I still remember the pain I felt when my precious Wensleydale cheese was confiscated. I was outraged at the idea that the East German border guard considered my piece of cheese to be somehow subversive and therefore not allowed into the country. I can still feel the abrupt loss of pleasurable anticipation of munching the crumbly cheese on my way towards the unknown in Magdeburg. It was in 1984 so a very long time ago but Wensleydale cheese still plays an important role in my life. Half a pound never lasts more than a couple of days, as it's my go-to snack. My family laugh at me because I differentiate between lunchtime and snack cheese and dinner time and treat cheeses (they're from The Courtyard Dairy via a monthly subscription - strongly recommended)...
The Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes is a popular destination for many visitors, and a good place to go to learn more about the art of cheese-making and to watch Wensleydale cheese being made. There's plenty to keep children occupied, including 'driving' a mini milk tanker and clips of Wallace & Gromit films.
A lot has happened since Cistercian monks first made Wensleydale cheese at Jervaulx Abbey around 1150. Over time farmer's wives made it too and it became a mainstay of the Dales diet. An enterprising corn merchant Edward Chapman built the first creamery in Hawes in 1897, buying milk and making Wensleydale cheese on a larger scale.
Perhaps the most famous character associated with Wensleydale cheese is Kit Calvert who helped to rescue the Creamery in 1935 after the 1930s depression. He eventually sold it to the Milk Marketing Board (any of you remember their milk and nursery rhyme cookery book distributed to children in the late 60s/early 70s?) and it was passed on to Dairy Crest. Dark times followed and Dairy Crest closed the Creamery in 1992 with the loss of over 50 jobs. Even worse, they moved production to Lancashire! Luckily a team of plucky ex-managers joined forces with a local businessman in a management buy-out.
Image: Paul Harris