STOP OFF
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KC's It was the kind of day when the It was the kind of day when the
temperature outside seemed hot enough to fry an egg on your cab roof. I was just outside Peterborough, on the northbound side of the Al. Short of fuel and in need of a break, KC's was a welcome sight in the sunshine.
Handily placed next door to a BP fuel station, it was roomy, surprisingly cool inside and I was immediately given one of the friendliest welcomes I con remember with an invitation to sample the food from a home baked range: "It's so good you'll want to eat your fingers," said the waiter, or was it the chef? As it was close to three o'clock in the afternoon, I decided to miss out the full breakfast but noted the 23.95 price tag and that a less substantial version was El cheaper. The Spanish flan sounded interesting at £2.99, chips seemed to be served with almost everything, and the steak pie—almost compulsory at truckstops these days—was flagged up at 23.75. This seemed to be the going rate for a main meal. My choice was the cottage pie. "A very good selection," I was assured. There was fresh coffee brewing on the counter, more tea was being prepared, cold drinks were in the fridge and the bar was open. I was taken aback when the cottage pie came with cabbage, young carrots and peas, rather than the ubiquitous chip. Although the pie was tasty the fine quality of the meal was let down by the poorer quality of the vegetables on this occasion. Perhaps, as it was the middle of the afternoon, they had been around a while. KC's Diner has been around rather longer than the new owner, who breathed new money and new life into it 14 months ago. But the extensive refurbishment seems not to have put too much pressure on the prices. There are 17 rooms which are a mixture of twins and singles. The average price can be as little as 26 for a bed. It is not the Ritz, but the rooms were clean and tidy. To park up, it will cost between 27 and 28 depending on the size of your vehicle, but this is only expensive if you've brought your own snap. The price includes a meal voucher for 25.00. These rates seemed to me as competitive as any truckstop in this series.
Brian Whur is a driver with Craven's of York. He was in possession of the KC truckers discount card. While this particular card does not help you accumulate points towards the cost of your next tractor unit, it does allow discounts of up to 20% on purchases made at KC's. This includes drinks at Kate's bar (21.40 per pint of bitter), accommodation prices and food. I asked Brian for his impression of the food as he was just completing a plate of bacon, eggs, chips, and a cup of tea which had cost him £2.75.
"It will take some beating. You get plenty for it," he said. He offered a five out of five for quality of food, but I was unsure whether he had excluded the tea from his calculations. "It was wet and warm, that's the main thing." I joined Brian Coxon, a Christian Salvesen driver From the Easton Depot. It had been a quiet afternoon for trade and he had been there for some time, due to a broken propshaft. He seemed to have drawn the short straw all round, as his tea and scone with jam had cost him "around £1.50." However, considering the rest of the prices, there has to be something which provides a decent profit margin. Brian was impressed with the interior and particularly remarked on the clean floor and clean tablecloths. He felt the washroom was "adequate." I think he speaks for drivers at truckstops everywhere. In this final stop-off of the present series, allow me to make one appeal to all truckstop operators. Spend more money on improving washrooms and providing cleaner looking floors in the (dining a reaeven if it means fewer chips. Most drivers can't remember the cheapest or the biggest meal they ever had, but the impression of hygiene, from a scrubbed floor or comfortably furnished washroom, is rather more memorable. Perhaps this is why so many truckstop experiences are easy to Forget.