West Cork Farmhouse Cheese

Modern Irish farmhouse cheese begins in west Cork in the 1970s, when a handful of smallholders on the Beara and Mizen peninsulas started making washed-rind and hard cheeses from their own herds, at a time when Irish cheese meant factory cheddar and nothing else. Milleens on Beara was the first of them, and Durrus, Gubbeen near Schull and the gouda-style Coolea in the hills to the north followed. They remain small operations, several now run by a second generation. The washed-rind cheeses in particular are pungent and unlike anything else made in Ireland. The place to find them together is a Saturday farmers market, with the makers behind the table.

What you actually see

• The washed rind cheeses - orange-rinded and pungent, made on the peninsulas.
• Coolea - a gouda-style hard cheese made in the hills north of the coast.
• The Saturday markets - Skibbereen, Bantry and Schull, where makers sell direct.
• Raw milk versions - several are made from unpasteurised milk of a single herd.

When to go

Year-round, though the cheeses shift through the season as the grass does, and late summer and autumn milk gives the fullest flavour. Each town's market runs on a fixed weekday or Saturday, so plan the driving route around them. There is nothing to book; it is a matter of moving between small towns on market mornings.

Honest expectations

These are working farms rather than visitor attractions, and turning up at a farm gate is not welcome, so buy at the markets instead. The washed-rind cheeses smell strongly enough to become a problem in a warm car or a hotel room. Raw milk cheese does not suit everyone. Prices are high and cheese travels badly in a hot boot.

Nearby

Skibbereen, Bantry and the Mizen and Beara peninsulas are all within an hour.