It has been 65 years since Newport Pagnell services became the UK’s first motorway service area (MSA), and to mark the occasion Welcome Break has commissioned a life-sized cake in the shape the best-selling car of 1960.
The Austin/Morris 1100, which was commonly known simply as the 1100 at the time, has been reconstructed in birthday cake form, weighing in at 90kg and using 50kg of fondant icing alone. It took food artist Michelle Wibowo 150 hours to bake.
Finished in Bronze Yellow, a popular paint colour for cars of the era, the 2.4-metre long cake was constructed over 16 days.
It was commissioned by Welcome Break to mark 65 years since the opening of Newport Pagnell on the M1 close to Milton Keynes. The services began trading just a year after the UK’s first motorway opened. Welcome Break has been involved with Newport Pagnell since it opened, though the company operated under the name Motorway Services Ltd in the 1960s.
Newport Pagnell first offered fuel only, before a café serving simple fare like fish and chips opened on the site. Today, Welcome Break’s Newport Pagnell services features a 28-pump forecourt, EV charging for 52 vehicles, shower facilities, and seven foodservice options.
The company’s operations director, Gary Steele, comments: “So much has changed in the last 65 years, and we’re grateful we’ve been able to help travellers in this century and the last on their journeys across the UK, making their trips easier.
“What better way to celebrate than with a slice of car cake! Here is to the next 65 years.”
