A couple travelled across the UK in their mini-van to visit 41 of the last remaining Little Chef restaurants before the much-loved chain ceased trading.
Megan Clark-Bagnall and Owen Lord's unusual road trip in their bright red 1986 Bedford Rascal mini-van was inspired by their childhood memories of visits to Little Chef restaurants.
When Megan, a visual artist, and Owen visited the restaurants during 2017 they spoke to staff and took photographs as mementos.
Megan Clark-Bagnall and Owen Lord visited all Little Chef eateries before they shut last year. They are pictured at the Cirecester branch of Little Chef
And the pair even held a 'funeral service' to mark the first anniversary of the closure of the chain - which was bought by Euro Garages who have converted the restaurants into other brands such as Greggs and Starbucks.
Mr Lord, 33, of Bristol, said: 'I guess like everyone we seemed to remember the lolly.
'I supposed really it's remembering the long car journeys as kids, stopping off on the way somewhere or just being by the roadside.
'I have just always been quite intrigued by them because as a kid I was never really allowed to stop that often.
'Megan went to them more than I did, so it was just the mystery that sort of surrounded it I suppose.'
At one point their were 439 Little Chefs in the UK, normally sited by A-roads.
They started at the Little Chef that overlooked the A1, near Newcastle, on July 30, 2017, where Mr Lord got the lucky omen of a double-yolk egg in his Olympic breakfast.
Megan Clark-Bagnall and Owen Lord pictured by a Little Chef sign in Bere Regis
A picture taken outside one of the Little Chef branches during the couple's roadtrip
Megan holding a Little Chef cup in her car during the couple's roadtrip
But that day 30 Little Chefs closed.
He said: 'So we got to our first one and thought 'oh great, we have got another God knows how many to go around'.
'And then one of the members of staff said 'oh no actually they have just closed 30'.
'So that day we tried to get around as many as we could as they were closing,' Mr Lord said.
Mr Lord added: 'We spent our time chatting to the staff and getting an understanding of how they felt about them all closing as well.
'Just sort of hearing their stories.
'Some had been working there a long time, so some were really quite passionate Little Chef enthusiasts as well. So that was really nice.'
He added: 'I felt kind of sad you know, sad for the staff really.
'We went round quite a few of them who hadn't heard anything from head office in a few weeks.'
The couple relied on Google Maps and rang ahead to see which Little Chefs were still open due to the company's outdated website.
The pair even held a 'funeral service' to mark the first anniversary of the closure of the chain - which was bought by Euro Garages who have converted the restaurants into other brands such as Greggs and Starbucks
They started at the Little Chef that overlooked the A1, near Newcastle, on July 30, 2017, where Mr Lord got the lucky omen of a double-yolk egg in his Olympic breakfast
The last Little Chef closed on January 31, 2018. The company declined after the turn of the century due to a lack of investment, increased competition and the use of motorways over A-roads.
The Little Chef in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire photographed by Megan
The Little Chef in Skipton, North Yorkshire photographed by Megan
After touring the country to the remaining 40 diners in their spare time, the pair finished their food pilgrimage at the A11 branch near Norwich on December 17, 2017.
Mrs Clark-Bagnall said: 'We released a rather pathetic balloon straight into a radio mast and hand delivered the staff a double-layered box of Cadbury's Milk Tray. It wasn't a romantic ending.
'It just didn't feel right to end it like this.'
She said it made her sad when the final Little Chef closed without any press or praise.
'We want this rectified. The public need to be given the chance to say goodbye. If Princess Diana's funeral can be broadcast globally, then so can Little Chef.
'This is the unofficial funeral for every Little Chef.'
After touring the country to the remaining 40 diners in their spare time, the pair finished their food pilgrimage at the A11 branch near Norwich on December 17, 2017
A full English breakfast at a Little Chef restaurant as photographed by Megan
The bright lights of the Little Chef in Sleaford, Lincolnshire which was snapped by Megan
The last Little Chef closed on January 31, 2018.
The company declined after the turn of the century due to a lack of investment, increased competition and the use of motorways over A-roads.
It was set up in 1958 by Sam Alper - a caravan designer who based his restaurants on American diners.
The first store opened in Reading and had just 11 seats.
There is still a Little Chef website which states there are stores in 61 locations across England - though some have been closed for up to two years.
Megan and Owen found contact details of the stores on the website and rang them to find out whether they were open before planning to visit them.
Megan and Owen chose to remember their favourite food franchise by photographing the 'surviving but not thriving' Little Chefs during their 1931-mile road trip in 2017.
They now plan to publish a book about their Littlechef adventure containing their photographs.
The trip was an art project for the tenth anniversary since they first met.
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https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/22/mini-van-couple-visit-last-41-little-chefs-across-uk/
Main photo article A couple travelled across the UK in their mini-van to visit 41 of the last remaining Little Chef restaurants before the much-loved chain ceased trading.
Megan Clark-Bagnall and Owen Lord’s unusual road trip in their bright red 1986 Bedford Rascal mini-van was inspired by their childhood m...
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