Fellstone (also known as Whin Yeats Wensleydale)

Fellstone is made at Whin Yeats Farm by Tom and Clare Noblet, who first farmed the 250-acre site in partnership with Max & Jenny Burrow, who have owned it since the 1960’s, before taking over fully when they retired.

Cheese had been made on the site before the Second World War but then halted for half a century before being revived by Tom and Clare in 2015. Fluctuating milk prices meant that, at the time, it was more expensive to milk a cow than the milk was worth, so cheese production started as a way to ensure the farm’s future.

The farm is beautifully situated between the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District, on steep limestone crags. Currently around 80 Friesian cows and 200 sheep live on the farm, which has been vastly improved since the takeover to improve biodiversity.

Fellstone is based on a traditional ‘Dales’ style of cheese (or Wensleydale), typical of the area. The Wensleydale recipe dates back to 1933 and uses the farm’s raw milk, while it’s still warm, straight from the adjacent milking parlour. Fellstone is aged on site for three months.

Looking after the environment is incredibly important to Tom and Clare. They have 7.5 acres of woodland, 4 acres (over 2000 trees) of which was planted in the last 25 years. 350 metres of new hedgerows have also been introduced and two new ponds have been created.
The farm has incredible biodiversity with swallows nesting in the buildings, green woodpeckers, nuthatches and mistle thrushes also regularly sighted, alongside more common birds and their resident cuckoos.

The black plastic used to cover the silage clamps is turned into stockboard which they make farm doors with and all other plastics are recycled.