Our Story
Welcome to Wensleydale! Here you’ll find drystone walls, rolling limestone pastures, proud local farmers and cows grazing on lush grass.
You’ll also discover our wonderful Wensleydale Creamery! Award-winning, and renowned for quality, we’re an artisan cheesemaker steeped in heritage and provenance, and home to the iconic creamy, crumbly classic Yorkshire Wensleydale Cheese; a cheese that’s as timeless, traditional and universally loved as the beautiful Dale from which it comes.
Find out more about our exciting new branding, which launched in October 2023 HERE
Our Heritage
& Provenance
We’re custodians of a 1000-year history of cheesemaking in the Dale. Using traditional methods we handcraft artisan cheese to time-honoured recipes, using fresh subtly sweet milk from local farms, and our unique cheesemaking starter cultures.
With knowledge, skill & craftsmanship passed down through generations we understand all there is to know about cheesemaking; every step of the process is carried out under the watchful eyes of our expert cheesemakers.
Building on our iconic logo, which is recognisable the world over, 2023 saw an updated look and feel to our packaging to inspire a new generation of cheese lovers and become the ‘crumbly cheese of choice’.
Simpler, bolder and more modern, whilst reinforcing our quality, proud heritage and provenance, our iconic cow-inspired logo was reworked, sitting more prominently on our packs and embracing a brighter, and more vibrant colour palette.
Our Visitor
Experience
Based in the market town of Hawes in Wensleydale, we are surrounded by the most stunning landscape in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and have a fascinating story to tell. By creating a truly enjoyable and memorable experience, we have successfully become the home of the UK’s flagship Cheese Experience, creating a beloved tourist destination at our Visitor Centre.
Our Community,
Ethos &
Environment
We love the landscape, the people and the heritage that surrounds us; these are our key ingredients for creating our fantastic products.
We source the very best milk for making cheese from our dedicated group of farmers. Dairy farming is a way of life for them, and their skill, hard work and passion for their produce is reflected in the quality of their milk. They’re all Red Tractor Farm Assured too, guaranteeing the high standards that they work to. Many of the farmers we work with have been herding cows for generations. They’re often family businesses with herds roughly half the size of the national average. By supporting a strong, sustainable future for them and their families, we’re protecting a unique local farming culture in our community.
Situated in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, we recognise the love for our beautiful area, and the importance of protecting our environment. Through the installation of whey processing equipment we supply whey permeate, a by-product of our cheese-making process to be converted into green energy to supply local homes, which also reduces our water consumption by 50%.
Our Creamery has been built with high performance insulation to reduce energy consumption. It also has a calcareous green roof, essentially an extension of our natural surroundings which makes a positive contribution to local biodiversity. It offers improved insulation, reducing heat loss in winter and heat gains in summer, and reduces noise from heavy rainfall and rain water run-off.
Through the sourcing of local milk, being a major provider of rural jobs, and operating one of the top tourist destinations in the Yorkshire Dales, we are truly a community based business, contributing significantly to the local deeply rural economy.
Creamery Growth and
Modernisation Project
Work will be commencing in September 2019 to aid the modernisation of the Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes to include milk standardisation, curd handling improvements, cheese smoking plant and water recycling plant.
It is part funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas.
