CONTENTS

• Milk
• Butter
• Cheese
• Ice Cream
• Further Information
• Getting Around
• Credits

Cumbria is one of the largest 'milk fields' in the country, producing over 800 million litres per year. More than half (60%) is sent out of the county. The rest is either manufactured into cheese and milk powder (35%) or processed as liquid milk (5%).

Today, the main dairy farms are in the lowland areas: Eden Valley, on the Solway Plain, along the west Cumbrian coast and around Kendal. In recent years, faced with relentless price squeezing by the milk buyers, many smaller dairy farms have gone out of business whilst others have increased their herd sizes to remain viable.

Originally, most farms would have kept a small number of 'milch cows' as part of the need for self-sufficiency, with any surplus turned into cream, butter and cheese for local consumption and for sale at markets.

Up to the 19th century the Longhorn was favoured as a multi-purpose animal providing meat, hides and milk. Later, selective breeding produced cows that gave more milk such as the Northern Dairy Shorthorn, which became a common dairy breed up to the 1960s. Gradually, Dairy Shorthorns were displaced by specialist dairy cows, such as the Friesian, Holstein or Ayrshire breeds that were capable of giving higher yields of milk.

MILK

Cows convert grass and water into milk. But it is only when a cow has calved that she is capable of producing milk. The first milk or 'colustrum' is given to the calf, which is gradually weaned off its mother's milk by being given milk substitutes. The cow is then milked for about 10 months. The highest milk yield is produced during the first weeks after calving (a Friesian can produce 30-40 litres of milk a day). This decreases until the cow 'dries off' about 8 weeks before her next calving. The milk yielding or 'lactation period' is around 300 days during which a cow will produce about 1000 gallons (4,546 litres) on average.

Milking is carried out twice a day - in the early morning and late afternoon. In bygone days, a bucket and stool would be taken to the fields to hand-milk each cow. The stools were usually 3-legged to give stability on uneven ground, and the wooden milking pails were generally wide and squat in appearance. The mass production of metal milk churns in Victorian times allowed regular collections of milk using horse-drawn milk floats initially and later by milk lorry.

The change from hand milking to a mechanical process began in the mid 19th century and was largely completed by the 1960s. Cows are now driven to the milking parlour where cups are attached to the udders and the milk gently extracted by suction. The milk passes into a refrigerated storage tank where it is kept cool until collection. The process of milking cows can be observed from the viewing gallery at Low Sizergh tea room.

From the storage tank, the milk is transferred directly to tankers which deliver it in bulk to a local creamery, such as the Dairy Crest Creamery at Aspatria. Here the milk is pasteurised and converted into cheese and whey products.

Before closure in the 1990s, the Express Dairy at Appleby collected milk from over 400 surrounding farms in the 1930s and processed 380,000 litres of milk per day, much of which was turned into cheese and whey products. Raw milk was also sent to London on 'milk trains'.

In 1933 the Milk Marketing Board was set up to guarantee collections of milk and to provide regular payments to dairy farmers - 'milk cheques'. The MMB was disbanded in 1996 and superseded by a number of farmer-controlled businesses such as First Milk, Dairy Farmers of Britain, Wiseman Dairies and Arla - 80% of all the milk produced in Cumbria is currently bought by First Milk and Dairy Farmers of Britain. However, a small number of dairy farmers market their milk directly, such as South Lakes Organic Milk and Low Sizergh Farm.

BUTTER

Eat butter first and eat it last and live till a hundred years be past.
Old Dutch proverb

Butter-making was a regular part of farming life in Cumbria. Before the days of refrigeration, milk would quickly turn sour if not used. The best way of utilising surplus milk was to turn it into butter or cheese for a longer keeping life. Most farmhouses had a dairy or buttery (on the cool northern side of the house) where butter and cheese were made by the women of the household.

Butter (and cheese) was relatively expensive to purchase, so there was an incentive to make enough for the household's consumption and sell the rest.

Individual farmers would gather at the weekly markets to sell their butter and other produce. For example, the Richardsons of Watendlath took butter and eggs to Keswick market every Saturday in the 1920s. The village of Mardale (flooded in the 1930s to create Haweswater reservoir) sent 3000 lbs of butter a week to Manchester in the 1860s. The 'butter money', derived from the weekly sales, was regarded as an essential source of ready cash.

To make butter, fresh milk was poured into a setting dish and left overnight for the cream to rise above the milk. The cream was then skimmed off and transferred to a churn. Churns could be of various shapes and sizes but all were designed to agitate the cream to separate the fat (butter) from the water (buttermilk), which could be strained off. Churning thickens the cream, which eventually coagulates into golden-yellow curds (reminiscent of scrambled egg) and a residue of watery whey (buttermilk). The butter was removed from the churn, washed thoroughly to remove any traces of buttermilk and then patted using butter beaters or 'Scotch hands'. This removed any excess moisture and 'worked' the butter into rectangular blocks or rounds. Finally, a distinctive stamp would have been pressed onto the block before the butter was stored in a cool place. Some of these old butter stamps were intricately carved, using designs that were specific to each farm.

Today, Sue Forrester is Cumbria's sole producer of traditional butter, sold under the label 'Cream of Cumbria'. Sue began making butter in 2000 to use up milk produced over the quota allowed. Although the churn is mechanically operated, Sue still uses old-fashioned butter beaters to shape the butter into a block and then adds a distinctive mark, passed down from her grandmother. Sue's freshly made butter is available at farmers' markets and specialist food shops. www.creamofcumbria.co.uk.

CHEESE

'Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey …'

The flavour of cheese depends on the quality of milk from which it is made, which in turn depends on the pasture grazed, its location and the season - hence the huge array of different flavoured cheeses in the country. However, in Cumbria, cheese-making was never as widespread as butter making. Cheese-making, as for butter-making, was undertaken by the women of the household. It was usually carried out in the spring when cows were grazing on new grass - known as 'grass cheese' or 'pasture cheese'. Later in the year, a small amount of 'fog cheese' or 'hay cheese' might be made.

One gallon of milk makes around 1 lb of cheese. The milk is heated to around 24ºC and a bacterial culture added to sour the milk. Rennet is stirred in to help the milk coagulate and produce a firm junket. The junket is broken up and gently heated to release the 'whey' from the 'curds'. Once the whey is drained off, the curds fuse into a solid mass. This is cut into slabs and stacked, then cut again and re-stacked - a process called 'cheddaring' that allows more whey to be extracted. The blocks of curds are then 'milled' into small pieces and salt added (salt inhibits the growth of potentially harmful bacteria, stabilises the curd and enhances the flavour). The milled curds are packed into moulds and pressed for between 8 and 48 hours. This expels more whey and allows the curds to knit together. The young cheese is then knocked out of its mould, washed in warm water and 'dressed' (wrapped in muslin or calico) before going to the cheese store to mature. The cheeses are turned each day to ensure an even distribution of moisture. Over time, a thin hard rind forms on the outside and the flavour develops through the continuing action of micro-organisms and enzymes. Generally, the longer a cheese is allowed to mature, the stronger the flavour.

Local cheese-making began to diminish in the wake of motorised transport, as it became easier to sell the milk directly to large creameries rather than process it on the farm. The creameries collected milk from a number of dairy farms and started producing uniformly flavoured cheeses and butter all year round. The number of farm-made cheeses, dependent on local skills and expertise, declined rapidly. Today, there are only five producers of farmhouse cheeses in the county.

Thornby Moor Dairy at Crofton Hall (Thursby, Carlisle) is run by Carolyn and Leonie Fairbairn. Carolyn began making cheeses in 1979, using milk from goats, sheep and cows. Their milk is sourced from single herds 'to capture the essence of Cumbria in the flavours of our cheeses'. Around 9 different cheeses are produced ranging from soft goat's cheeses to mature hard cheeses. Tours by prior appointment.
Tel: 016973 45555.

The Cumberland Dairy at Long Marton near Appleby was formed in 2004 by a group of dairy farmers. Their milk is turned into a range of award-winning cheeses -Blengdale Blue, Keldthwaite Gold, Cobble Tasty and Roegill Red. The cheeses can be found in farm shops, delicatessens and food fairs throughout the region.
Tel: 017683 61946
www.thecumberlanddairy.co.uk

Other Cumbrian cheese makers include Eric Horn of Slack House Farm who make Birdoswald Organic Farmhouse Cheese (www.slackhousefarm.co.uk), Low Sizergh Barn (near Kendal) who produce Kendal Creamy and Kendal Crumbly organic cheeses from their own milk (www.lowsizerghbarn.co.uk) and Wasdale Cheese who make four varieties of handmade cheeses using local unpasteurised sheep and cow's milk (tel: 019467 26044).

ICE CREAM

As butter and cheese-making have gone into decline, so ice cream making is on the rise. The number of farms making and selling ice cream using milk from their own dairy herds is expanding:

Buttermere Ayrshires Ice Cream
Syke Farm, Buttermere, Cockermouth, CA13 9XA
Tel: 017687 70277
Ice cream parlour and tea room.

Holme Farm Ice Cream
Meathop Road, Grange-over-Sands, LA11 6QX
Tel: 015395 32991
Ice cream parlour and tea room. Children's play area.

Abbot Lodge Ice Cream
Abbott Lodge, Clifton, Penrith, CA10 2HD
Tel: 01931 712720; www.abbottlodgejerseyicecream.co.uk
Ice cream parlour, play area, educational visits.

Wellington Jersey Ice Cream
Wellington Farm, Cockermouth, CA13 0QU
Tel: 01900 822777; www.wellingtonjerseys.co.uk
Ice cream parlour/tea room. Self-guided trail around nature reserve.

Natland Mill Beck Farm Ice Cream
Natland Mill Beck Lane, Kendal, LA9 7LH
01539 729333
Ice cream parlour/tea room (opening July 2006). Farm tours by appointment.

Cumbrian Cottage Ice Cream
Gelt House, Hayton, Brampton, CA8 9JD
Tel: 01228 670518
Ice cream parlour/tea room.

Orton Grange Ice Cream
Orton Grange Farm, Carlisle, CA5 6LA
Tel: 01228 711410

Other companies buy in milk from local sources to create
delicious ice creams.

Windermere Ice Cream
Unit 3 Back Ellerthwaite Road, Windermere, LA23 2AL
Tel: 01539 447876; www.windermereicecream.co.uk
Made with organic milk from Low Sizergh Farm.

English Lakes Ice Cream
The Old Dairy, Gillerthwaite Lane, Kendal, LA9 6NT
Tel: 01539 721211; www.lakesicecream.com

Luchini's Ice Cream
1 Tithebarn Street, Keswick, CA12 5ED
The oldest ice cream makers in Cumbria (since 1901)

Brysons
42 Main Street, Keswick, CA12 5JD
Tel: 01768 772257
www.brysonsofkeswick.co.uk

Twentyman's Ice Cream
West End Stores, Allonby, Maryport, CA15 6PE
Tel: 01900 881247
Home-made ice cream from locally sourced milk.

Dipper Foods Ltd (incorporating Slee's of Winskill & Taste of Eden)
The Dairy, Winskill, Penrith, CA10 1PB
01768 881221; www.dipperfoods.co.uk
Supply catering and retail outlets. Mobile ice cream vans.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Information on the dairying industry in Cumbria can be found in 'Home Grown in Cumbria' by Annette Gibbons, 2005. Other sources of information are listed below:

Museum of Lakeland Life
Abbot Hall, Kendal, LA9 5AL
Tel: 01539 722464
Website: www.lakelandmuseum.org.uk

Dent Heritage Centre
Dent, LA10 5QJ
Tel: 015396 25800
Website: www.dentvillageheritagecentre.co.uk

The Dairy Council
Henrietta House
17/18 Henrietta Street
London WC2E 8QH
Tel: 020 7395 4030
Email: info@dairycouncil.org.uk
Website: www.milk.co.uk

The Butter Board
3-11 Little Peter Street
Manchester
M15 4PS
Tel: 0161 274 0100
Website: www.naturalandtasty.co.uk

British Cheese Board
Dragon Court
27 Macklin Street
London WC2B 5LX
Tel: 0117 921 17443
Email: enquiries@britishcheese.com
Website: www.britishcheese.com

GETTING AROUND

For details on public transport, please contact Traveline on 08700 608 2608.
Email: info@traveline-cumbria.co.uk.
Website: www.traveline.org.uk.

CREDITS

Produced by Anna Gray at Voluntary Action Cumbria
for LEADER+ (Cumbria Fells & Dales)
Designed by Andrew Lathwell Design Ltd.
Illustrated by Juliet Whitworth.
Printed by Reeds of Penrith, 2006.
Front cover photographs by Roy Wilson & Anna Gray
Other photographs supplied by Steve Carter, Wayne Hutchinson, Andrew Humphries, Museum of Lakeland Life, Appleby-in-Westmorland Society & Anna Gray.

LEADER+ (Cumbria Fells & Dales)
The Old Stables,
Redhills,
Penrith,
Cumbria,
CA11 0DT

Tel: 01768 869533
Email: info@fellsanddales.org.uk
Website: www.fellsanddales.org.uk

Fells and Dales LEADER+ Programme is based at Voluntary Action Cumbria, a company limited by guarantee, Charity No. 1080875, Companyh No. 3957858.

This is one of a series of themed trails being produced by LEADER+ (Cumbria Fells & Dales) to promote the area and its local products.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the content of this trail is accurate and up to date at the time of writing, no liability can be accepted for any errors, omissions or misrepresentations of fact contained herein.

This project is being part financed by the European Agriculture Guidance adn Guarantee Fund of the European Union and the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs through the Cumbria Fells and Dales LEADER+ Programme.

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