Brightwell Ash

Made by Fraser Norton and Rachel Yarrow, of Norton and Yarrow Cheese, who decided to become cheese makers in August 2014 after a chance reading of an article about a goats' cheese maker in an old copy of 'Woman and Home' magazine left behind in a villa they stayed in on holiday in Sicily. They soon learnt about an initiative called Farm Step run by nearby environmental charity Earth Trust, where they offer tenancies on their land and barn space to agricultural business start-ups who are locked out by high land prices. Both have farming in their family - Fraser's grandparents had a 200 acre farm in Nottinghamshire and Rachel's parents farmed in South Wales in the 1970s, but cheese making and goat dairying are new family traditions. They are both passionate about high standards of animal welfare and sustainability in farming, as well as being part of reviving the British tradition of high quality artisan cheese making.

All of Norton and Yarrows cheese is made at the Earth Trust Farm in South Oxfordshire, using traditional French methods to make the cheese but give them their own unique Oxfordshire flavour. They use unpasteurised goats' milk from their own herd and from another local herd kept near Steventon. Their own goat herd is made up of purebred Anglo Nubian goats, with a few splashes of British Toggenburg. Anglo Nubians are known as 'the Jersey cow of the goat world' due to the high fat content of their milk, which makes it particularly creamy and prized by cheesemakers. They now have 120 goats in the herd - 60 adult milkers, 5 billies and the rest kids born this year or last year who will join the milking herd when they are older. They all have names! The goats are fed on hay from the wildflower meadows at Earth Trust farm. Experts estimate that up to 30% of the flavour of a cheese comes from the animals' diet, and we're confident that you can taste the quality in the cheese.

Brightwell Ash was awarded bronze in the 2019 World Cheese Awards.