The big cheeses are getting ready to visit Scotland

More than 100 of the UK’s top artisan cheesemakers are coming to Scotland this weekend.

The gathering, at Loch Arthur Camphill Community in Dumfries and Galloway, is the farm visit of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, an annual event that takes place at a different cheesemaking farm across the UK each year.

This year’s event marks the 30th anniversary of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association, an alliance of cheesemakers, retailers and wholesalers to encourage excellence in cheesemaking.

The farm visit to Loch Arthur in Beeswing, near Dumfries, is the first gathering in Scotland in more than 10 years. The event will include talks, technical sessions, tours of Loch Arthur Community, Farm Shop and Creamery and visits to nearby Rainton Farm, home of The Ethical Dairy.

Lunch at the event on Saturday 29 June will celebrate Scotland’s ever increasing range of fine artisan cheeses, with a centrepiece spread of Scottish cheeses, which could probably be claimed as ‘Scotland’s Largest Cheeseboard’.

Barry Graham of Loch Arthur, and a committee member of SCA, said: ‘We are very honoured to be hosting this event and to be welcoming to our community so many expert cheesemakers from all over the UK. As well as marking the 30th anniversary of the SCA, this year also marks 35 years since our Community was established and 33 years of cheesemaking at Loch Arthur.

‘Cheesemaking has been an important part of Loch Arthur’s work since 1986 and we are immensely proud to have played our part in the story of the UK’s cheesemaking heritage. The annual farm visit is a wonderful way to share knowledge, skills, stories and experiences with others, to celebrate the craft of artisan cheesemaking and to demonstrate our commitment to quality.’