Cheese Festivals, Markets and Creameries in the UK

The Cheese Regions

Somerset is where Cheddar comes from. The Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company has its shop in the gorge (its dairy reopens in early 2027), and at Wookey Hole clothbound Cheddar matures inside the caves. Across the border in Devon, Quicke's opens its farm near Exeter for tours on summer Fridays. Cornwall's Cornish Yarg is sold at the dairy shop near Truro, and Bath has The Fine Cheese Co. on Walcot Street.

Gloucestershire gave its name to Double and Single Gloucester and is home to the Cooper's Hill cheese rolling. Dorset holds the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival and is the home of Dorset Blue Vinny.

In the East Midlands, the Stilton dairies at Colston Bassett, Cropwell Bishop and Long Clawson sell straight from the dairy, and Melton Mowbray hosts the Artisan Cheese Fair each May. Lincoln has a cheese shop and café, The Cheese Society.

Yorkshire and the north have the Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes, with live cheesemaking demonstrations, and The Courtyard Dairy near Settle, a cheese shop with a free museum and courses. Lancashire cheese is sold at Dewlay's shop in Garstang, and the Northumberland Cheese Company has a café above its dairy at Blagdon. Cheshire's cheese moment is the Nantwich Show in late July.

London is the best-stocked city: Borough Market, the Chiswick Cheese Market, the cheese shops led by Neal's Yard Dairy and Paxton & Whitfield, and tastings in shop cellars.

Wales has Caws Cenarth, where viewing the cheesemaking is free, and the Caerphilly Cheese Festival. Scotland's standout is Isle of Mull Cheese above Tobermory, with Arran, Connage near Inverness and Loch Arthur in Galloway as smaller stops. In Northern Ireland, the Saturday market at St George's in Belfast is the easiest place to find local cheese.

The Cheese Year in the UK

When to Go

Late May to September is the best stretch. Quicke's tours run on Fridays from May, Melton Mowbray's fair and the cheese rolling fall at the end of May, the Nantwich Show is in late July, Caerphilly in late August, and September brings Sturminster Newton and Frome in the same weekend. The Glass Barn café at Isle of Mull Cheese is open for the summer season, which ends on 31 October.

Autumn and winter are quieter but not dead. The shops are at their best before Christmas, the Courtyard Dairy stays open late from 18 to 21 December, and tastings and courses fill the calendar: the Courtyard Dairy's cheesemaking courses run from late January to March 2027. Watch for reduced hours. The Wensleydale Creamery closes an hour earlier from early November, and Wookey Hole is closed midweek from 2 November 2026 to 12 February 2027. Mull's farm tours carry on all year.

Suggested Routes

West Country, three or four days: start in Bath at The Fine Cheese Co., drive to Wookey Hole for the cave cheese store, then on to Cheddar for the gorge and the cheese shop. Finish near Exeter with a Friday morning tour at Quicke's. In September, time it for the Frome Cheese Show or Sturminster Newton.

Yorkshire Dales, one or two days: watch a morning demonstration at the Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes, then head south to the Courtyard Dairy near Settle for its museum and a cheese pizza at RIND.

Stilton country, one day: on the last Thursday or Friday of the month, visit Cropwell Bishop when it opens, Colston Bassett before its lunch break and Clawson Farms in the afternoon, then end in Melton Mowbray.

London, one day: Borough Market in the morning (Thursday to Saturday if you want Kappacasein's raclette), the cheese shops of Covent Garden, Marylebone or St James's in the afternoon, and a tasting in the evening. On the third Sunday, swap in the Chiswick market.

Scotland: Isle of Mull Cheese is a 45-minute ferry crossing from Oban plus the drive to Tobermory, so plan a night on the island. Edinburgh's I.J. Mellis shop on Victoria Street is open daily if you pass through.

Getting Around

Most farms and dairies are rural and a car makes life easier. A few work by train: Borough Market sits beside London Bridge station, Chiswick is five minutes from Turnham Green, and Great Western Railway stops at Newton St Cyres, a short walk from Quicke's. Several farm shops are cashless, Cropwell Bishop and the Cheddar Gorge Cheese Company among them, so carry a card.

More Places to Buy and Taste Cheese

Smaller stops that take visitors, beyond the places with their own pages above. Check hours before a long drive.