your hands or anything nearby. (You might consider having some wet-wipes in the car if you go; your fingers are likely to be both greasy and eggy afterwards.) In fact personally, I count this as a good thing: I've seen snack vans parked up where there are public conveniences, but they all look dodgy as heck and I for one have never actually fancied eating in that kind of place.

If it’s lunchtime and you’re in the area and you like this kind of food, it’s well worth a shot.