It's an unsuspecting sight on a little country road with a vintage forecourt and a 'we serve you’ sign. The owner, who lives on site, has been a fuel pump attendant there for more than 50 years. And it has hardly changed at all.
Brian Heath bought Blue Post Petrol in 1972 when the road was a single track with passing places between Totnes and Avonwick in the Devon countryside. The road is now wider, with the old lane now a kind of "pit-stop" leading to and from the garage, but remarkably, little else has changed — pulling up onto the forecourt is very much like stepping back in time.
Mr Heath lives next to this garage in a 1960s bungalow, which his late wife used to run as a café for 19 years. Originally from Sussex, he said: “It was just about going where a garage was available, where I found work, I had to do something. This was advertised, we came and had a look at it and bought it.”
The charm of Blue Post Petrol is unmistakable, its forecourt remaining largely unchanged for 50 years with its vintage signage, single pumps and cash-only payment. Customers pull up and Mr Heath fills the tank for them. Older people will remember garages like this — and there are others that survive to this day — but with the arrival of new technologies, roles like Mr Heath's have largely been phased out.
He says the arrival of supermarkets changed the way petrol stations worked. He said: "In Totnes, there used to be about seven garages but when supermarkets came, they all shut down. That's what messed it all up really for independent garages.''
The garage is on the B3210 Plymouth Road, between Totnes and Avonwick, Devon, with fields surrounding it. Despite the Blue Posts' proximity to a busy market town, Mr Heath maintains quite a solitary life; living alone, with only the company of his Jack Russell, named Bits.
He said: "I don't know many people from in town, some of them come out, some don't. If they’re passing by and they want something they will stop. I don't worry about it, I’m too old to worry about it. I’ve made enough money to live off it and get my pension. I’m retired now, but I carry on doing the petrol."
His Jack Russell lives outside and greets customers as they arrives. The dog has been at Blue Post Petrol for 12 years after a customer dropped it off, saying that she’d be back — but she never returned.
The Jack Russell survived a fire in his previous owner's care, leaving him scarred, Mr Heath said. "He lives outside, he prefers it. He’s not a house dog, he’s got his kennel."
He added: "I get told off sometimes because he’s got bald legs, but he was in a fire and got burnt and people go round and say it's mites and all the rest of it, but the vet can't do anything for him. I’ve taken him to the vet but it's just scarring. He’s quite happy. If he gets off the lead he doesn't go anywhere, he just sits on the step waiting for me to come out."
Until five years ago, Mr Heath also ran a car garage in the small original 1950s building on the forecourt, fixing up cars by himself. He said: "I used to repair cars as well. That's just a minefield now, I’m too old for it. I was a mechanic here up until maybe five years ago. Now I just serve the petrol."
The building still remains, adding to that sense of it being in a time warp, filled with car parts and paraphernalia from its rich history.
Mr Heath says he is a traditional character, unfazed by modern life. When asked why he thinks people are fascinated by this little slice of motoring history, he says: "I don’t know why people find it interesting, maybe because it's somebody to talk to.
"If you get petrol in Morrisons they wouldn't talk to you, would they? There used to be loads of us about but they’ve all gone, there was one in Marleyhead, two in Brent, one at Wrangaton, and one in Bideford but they’ve all gone."
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Blue Post Petrol sees less custom than it used to. Years ago, it used to be open until 8pm with up to five petrol tankers occupying the forecourt. Mr Heath said: “There used to be a café here about 25 years ago, but it was either keep the café going and not tarmac the forecourt or tarmac the forecourt and stop the café. I’m here on my own now, I lost my partner, she died."
He did once work for British Railways before getting into mechanics, and his remaining family still live in Sussex. He said: "My brothers have two children, a boy and girl — that's all I’ve got. I wouldn't go back, they wanted me to go back but I wouldn't go back, it's too bloody cold. It's never cold down here!”
Modern-day petrol stations offer a very different experience today, with automatic 24-hour self-service forecourts which require little or no interaction. Very few fuel pump attendants like Mr Heath exist anymore and he may well be the last in his neck of the woods.
He said: "I like it because it’s peaceful — nobody moans at you, no one next door to complain about things, I don't get no trouble. All I do is wander around and see people when they come by. I just do what I do."
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