Stilton Dairy Shops in the Vale of Belvoir

Why the Vale of Belvoir

Three Stilton makers sit within a few miles of each other in the Vale of Belvoir, on the Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire border. You cannot watch the cheese being made at any of them, but each sells its own Stilton fresh from the dairy, and two have a counter you can drop into most days.

Colston Bassett Dairy

The dairy has had only four cheesemakers in a hundred years and uses milk from three farms within a mile and a half. Its Stilton is the only one Neal's Yard Dairy has carried for 33 years. The shop at the dairy on Harby Lane opens Monday to Friday 9 to 12:30 and 1:30 to 4, Saturday 9 to 12, and is closed on Sundays and bank holidays. Phone 01949 81322. The village pub, The Martins, serves the cheese.

Cropwell Bishop Creamery

The Cheesemaker's Shop stands in front of the creamery at the junction of Field Lane and Nottingham Road, and a recent extension added a tearoom serving local coffee, Hambleton Bakery bread and pastries, pork pies and cakes. It sells the full Cropwell Bishop range with crackers and chutneys, opens Monday to Saturday 10am to 3pm and is closed on Sundays. Payment is card only. There are a few parking spaces behind the shop, entered through the second barrier on Nottingham Road. Entry is up steps, with a ramp on request, and dogs are allowed only in the outdoor seating. Phone 0115 989 1788.

Clawson Farms, Long Clawson

A co-operative of 30 farms founded in 1912, whose Blue Stilton was Supreme Champion at the 2024 International Cheese and Dairy Awards. Its cheese shop at the dairy opens only on the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each month: Thursday and Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 8am to 1pm. The remaining 2026 openings are 29 to 31 October and 26 to 28 November. Enter from Hickling Lane (LE14 4NW) and use the visitors' car park.

A One-Day Route

Pick a Thursday to Saturday at the end of the month and all three are open. Start at Cropwell Bishop when it opens at 10, for coffee in the tearoom, then drive to Colston Bassett before it closes for lunch at 12:30. Finish at Long Clawson in the afternoon (Thursday or Friday) and carry on to Melton Mowbray, a short drive south. On other weeks, Cropwell Bishop and Colston Bassett make an easy morning pair.

Nearby

Melton Mowbray hosts the Artisan Cheese Fair each May, on 29 and 30 May in 2027.