Very best servicing and your route to a good vintage
Maybe motorway service stations are not what you expect to read about on a wine merchant’s Blog, but at Vintage Roots we like to share good stuff, and that includes the successes of one of our valued trade clients.
Service stations – well most of us accept them as functional and necessary. A place to grab one of the usual branded coffees, and an under par sandwich, fuel up and go, as quickly as possible. Think again, as now there is a different type of service station out there which will surprise you, it sets the new Gold standard. There’s no doubt, and judges agree that they are the very best places to take a break from the drive. They are:
Tebay Services and Gloucester Services, which are part of the Westmorland Family business, set up over 40 years ago when the M6 motorway cut through the family farm. Since then, the business has transformed the concept of the motorway service station, stocking locally produced goods, serving homemade dishes created from locally sourced produce and employing 550 people.
New site Gloucester Services opened in 2014 following a £40 million investment. The business partnered with Gloucester Gateway Trust to train and employ local people, with 30% of staff formerly being long term unemployed. The Westmorland Family have made a significant contribution to the rural community served through Tebay and Gloucester Services.
Earlier this year the group won success at The Responsible Business Awards. Run by charity Business in the Community (BITC), the Responsible Business Awards are the UK’s longest-running and most respected corporate responsibility awards, championing UK businesses that tackle key social and environmental issues. They won the Samworth Brothers Rural Action Award, which recognises businesses that support rural communities to maintain a vibrant, sustainable and prosperous rural economy for the benefit of future generations.
Chair of Judges, said “Gloucester and Tebay are genuine rural champions”.
Gloucester Services is situated on the M5 motorway and Tebay Services just north of Kendal on the M6, and should you ever be passing these, please pop in and experience a unique catering and retail offer! You’ll find all sorts of locally sourced delicious food, along with a selected range of organic wines and drinks from Vintage Roots to purchase. They also have the best toilets and showers!!
You might end up staying a while to look around, and enjoy the environment. Why not make it part of your ‘journey’? Just remember to add a little time.