Today is Lancashire Day. It’s a day we always like to pause, look around us and appreciate the fields, farms and people that make Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses what it is. We’re proud to call this corner of rural Lancashire home. It’s shaped our family, our business, and every block, wheel and wedge that leaves the dairy.

In truth, our cheese wouldn’t taste the same if it came from anywhere else.

The Lancashire Weather (Especially the Rain)

We all know Lancashire isn’t shy when it comes to rain. With our dairy sitting between Preston and Lancaster, two of the wettest towns in the county, we get more than our fair share. But for us, it’s a blessing.

Our county’s steady rain and clay heavy soil create grass that is rich, lush and naturally more acidic. That acidity makes a real difference to the way our cheese develops, meaning we can use less added starter culture and let the process follow a more natural path. It is farmhouse cheesemaking at its simplest, shaped directly by the land around us.

Good weather for drying washing? Maybe not. Good weather for making world-class cheese? Absolutely.

Milk That Doesn’t Travel Far

One of the things we love most about working here is how close everything is. Our milk comes from our own family herd and from neighbouring farms just a short drive away - you could count the miles on one hand.

Fewer miles means fewer hands, fewer steps and fewer unknowns. We know the farms, we know the people, and we know exactly how the cows, goats and sheep are looked after. That trust flows straight into the quality of the cheese.

Generations of Know-How

Farmhouse cheesemaking is a team effort, and we’re lucky to have one of the best teams around. Some of our cheesemakers have decades of experience; some learned from parents and grandparents who worked right here before them. That kind of knowledge can’t be rushed.

There’s no corporate clock-watching and no pressure from outside shareholders. Just skilled people who care about doing things properly — stirring curds, turning cheeses and tasting every batch until it’s spot on. The kind of work you can only do when you genuinely love the job.

Proudly Rooted in Lancashire

We often say that our cheeses are shaped by the place we make them, and it’s true. The fields, the farms, the weather, the fresh milk, the people… they all play their part. Lancashire gives our cheese its soul, and we’re proud to fly the flag for it every single day.

So on Lancashire Day, we raise a toast (and a cheeseboard) to the county that gives us so much. The home of our business. The home of our craft. The home of the best cheese you’ll ever taste, if we do say so ourselves.

If you fancy celebrating with us, there’s no better way than with a good wedge of something local.

Shop our Lancashire-made cheeses →