The Cheese Farm at Blagdon: Northumberland Cheese Company

A few miles south of Morpeth, tucked off the road at Blagdon, is one of the North East's longest-standing artisan cheesemakers. Northumberland Cheese Company hand-makes its farmhouse cheeses on the farm, sells them from an on-site shop, and has turned the top of the building into a café. For anyone who likes to know where their food comes from, it is an easy and rewarding detour.

From a hill farm to the Cheese Farm

The company's story begins in 1984, not at Blagdon but high in the Northumberland uplands at Soppit Farm, Elsdon. Founder Marc Robertson, then a sheep farmer, started making a sheep's milk cheese he named Redesdale after the surrounding valley. The range grew over the years to take in cow's and goat's milk cheeses, and by 1996 the business had outgrown its original home. It moved to its current site at Blagdon, where the small team still makes cheese by hand.

What they make

Northumberland Cheese Company now produces a range of farmhouse cheeses, all pasteurised and suitable for vegetarians. The Northumberland Original is the mainstay, and the Nettle is the bestseller, wrapped in real nettle leaves. Alongside them sit a Smoked cheese, the Elsdon goats' cheese and the original Redesdale, made with ewes' milk. It is the kind of range that rewards a bit of browsing, and the farm shop is the best place to try before you buy.

Café, shop and dairy tours

The Cheese Loft Café and Farm Shop are open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 4pm, closing on Mondays outside the school and bank holidays. The café sits above the working dairy, and the shop stocks the full range of cheeses to take home. For a closer look at how it is all made, the company runs guided Dairy Tours, which need to be booked in advance rather than dropped in on. Booking and reservations go through the farm on 01670 789798.

Best for: Best for a local cheese board, a relaxed lunch out of Morpeth, or a behind-the-scenes dairy tour by advance booking.

Blagdon is an easy run south from Morpeth, and the farm makes a natural stop on the way to or from Newcastle. Opening hours do shift around the holidays, so it is worth a quick look at the Northumberland Cheese Company website or a phone call before setting out for a special trip.

---

Know a local producer we should feature? Get in touch.