Dinky’s Dinah Welshpool Road Ford, nr Shrewsbury Shropshire SY5 9LG
Tel: 01743 850070
Picture the scene. You’re thundering along the A458 towards Welshpool, the Welsh coast calling, your stomach making noises that could rival the exhaust. Then, like a mirage but with better bacon, a lay-by appears just outside the village of Ford. Welcome to Dinky’s Dinah.
Now, “lay-by diner” doesn’t exactly sound like the setting for a five-star feast. Conjure up images of a burger van with a dodgy generator and you wouldn’t be far off what most people expect. Forget it. Dinky’s has been parked up here for years, in a proper permanent portacabin that’s seen more bikers than most rallies. There’s covered seating outside for when the Great British weather decides to have an opinion, plus a few tables inside for the truly committed.
The service moves at a fair old clip too. Blink and your breakfast’s arrived, and the staff manage to stay cheerful even when the place is heaving, which it often is. Doesn’t matter if it’s the crack of dawn or well past dark, there always seems to be a queue of leather-clad regulars propping up the counter.
It’s also handily placed for the practicalities of the road: toilets and parking, so you can sort yourself out before tackling the rest of the ride to the coast. No mean feat when you’ve got a helmet’s worth of coffee to get through first.
All in all, it’s exactly the sort of unglamorous, unpretentious spot that makes for a proper stop-off. Don’t judge a diner by its lay-by.
