STRESSFUL car journeys are an inevitable part of summer holidays.

And one Oxfordshire author has set out to save families from dire meals at motorway service stations.

Hugh Cantlie, who lives in Fifield near Chipping Norton, said he was so fed up with grotty, expensive food at motorway service areas that he decided to search for better alternatives.

The retired chartered surveyor – who has spent years driving for thousands of miles up and down Britain – has reviewed more than 200 restaurants and pubs in his quest for a passable dinner.

The 83-year-old said: “I remember one experience particularly, when I had been stuck in a 10-mile jam on the M4, near Swindon, and just wanted a decent cup of tea, but it was ridiculous.

“I had tried to use other guidebooks but they weren’t aimed at motorways, and didn’t work very well.

“You always wanted something to be around the corner, but I was never able to find anywhere.

“So I decided to find better places myself, and discovered the reason no one else had done it was because it was so much hard work.”

Mr Cantlie’s book, Near The Motorways, was first published in 2001, and is now in its 11th edition.

The father-of-one said he updated it almost every year, travelling between 3,000 and 4,000 miles each time to do so.

He systemically works his way around Britain’s 50 major motorways, finding food venues that are just a five-minute drive from junctions.

That was a task easier said that done, he said.

“You see a place with hanging baskets and that is very nice-looking, but often appearances can be deceptive. Quite often I can tell the moment I go in what it is going to be like.”

And, he revealed, the secret to finding a good stop-over meal is usually what many would consider to be a low-key dish.

“My general rule is that if they can do a good bowl of soup, then the rest is usually good as well,” Mr Cantlie said.

“In Oxfordshire, most of the places I tried were very good.”

He said his favourites off the M40 through the county included the Fox and Hounds in Ardley, near Junction 10, and the Leathern Bottle in Lewknor, just off junction six.

Mr Cantlie’s book is published by Cheviot Books.

For more information, visit cheviotbooks.co.uk.