Scottish Blog

Lanark Blue is a unique artisan made Scottish blue sheep’s milk cheese.

Lanark Blue cheese is produced at the Walston Brahead farm near Carnworth, Scotland. The sale of Lanark Blue cheese began in 1985 and was limited to Edinburgh, by 1986 the demand had grown so much that it was also sold in England.

Although the official sale of Lanark Blue began in 1985, the idea and test production of it was born three years earlier in the mind of Humphrey Errington. This man settled at the Walston Brahead farm in 1982, after working in shipping. He turned to Jane Galloway for help in bearing his idea of cheese making to fruition.

Lanark Blue is said to be the first British blue sheep’s milk in a number of centuries. As a similar was historically produced in France centuries earlier, Lanark Blue does not hold the honor of being the first. Beyond this, Lanark Blue is unique for a number of other reasons.

The production and ingredients in the Lanark Blue make it suitable for consumption by vegetarians. The entire Lanark Blue production process is done completely by hand. The production, packing, brine dipping and aging takes approximately three months. Lanark Blue is also said to vary greatly at different times of the year. As the Lanark Blue sheep flock consists of only 400 sheep divided into two groups, and the grounds on which they graze are rich in various seasonal herbs, it is understandable that the final cheese is highly influenced by diet. To counter this problem, Lanark Blue is released in two different time frames, one for each the group of sheep, who lamb at different times of the year.