Staycationers Flock To Historic Yorkshire Creamery

Oct 02, 2009

The Wensleydale Creamery, at Hawes in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, is benefiting from a big influx of UK holidaymakers with hundreds more tourists flocking to its popular Visitor Centre.

So far this summer, 1,500 more visitors have toured The Wensleydale Creamery’s museum and watched the cheese making compared to last year.

The increase is being attributed to the economic downturn prompting people to turn their backs on a holiday abroad and instead opt for a “staycation” by taking short breaks in Britain or using home as a base for days out.

The growth in turnover at the Centre’s specialist cheese and gift shops indicate the increase in footfall is even more substantial, however, the museum is the only ticketed part of the Centre.

Sales have soared by more than a quarter (26 per cent) from April to June compared to the same period last year.

The centre, which includes a museum, cheese making viewing gallery, specialist cheese shop, fully-licensed restaurant and coffee shop is already one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Yorkshire Dales with more than 200,000 people a year coming through its doors.

David Hartley, The Wensleydale Creamery Managing Director, said: “Our Visitor Centre has always been popular, but this year’s fashion for people holidaying closer to home has helped bring more business through the doors.

“Some choose to experience all that our Visitor Centre has to offer, while others come here to buy cheese and gifts or have a bite to eat.

“The beautiful Yorkshire Dales National Park is a fantastic place for a staycation. While the sun shines visitors can enjoy the fresh air and stunning countryside and, if the weather is not so good, there are a host of fantastic indoor attractions. In fact, our Visitor Centre restaurant boasts spectacular views across Wensleydale.

“We use traditional methods to handcraft Real Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese to time-honoured recipes and are the only Creamery that makes Wensleydale cheese in Wensleydale. It is this provenance and heritage that helps attract so many tourists to our Visitor Centre.”

All the Centre’s departments are experiencing an uplift in business with the gift and cheese shops showing the largest amounts of growth.

Gift packs, including Real Yorkshire Wensleydale and fruit cake, which is a long-standing Dales’ tradition, have proved a particular favourite with visitors.

The Centre is open seven days a week Monday - Saturday 9.30am – 5pm, and Sunday 10am – 4.30pm The museum guides visitors through the history of Real Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese – a favourite of Oscar winning animated characters Wallace and Gromit - and its production through the centuries, while learning about the traditional cheese-making process. This includes an original farmhouse dairy, housing equipment from the turn of the century, a press and maturing room.

From the museum, visitors continue through to the cheese making viewing gallery overlooking The Creamery itself. Here visitors can watch the skilled craftsmen in the cheese rooms stirring and cutting the cheese by hand.

The ‘Cheese Experience’ tour takes about 30 – 90 minutes with the best viewing times for cheese-making between 10am and 2pm.

Visitors can enjoy the great taste of Real Yorkshire Wensleydale at The Wensleydale Creamery’s Buttery Restaurant, which cooks up recipes featuring the cheese with all the homemade dishes freshly prepared by the resident chef.

Customers can also ‘try before they buy’ at the specialist cheese shop with a selection of The Wensleydale Creamery’s cheeses available to sample.

In 1995 The Wensleydale Creamery was the first to launch Real Yorkshire Wensleydale with Cranberries, which has now become one of its best sellers and has firmly become established as a ‘core’ cheese in the blended cheese category.

The Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes has a popular Visitor Centre, which includes a museum, viewing gallery, specialist cheese shop and fully licensed restaurant. It opened in 1994 and attracts over 200,000 visitors a year.

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