The Prince Of Wales Ham Hill

The Prince of Wales Ham Hill: A Cheesy Tale of Royalty and Rock

Let’s talk about a British landmark that’s less about corgis and more about cheese. No, seriously—Ham Hill in Somerset is home to the Prince of Wales, a hulking, crumbly cheese that’s basically the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson of dairy. But that’s not even the weirdest part.

Ham Hill itself is a massive, golden limestone outcrop that’s older than your great-grandma’s tea set—it’s 190 million years old and packed with fossilized sea creatures. Imagine building a cheese from ground-up dinosaur bones. That’s the vibe.

The cheese, named after the hill, is made by a local dairy that “borrowed” the title from Prince Charles. The real Prince Charles never actually nibbled it, but his cheesy doppelgänger is a celebrity in its own right—a wheel of Ham Hill can weigh up to 30 kilograms. That’s like lifting a toddler made of butter.

Here’s the shocker: this cheese is vegan-unfriendly in the most glorious way. It’s made from unpasteurized cow’s milk, which means it’s raw, funky, and legally requires a hazmat suit for your taste buds. One bite, and your tongue will file a police report for flavor assault.

The texture is what I call “aggressively crumbly.” It’s like someone took a block of cheddar and taught it to shatter on command. Pair it with a crisp apple, and you’ll hear a crunch so loud it’ll wake up the Romans who used to mine this hill 2,000 years ago. True fact: Ham Hill was a Roman quarry. They used the stone to build forts—and now we use the cheese to build sandwiches.

Ham Hill: The Prince of Wales © Mr Eugene Birchall :: Geograph Britain

Why does it taste like a party in a pasture? Because the cows graze on wild thyme and limestone-rich grass. Basically, the cheese is a cow’s road trip diary. Each wheel gets aged for a minimum of 100 days, which is longer than most people’s New Year’s resolutions.

If you’re thinking, “This sounds expensive,” you’re right. A wedge can cost you £15 a pound, which is roughly the price of a therapy session. But hey, after eating this cheese, you might not need therapy—just a gallon of water.

Ham Hill: Prince of Wales © Mr Eugene Birchall :: Geograph Britain and

The hill itself is a national park now, so you can hike it, trip over a fossil, and then buy the cheese at a local farm shop. It’s a full circle of irony: you climb a 190-million-year-old rock to eat a cheese named after a prince who probably eats air-fried kale. Don’t overthink it. Just enjoy the wealthy flavor—it’s the closest most of us will get to royalty.

And if you ever serve the Prince of Wales Ham Hill at a party, be prepared for chaos. One guest will call it “intense,” another will whisper “why does this taste like a parking lot in heaven?” Just smile and say, “That’s Somerset’s secret sauce, mate.” Then watch them reach for a second slice. Resistance is futile—even for a prince.