We spent last weekend in lovely Shropshire. My wonderful sister had given us a hotel stay as a wedding anniversary present (our 2 dogs were also invited) so we thought we’d head off to Oswestry in Shropshire and explore. Ali’s family are from Wem, which is north of Shrewsbury, east of Oswestry whereas I have relatives nearer to Nantwich which is further north towards Crewe, so we both know the area but haven’t really spent much time there together. I have to say it is an incredibly beautiful part of the world. We were staying right on the border between England and Wales so there were castles aplenty to go and visit but as time was short we decided to head to Chirk. Chirk Castle was built in the late 13th Century at the head of the Ceiriog valley, and was designed as a fortress to keep the Welsh under English rule. It was the last castle from this period still to be lived in. Today, it has lavish interiors and a beautiful and eclectic collection of furniture, paintings and tapestries. It is now owned by the National Trust so we went along with the dogs for a wonderful walk in their woodlands followed by a mandatory cup of tea! From here we went down the road to Erddig Hall. When Erddig Hall was gifted to the National Trust it contained the largest number of items ever to be donated in one go. We went there more for the gardens than the house (as they are stunning) and at this time of year all of the blossom is in full swing. I would definitely recommend visiting either place if you’re in the area. Having done the “cultural” day, I set about looking for cheese! We were going to visit Llangollen to see the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (Ali is an engineer at heart so all things Thomas Telford get her excited!) And as it happens there is a wonderful cheese shop in Llangollen called Porter’s Delicatessen. We headed off in search of it and spent a lovely time chatting with Ben & Emma. They stock a good range of cheeses, specialising in Artisan Welsh Cheesemakers. We bought a couple of bits to have for lunch but it was just so nice to chat with people who had a very similar ethos to our own. For me though, the highlight of our trip was still to come. Those that read my blog regularly will know that I’ve been studying with the Academy of Cheese and now teach their courses here in Pangbourne. One of the 300 cheeses that I’ve learnt about as part of the course is called Wrekin Blue. The Wrekin is a hill in east Shropshire, near Telford. There is an iron age fort at the top of the hill and we had driven past it on our way up to Oswestry. But I digress… Wrekin Blue is made by Martin and Beth Moyden near Market Drayton. We got in touch with Martin and arranged to stop off at their dairy on our way back home. When we arrived Martin was waiting for the rennet to set the milk ready for making so it was a good time to show us around. All of the milk for the cheese comes from Hawkstone Abbey Farm which is where the Appleby family make their Cheshire cheese. When we were there Martin had 2 vats of milk on the go and it was all beginning to set nicely. We had a look around his maturing rooms and saw his various cheeses at different ages. The whole dairy was a cheese fanatic’s dream and I was in my happy place! Martin very kindly sent us on our way with samples of 5 of his cheeses. I couldn’t wait to get back to Berkshire to give them a go! Out of the 5, the Wrekin Blue was above and beyond my favourite. In fact I’d go as far to say that it is quite possibly one of the nicest blue cheeses I’ve ever tried and I would certainly have no qualms in serving it on a cheeseboard. It is moist with a salty richness that flows from the front of the tongue to the back of the mouth. I emailed an order through to Martin straightaway and I am pleased to say that it is here, in Pangbourne and it is my go to blue for this weekend! CLICK HERE TO BUY ONLINE