Prince Charles jokes about his dry stone wall building efforts while in Gloucestershire,
This might seem like a trivial story about a royal visit to an old building and then a motorway services. It is actually about Prince Charles champion of all things rural visiting the home of the excellent Cotswolds Conservation Board. Jessica and I have had many happy hours there helping them develop their distinctive LEADER programme. The motorway services have been developed by the same company behind the Tebay Services on the M6 and are a wonder to behold in terms of local food. How times have changed since that famour chorus from “Watford Gap” by Roy Harper:
“Watford Gap, Watford Gap, plate of grease and a load of ……”
In these more discerning times its great to see the growth of a development like the Gloucestershire Services. The article, starting at the CCB headquarters tells us:
The building was originally built in the 1790s and is believed to be the first prison to separate men, women and children prisoners.
Over the years, it has also served as a police station and a petty sessional court before being bought by Friends of the Cotswolds who are hoping to develop it into a key tourist attraction.
Later Charles officially opened Gloucester Services on the M5, a welcome stop for drivers which is dedicated to local food, farming and the surrounding community.
Instead of fast food outlets, drivers have a traditional farm shop stocked with locally produced food, a butchery featuring Gloucestershire’s finest meat, and even a fishmonger’s – believed to be a first at a motorway services.
It is also home to bees and the prince was presented with the first jar of M5 honey to celebrate the visit.
Charles even put the final flourish to a honey mural commissioned to commemorate the occasion, by painting yellow stripes on a bee.
To mark the day Gloucester Services announced an initiative with one of the prince’s rural organisations, the Prince’s Countryside Fund.
Ten pence from every Prince’s Countryside Fund sandwich – handmade with wild boar, single Gloucester cheese, tomato and red pepper – will be donated to the Fund.