Blaenafon CheddarCompany

The Blaenafon Cheddar Company has made cheese in Blaenavon since December 2006, when Susan Fiander-Woodhouse and her husband Gerry Woodhouse set up on Broad Street inside the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site. Susan runs the business day to day and handles food safety and accounts; Gerry does the cheesemaking, stock and deliveries, and their daughter Charlotte Hill is also a director. Their 1868 cheddar is matured below ground in the old cellars beneath the former Lion Hotel, where Gerry turns and checks the wheels roughly once a fortnight. Other cheddars are made with local whisky, ales and liqueurs, and the wax on each block carries a scene from the town's ironworking and mining past. The shop sells the full range alongside other Welsh produce and is open weekday mornings; visitors outside opening hours can call ahead to arrange a stop.