The path to cheddar
Wookey Hole cave aged cheddar truckles from Ford Farm (Photo by Suzanne).
We took some time off the week before last and went to Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge in Wells, Somerset. My son kept asking if there was ore that could be mined that was made of cheese, but we did come back with quite a load from the Mendip Hills, which are crisscrossed with caves suitable for putting cheese in for ageing, it seems.
Thus, Wookey Hole cave aged cheddar truckle from Ford Farm came back, along with its cave aged goat cheese, and we didn’t have to negotiate too much with the witch that seemed on duty all the time there.
Cheddar Gorge itself has a cheese company that produces cheese on-site. It was nice to see that, despite the production viewing area being closed off to visitors, people still queued up politely to try the cheese and then buy the cheese.
I am not sure what the numbers were, but the places were busy, wherever we went in Somerset. The Hot Fuzz tour in Wells was running two walks a day to keep up with demand. The goats seemed unimpressed by the people and cars that trundled through the gorge. Glastonbury was full of people marching up and down the Tor. The East Somerset railway was busy but not overcrowded, which was nice. That being said, we have no reports of having to wait hours to buy our cream teas, unlike the Cornwall crowds.
This year, the average Brit is largely staycationing, although there are a few hardy souls I know who have gone to various red/amber/green list countries and returned. I think personally, 2022 will be our year to wander outside the borders and see people in person. In the meantime, plenty of cheese to be eaten. Our 1.8kg truckle is half gone already. May have to phone the witch up for more…
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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