Yorkshire Dales getting cheesy for a second time at a • Cracking Cheese Festival returns 15-23 September!

The Yorkshire Dales Cheese Festival returns this September with double the number of events and activities following the success of last year’s inaugural event.

One of the new events will put a cheesy slant on the War of the Roses by holding a week-long tasting competition pitting fromage from Yorkshire against Lancashire-produced cheeses.

The Bolton Arms at Redmire near Leyburn will be asking guests to taste cheeses from each county and then vote for their favourite during the Festival which takes place between 15 and 23 September

Other plans are already well underway with more than 50 events lined-up that will enable visitors to satisfy their cheese cravings while savouring some of the best beauty spots in the National Park and Nidderdale’s Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

While Yorkshire-produced cheese will take top billing, the vast array of locally-produced food will also be celebrated as restaurants, cafés, shops, visitor attractions and dairy specialists hold everything from talks, demonstrations and savoury afternoon teas through to six-course gourmet tasting menus.

Wensleydale Creamery at Hawes, home of Wallace and Grommit’s favourite cheese, will set the celebrations rolling with its two-day mini Cheese Festival on the 15 and 16 September comprising 35 stalls of local produce and all-things-cheese as well as cookery demonstrations, tastings and pairings, butter making and live music.

Radiating out from this hub visitors can then spend time over the coming days enjoying the delights of cheese while taking in the scenic landscape at 20 spots, stretching from Sedbergh and Bolton Castle on the northern edge of the Yorkshire Dales through to Pateley Bridge and Masham in Nidderdale.

Then on the 22 September to close the whole food celebration there will be a new Beer and Beef Festival at Brymor Ice-cream near Masham featuring locally-reared Dexter beef and locally-produced ales with an eclectic mix of live music and entertainment.

Helen Dalton, destination co-ordinator for the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority commented: “Yorkshire has some fine cheeses, delicious produce and recipes that taste all the better when consumed in the stunning Dales surroundings.

“The Festival won’t just be about eating though, as talks and sporty endeavours are also being planned that will pay homage to our fromage and Yorkshire’s heritage for cheese-making.”

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