Our motorway - Historian Roger Bingham recalls the arrival of the M6 in Westmorland.

FIFTY years ago Westmorland entered the 'Motorway Age' when a start was made on building a stretch of the M6 running from Carnforth to Penrith.

It had been a long time on the way. In the 1940s opposition from landowners had put paid to a scheme to run a new 'North West Trunk Road' up the Lune Valley.

Consequently, villages along the congested A6 were increasingly pulverised and polluted. Jams at Milnthorpe traffic lights regularly stretched two miles from Levens Bridge in the north and to Hale, a similar distance to the south.

But, in 1968, hope dawned when, as a first move, reservoir pipelines were transferred from the projected route at Tebay.

Nearby, the main contracts Scott, Wilson, Kirkpatrick and Partners were based at Patton. Further south 'French's Engineers' occupied Heversham House, and JD Laing's Ltd created a campment at Clawthorpe, near Burton.

Even so, the largest camp was at Tebay, where the school was extended to accommodate workers' children and, also, a Roman Catholic chaplain was appointed 'for the Irish Labourers'.

Inevitably there were complaints about camp-followers and drunkenness and a big fire destroyed a recreation block at Clawthorpe. Even so, the host community generally accepted the temporary residents and put up with the noisy disruption.

Burton folks bore up particularly well when their Main Street was closed for six weeks in order that new foundations could be installed to take the heavy motorway construction vehicles.

Bus conductors were photographed escorting passengers through upturned rubble to get to duplicate buses beyond the site.

Thanks to all round co-operation this work was completed earlier than planned. Moreover, the Gazette reported that 'bad temper had been conspicuous by its absence'.

Not everyone was happy. A petition, signed by 5,100 protesters, was presented to the government by Westmorland's MP Michael Jopling, but failed to top the motorway severing parts of the northern reaches of the Lancaster to Kendal canal.

Farmers suffered most. An Orton farm had to be demolished and the Robinsons of Preston Patrick lost many acres to the junction 36 roundabout.

Other neighbours resented that the motorway had been moved closer to their homes when the route was shifted to avoid medieval Preston Patrick Hall. But Sedbergh residents were pleased when they succeeded in getting an extra exit (now Junction 37) to serve their town and the Western Dales.

After two years, the impressive results included 36 miles of dual (not yet three lanes) carriageway, 78 bridges, 71 concrete culverts and a 13-feet wide central reservation.

Modern terminology included 'hard shoulder', for verges, where, it was explained, 'parking and picnicking were prohibited'.

Moreover, instead of a 'transport café' (which the M1 had got at Newport Pagnall), 'our motorway' received a 'Service Station' at Burton. In October 1970 local people were paid 10 shillings each to be photographed sampling the fare.

But, according to Kath Hayhurst's book 'Burton's Memories', 'it turned out to be inedible as all the food was stone cold'.