The Cheese Farm and its plus' and pitfalls...

Advantages and Disadvantages to working the rural, ancient Northumberland...

Northumberland Cheese Company was founded in 1984 at Soppit Farm in Elsdon. When the cheese business began, Marc Robertson, the founder, was only producing one type of cheese (which was Redesdale, if you’re interested). However, as Marc developed the range and produced more cheeses, it was necessary to move to a larger premises, and he chose a converted granary building on the Blagdon Estate, which is where we are now based. It is a beautiful building, and we love it.

 

The building is gorgeous, and iconic. It is both a lovely place to work, and a lovely place to visit. It looks great on any marketing material, and it is cosy and gorgeous. In the summertime, customers can visit our café and sit outside on the terrace, where they will be surrounded by stunning countryside. We are only 2 miles away from our cows; this is fantastic for traceability, and we are delighted to support the local farmer. The size of the building allows us to have the dairy, despatch, the café and the offices all in one place.

Because the building is owned by the Blagdon Estate, it feels like we are in a community; we have called the farmers before to dig us out if we’re stuck in the snow, or if a supplier has come in a van and got stuck in a bog. We all work together! In addition, there is Merlin. He is the cat who lives on the farm, and he is a regular visitor. It’s difficult, because he isn’t allowed in the building, and he really wants to come in (we’ve had to chase him out of the café before). But he does cheer us up.

 

There are however some drawbacks....

The building in inaccessible for disabled people, or anyone who finds stairs difficult. Because the building is so old, we cannot put in a stair lift, or even a lift. It’s such a shame!

We get loads of wasps in the office in the summer.

Tractors can be noisy driving past.

Green Lane is a bit of a nightmare in bad weather. Because it isn’t a main road, the council don’t grit it in the winter. So customers and staff alike aren’t very keen on braving it in bad weather.

 

The Cheese Farm has become ubiquitous with our brand, and an important part of the Northumberland Cheese Company heritage. But nothing is without its disadvantages hey?!