THE art of cheese-making in Wensleydale was perfected by the Cistercian monks who settled in the area in the 12th Century.

And the centuries-old tradition has lived on in style at the Great Yorkshire Show, where a Cheese Show was staged for the first time in 40 years.

Wensleydale Dairy Products, based in Hawes, dominated the show's Wensleydale class, taking home many of the top honours.

The showground's impressive £2.25m food hall was the venue for the firm's successes and also provided the platform for a special birthday celebration.

To celebrate its tenth anniversary - coming up in November - the company announced its plans to re-introduce the manufacture of Real Blue Wensleydale, at Hawes Creamery.

The old-fashioned, matured cheese, made in farmhouses throughout the dale during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, would naturally have "blued".

However, as cheese was made on a factory scale in the mid-1900s and beyond, the white, crumbly variety became the fashion and the blue variety became extinct in the dale.

Shepherds Purse Cheeses, based in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, also enjoyed success at the show by taking the top three places in the Soft Blue class.