Westmorland operates three sites
Note that where a service area comprises two separate inline facilities on opposite sides of the road, a brand may only be available on one side rather than both.
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The Westmorland Family is the most distinctive name in British motorway services. It runs three service areas, Tebay on the M6, Gloucester on the M5 and Cairn Lodge on the M74, with no franchises. Instead of the usual fast-food brands, each site has its own farm shop and kitchen. The company also runs a truckstop at Junction 38 of the M6, the Rheged visitor centre near Penrith, and a hotel at Tebay. Its kitchens serve over 10 million customers a year.
The story starts in 1969, when the M6 was built across the Cumbrian farm of John and Barbara Dunning. When the Department of Transport said it wanted a service area on the moor, the young farmers bid for the lease themselves. Tebay Services opened in 1972 on the northbound carriageway, and the southbound side followed in 1992. The Westmorland Hotel opened in 1976, and Rheged, a gallery, cinema and visitor centre, followed in 2000. The business is still family-run, with the Dunnings' daughter Sarah Dunning as chair.
Westmorland's approach took hold in the early 2000s, when farm shops were added at its service areas. Tebay sits on a 1,000-acre family upland farm, and a butchery sells its own lamb, beef and Herdwick mutton. Tebay works with around 70 producers within 30 miles and a further 70 from the wider region. Much of the food for all three sites is cooked from scratch at the Westmorland Kitchen at Rheged.
The company was based only in Cumbria until 2014, when two moves put it on the wider map. Gloucester Services opened that year on the M5, in partnership with a community development charity, the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust. The southbound side followed in 2015. Gloucester works with more than 130 producers within 30 miles and a further 70 from the South West. In 2014 Westmorland also acquired Cairn Lodge, a family-owned service area on the M74 in Lanarkshire. After a remodel it was relaunched in 2019 with its own farm shop and kitchen.
Customers and reviewers have noticed. In Which?'s 2026 survey of motorway services, Gloucester was named the UK's best for the second year running, with a customer score of 85%. Tebay scored 77% and Cairn Lodge 72%, and Westmorland Family Services was the only operator named a Which? Recommended Provider. Tebay's appeal was also the subject of a four-part Channel 4 series in 2021, A Lake District Farmshop.
Westmorland has been investing in electric vehicle charging, including a charging brand of its own. Its biggest planned project is Tatton Services, on the M56 between Junctions 7 and 8 in Cheshire, developed with the Tatton Estate. Plans for the 39-acre site include a farm shop and kitchen, a "fuel barn" instead of a traditional forecourt, a 100-bedroom hotel and at least 54 EV charging points. The company says it would create around 325 jobs. Because it is on green belt land, the scheme went to a public inquiry in October 2024 after Cheshire East Council approved it, and it later cleared that process.
Westmorland remains far smaller than Moto, Welcome Break or Roadchef, and it intends to stay different. If Tatton goes ahead, it will have a service area midway between Tebay and Gloucester, carrying its farm-shop model onto one of the busiest routes in the north west.
