A bloke clocked up more than 100 miles driving to the UK’s highest-ranked service station only to find that his wallet felt a bit lighter after buying some food there.
Nestled on the M5, Gloucester Services has been crowned the crème de la crème of British service stations in a Which? survey, receiving top marks for tidiness, accessibility, and its array of food and refreshments, not to mention the splendid outdoor area.
Journalist Josh Barrie from the I made a 112-mile trek to experience the hubbub himself. Despite commending the overall experience, he couldn’t help but note the steep prices nibbling at his budget.
He wrote: “The cold deli at the back is replete with arancini, mini quiches and fine-looking Scotch eggs. Two savoury items cost me £11.50,” reports Gloucestershire Live.
On display were also “locally made ice lollies” concocted with “seasonal British fruits” and artisan pasta sauce from the Cotswolds sporting price tags of £7.75.
Visitors could indulge in fresh pasta, award-winning cured meats, plus there’s a butcher’s, a cheesemonger and a fine selection of handmade chocolates to tempt one’s fancy.
With a farm shop brimming with local treats, it’s no surprise that Gloucester Services caught the eye of television producers, A Cotswold Farm Shop, aired on Channel 4 in 2023, showcasing the culinary delights on offer.
The company responsible for the service station remarked: “Westmorland is a family business, whose original motorway service area grew out of the family farm in Tebay, Cumbria, when the M6 as built through our land. Everything we do reflects those beginnings.”
Tebay services, the firm’s flagship site, secured the second spot in the Which rankings and was even featured in a Channel 4 documentary in 2021.
In the documentary, John Dunning, who capitalised on the chance to develop a service station on his family’s 1,000-acre dairy farm, highlighted the importance for farmers to “diversify” amidst evolving times, leveraging their land beyond traditional agriculture and embedding sustainability in new ventures.
He stated: “I knew that living in this part of the world [Cumbria], we could only survive if we diversified the farm’s activities.”
Dunning added: “We are still a farming family, but we have managed to employ hundreds of local people – in Cumbria, that is significant.”
