The Best British Cheeses by Region: A Guide for Curious Eaters

The cheese counter at a well-stocked British cheesemonger or farmers' market is one of the most underappreciated features of food shopping in the UK. Britain produces somewhere between 700 and 750 named cheese varieties — more than France, despite France's rather more effective marketing of its cheese culture. The tradition is deep, regional, and very much alive.

The Great Territorial Cheeses

The backbone of British cheese is the territorial tradition — hard and semi-hard cheeses named after and specific to particular regions. The most familiar are Cheddar (Somerset), Cheshire, Double Gloucester, Red Leicester, Wensleydale (Yorkshire), Caerphilly (Wales) and Lancashire. Each has a distinct character rooted in local milk, local climate and centuries of craft development.

Cheddar is the most produced but also the most variable. A mass-produced supermarket cheddar and a properly aged clothbound cheddar from a Somerset farmhouse are practically different foods. Look for the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company or Montgomery's for the genuine article — long-aged, crumbly, complex and deeply savoury.

Wensleydale, made famous by its association with Wallace (of Wallace and Gromit), is mild and slightly honeyed when young. Aged versions, increasingly available from the Wensleydale Creamery, develop considerably more complexity.

Lancashire in its various forms — Crumbly, Creamy and Tasty — represents one of the most underrated of the territorial cheeses. The crumbly variety is particularly versatile in cooking.

The Blues

Stilton is the most famous British blue and one of only a handful of British cheeses to hold Protected Designation of Origin status. It can only be produced in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. Well-aged Stilton is rich, complex and considerably more interesting than the over-salty, over-commercial versions that appear in Christmas gift boxes.

Shropshire Blue is an orange-hued relative of Stilton with a milder flavour. Beacon Fell Blue from Lancashire and Barkham Blue from Berkshire are notable smaller-production blues worth seeking out.

The Soft and Washed-Rind Cheeses

British soft cheeses have improved dramatically since the 1990s, driven largely by small artisan producers. Stinking Bishop from Gloucestershire — made from the milk of Gloucestershire Old Spot cattle and washed in perry — is one of the most pungently aromatic cheeses produced anywhere in Europe. The name is, it turns out, also the name of a variety of pear used for the washing liquid.

Tunworth, made in Hampshire, is widely considered the finest British camembert-style cheese and has won the World Cheese Awards. Baron Bigod from Suffolk is a brie-style cheese of genuine distinction.

Scotland and Wales

Scottish cheese has experienced something of a renaissance, with producers such as Connage Highland Dairy in Inverness and Errington Cheese in Lanarkshire producing outstanding hard and semi-hard cheeses. Mull of Kintyre Cheddar is widely available and reliably good.

Welsh cheese has historically been dominated by Caerphilly — a young, lightly acidic, crumbly white cheese that partners well with bread and fruit. Artisan producers including Caws Cenarth in Carmarthenshire have expanded the Welsh offer considerably.