For a piece of cheese

We were ‘out of cheese’ and we don’t like being ‘out of cheese’, so we set off to look for some.

We decided to find a place we have often thought of going to, but just never got to – Thornby Moor Dairy, Thursby, near Carlisle. We have always liked a cheese made there, called Cumberland Farmhouse, but lately we have found it difficult to get hold of. 

And so we found ourselves driving through a magnificent arch, just off the A595 Cockermouth/Carlisle road. Then a driveway brought us to a group of buildings, several of which were the Dairy. There we found lots of cheese and met a delightful lady, who chatted to us for a long while. She told us all about the cheesemaking process and about the business, which she and her mother run. Here she is unwrapping a cheese in order to cut us some. 

She also told us about the Crofton Estate, which is where we were. It was once the ancestral home of the Brisco family and must have been very impressive in its time. The Hall itself was demolished in the 1950s and since then the land and its buildings have been used for many different purposes. The Dairy buildings were once part of the Hall and Home Farm. 

On our way out we came across a lake that belonged to the Estate. In 1847 it was described - ‘in the park is a fish pond of twelve acres, stocked with Carp and Tench’. We walked round this lovely lake (see extra), which is used by Anglers. There were quite a few of them there today, with all their gear. 

And all for a piece of cheese. (Actually we bought more than one piece of cheese!)