Regional & Seasonal:
The Courtyard Dairy, Austwick
ASUN-WARMED BREEZE, laden with the scent of pollen and heather, gently ruffles the grass, sending waves of green over the rolling hills and fields of the Yorkshire Dales. Downy clouds drift idly across a sky of ocean blue, and in lush pastures, cows of gleaming white, black and bronze graze leisurely among the rippling blades.
Where the land falls into a small fold, a converted stone barn nestles beside a narrow track fringed with cow parsley. Outside, wooden picnic tables are bathed in summer light, dotted among pots of frothy foliage and flowering plants. However, despite the weather, most of the commotion comes from within, where visitors pile behind an open counter waiting to be served.
A tantalising aroma fills the room, where surfaces are stacked high with wheels of freshly-cut local farmhouse cheeses. The air is much cooler here; controlled at an optimum temperature to keep produce fresh. In front of each cheese sits a blackboard with flowing chalk lettering, revealing its texture, taste and provenance. This is The Courtyard Dairy, an award-winning cheese shop championing independent, cheese-making farmers, alongside a café, cheese-maturing room and museum revealing the history of farmhouse cheese.
It is owned and run by husband and wife team Andy and Kathy Swinscoe. After working for a leading cheesemonger in the South of England, the pair decided to set up their own shop selling local farm-made cheese in 2012. “In 2017, we moved to our current site and expanded the business with the café and museum, but our ethos has remained the same: supporting traditional farmhouse cheese made by hand, using heritage breeds and raw milk,” says Andy.
Andy and Kathy make regular visits to cheesemakers, cherry-picking the finest cheeses, which are then selectively matured, dried, washed and brushed on the premises to give them a greater depth of flavour.
“We work with approximately 30 independent farms alongside our site,” explains Andy. “For us to work with them, it comes down to traditional, ethical and sustainable farming techniques, as well as grazing and pasture management. Heritage animal breeds also mean less intensive farming methods and more flavoursome milk for cheesemaking.” The cheese is often made using unpasteurised milk and through traditional methods, such as cloth-binding, naturally rinding or hand working the curd.
Pictures of cheesemakers adorn the walls of the specialist shop, next to a map highlighting the origins of the cheeses on display. These include the tangy Kirkham’s Lancashire, from a farm on the outskirts of Goosnargh, and the rich Dale End Cheddar, made in a village on the North York Moors.
The rustic café, managed by Kathy, is full of interesting cheese memorabilia. “The tables are made from old maturing boards, and there is a little maturing room you can look through, stocked with cheese waiting to come of age,” says Andy. “We tried to follow the same ethos using a local sourdough baker for the bread, and vegetables from an organic grower just two miles away, which we use in our cheese dishes.”
Cheeses can be ordered individually or added to one of the cheese gift boxes, containing a variety of types that reflect the passionately selected range. Each cheese is cut fresh from the wheel the day before it is shipped, and delivered with information that reveals the story behind it.
The summer months are particularly fruitful for Andy. “The cows are out in the pasture, and lambing has finished, so sheep’s cheeses start to appear. When the sun comes out, it transforms the views surrounding us. It is incredibly beautiful.”