Colston Bassett Dairy: more than a century of hand-ladled Stilton

Few foods are as tied to a place as Stilton, and few makers carry its traditions as faithfully as Colston Bassett Dairy. Tucked away on Harby Lane in the village of Colston Bassett, in the Vale of Belvoir, this Nottinghamshire dairy has been making cheese for more than a hundred years.

The dairy was developed from an idea by Dr William Windley, and the traditional farming co-operative behind it was first established in 1913. Remarkably, only four cheesemakers have led production there across the past century, which helps explain the consistency that cheese lovers prize.

The milk comes from local farms just a short distance from the dairy, and the cheese is still made by hand using traditional methods. One of the most labour-intensive steps, hand-ladling the curds, has been kept on purpose, even as the farms and dairy have been upgraded to meet modern hygiene standards.

Stilton is a cheese with rules. Since 1996 it has held protected designation of origin status, which means it can only be made in Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire. The Vale of Belvoir is regarded as Stilton's heartland, and Colston Bassett is one of a small number of licensed dairies there.

The dairy makes two cheeses. Colston Bassett Stilton is creamy, sweet and salty, with a mellow finish and a natural rind, while its Shropshire Blue is milder and sweeter, with a peppery blue flavour.

The awards cabinet is well stocked. In 2017 its Stilton took silver at the International Cheese Awards and was named Best Stilton at The Artisan Cheese Fair in Melton Mowbray. In 2018 it won Best PDO/PGI Cheese at the Royal Bath and West Show, and the dairy has collected Great Taste stars from the Guild of Fine Food year after year, with Shropshire Blue earning two stars and the Stilton one in 2023.

Its cheeses travel well beyond Nottinghamshire too. London's Neal's Yard Dairy has stocked Colston Bassett Stilton for more than three decades.

Whether it is the centrepiece of a Christmas cheeseboard or crumbled into a winter soup, a piece of Colston Bassett Stilton is a taste of the county. Cheeses can be ordered for delivery through the Colston Bassett Dairy website.