When John and Barbara Dunning learned that a highway (or motorway, as it’s called in the U.K.) would cut through their farm in Cumbria, they spotted a chance.
Cumbria is famous for its Lake District National Park, known for its beautiful mountains.
The U.K. government forced them to sell part of their land for the motorway construction, but the Dunnings decided to turn this challenge into an opportunity.
In the late 1960s, they successfully negotiated to lease the land back and set up Tebay Services, the first family-run motorway service stop in the U.K. that emphasized local produce.
Sarah Dunning, their daughter, recalls the high stakes involved in launching Tebay. It began in 1972 as a modest rest stop on the M6 motorway’s northbound side, featuring a 30-seat cafe offering homemade food and a craft shop selling local items.
The Dunnings also partnered with the Birketts family bakery for over three decades.
Today, Tebay has expanded to include facilities on both sides of the motorway, a hotel, a caravan park, and shops selling meat from the family farm.
It’s part of the Westmorland Family business group, headed by Sarah Dunning, which also manages additional rest areas in Gloucestershire and Lanarkshire, and a community hub in Rheged, Lake District….
