Taking its name from the caves that impart iconic flavors to the cheese, Wookey Hole is made following a traditional recipe, with milk from local herds that graze on the fields of Dorset. The wheels are cloth bound and aged for 15 months in natural limestone caves near the village of Wookey, where the cave environment imparts distinct and complex flavors to the cheese—a stamp of origin. Wookey Hole is loved for its incredible flavor and texture balance. It’s not too sweet and not too salty; not too sharp, but it’s also not too mild. It’s not too crumbly, with just the right amount of creamy.

The Wookey Hole caves are known for more than their perfect cheese-aging conditions, they are steeped in legend. More than a thousand years ago, the villagers of Somerset feared that Wookey Hole was a gateway to the underworld. When a mysterious woman made the caves her home, fear and suspicion spread through the community. The villagers sent a monk to drive her out, but instead of leaving, she retreated deeper into the shadows. Determined to banish her, the monk returned with holy water, which he poured into the streams that wound through the caverns. As the water splashed upon the woman, a terrible scream rang out, shaking the stone walls—then silence. When the monk raised his candle, he saw that she had been turned to stone before his eyes. Legend has it that, even now, those who look closely can catch a glimpse of her stone figure within the caves.

Here is a peek at wheels of Wookey Hole ripening in the caves: