Selina Cairns is one of a very select group of cheesemakers in the UK currently making cheese with their own sheep and goats milk.
Named after the nearby village of Esrickle, Elrick Log is made on a farm in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, at the foot of the Pentland Hills. Selina Cairns took over cheesemaking duties from her father Humphrey Errington, who had sought to reinvigorate the upper Clyde area’s rich tradition of cheesemaking after moving to the farm in the 1980s. She continues to make cheese together with her sister-in-law Angela. The animals are tended to by Selina’s husband Andrew, making Errington Cheese a true family affair. The Erringtons farm two flocks: the Lacaune ewes whose milk is used to make the dairy’s sheep’s cheeses and a herd of around 150 goats – a mixture of Saanen, Toggenburg and Alpine. It is the goats' milk that is used to make Elrick Log. The cheese is mould-ripened, causing it to soften from the outside in as it matures.
Elrick Log is a fairly new venture from the Cairns family, who have made their name in blue and sheep milk cheeses. As such, we are still in the position of providing regular feedback and connecting them with other goat’s cheese makers, as we work with them to develop this cheese.