Our Christmas orders are now closed. You can still buy our Cheese Subscriptions to start in January, as well as book our courses and tasting events. If you want to purchase vouchers you can do so until the 20th December but please note that it can take up to 48 hours for the vouchers to be emailed to you as we process these manually.
We have a full counter of cheese in our shop in Pangbourne so you can still come in and purchase items in store
£14.00
If you haven’t tried Norton & Yarrow Cheese’s Sinodun Hill yet, you’re in for something special. This soft, pyramid-shaped goat’s cheese is a real highlight of modern British cheesemaking, mixing old-school methods with a lovely local twist. It’s creamy, elegant, and packed with flavour. No surprise it’s become a favourite on cheeseboards all over the country and even beyond.
At this point I have to admit that Sinodun Hill is one of my all-time favourite cheeses so I am somewhat biased with these notes!
Sinodun Hill is made by Fraser Norton and Rachel Yarrow. The pair began cheesemaking in 2014 having been inspired by an article they read about cheese whilst on holiday. It was a complete career change for them both, but it has proved to be a successful one. Neither of them started out as farmers. Rachel was an English teacher (weirdly, she taught our son at school), and Fraser worked in project management (also weirdly, Fraser worked with Ali before cheese came into all our lives). They decided to give cheesemaking a go and build a life around good food.
By 2015, Fraser and Rachel had become tenant farmers at Earth Trust Farm in Oxfordshire, a brilliant scheme that helps new farmers get started without the massive cost of buying land. The name Sinodun Hill is a nod to the Sinodun Hills, also known as the Wittenham Clumps, in Oxfordshire. These chalky hills look out over the rolling hills of the Earth Trust Farm. It’s a lovely way to tie the cheese to the landscape where it all began.
After nearly ten years at Earth Trust, Fraser and Rachel made a big move in January 2025. They packed up their goats as well as all of the dairy buildings and set off for their very own farm near Llangadog in Carmarthenshire, Wales. This was more than just a change of scenery; it was a return to family roots, as Rachel’s family had farmed in the area back in the 1970s.
Sinodun Hill is made with milk from Fraser and Rachel’s own herd of Anglo-Nubian goats. These are the very cute goats with the long floppy ears. The breed is known for its luscious, creamy milk, and it is brilliant for cheesemaking. You can really taste the quality of milk in the cheese. Everything Fraser and Rachel do is small-scale, using traditional, slow methods, which make their cheeses excel.
Even though it’s now made in Wales, Sinodun Hill still keeps its Oxfordshire roots in its name. In its new home, it’s called Bryn Sinodun; ‘bryn’ means hill in Welsh. It links its past and present and is a fitting tribute to both.
Sinodun Hill looks great on a cheeseboard. It’s a little pyramid with a wrinkly, lightly mottled rind. Inside, it’s creamy, airy, and mousse-like, never dense or chalky.
A young Sinodun Hill gives you a lovely burst of fresh citrus and gentle, yoghurt-like tang, with clean, grassy notes from the goat’s milk. The rind sometimes adds a hint of red fruit or earthiness, which makes it much more interesting than your average goat’s cheese.
Let it age for another week or two, and the texture softens even more, with deeper flavours coming through. You might taste almond, gentle nuttiness, and sometimes a faint hint of mushroom or that lovely farmyard note from the rind. The citrus notes calm down, leaving a more rounded, savoury richness.
Jen’s note: Unlike many cheeses that are named after their makers or local villages, Sinodun Hill’s name goes back even further. “Sinodun” is thought to come from an old Celtic word meaning old fort, probably referring to the ancient settlements on the hilltops above the Thames Valley, where the cheese first came to life.
Sizes and Prices
Storage Advice
Delivery and Collection
Ingredients (Allergens are listed in capitals)
MILK, salt, starter cultures, vegetarian rennet, ripening cultures.
Normal opening Monday – Saturday 9am – 4pm until:
Sunday 22nd 9am – 4pm
Monday 23rd 9am – 4pm
Christmas Eve 9am – 12pm
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day Closed
Friday 27th Closed
Saturday 28th 9am – 4pm
Sunday 29th Closed
Monday 30th 9am – 2pm
Tuesday 31st 9am – 2pm
New Year’s Day Closed
Thursday 2nd January Closed
Friday 3rd 9am – 4pm then open as normal
After Christmas our courier delivery slots start from 8th January.
