Bath is nestled in among some of the most beautiful and bountiful West Country landscapes and has a reputation as a centre for the freshest West Country regional foods.
Cheese
If there is a food associated with Somerset, it has to be cheese and there is plenty of cheese in Bath and the surrounding area. The Fine Cheese Company on Walcot Street stocks 150 varieties of which two thirds are British. There are plenty of opportunities for sampling and the cheese shop has its own cafe next door. Paxton and Whitfield, with no less than three Royal Warrants to their name, have a shop in John Street offering a vast array of cheeses and related merchandise.
Cheddar Cheese
Originating in Somerset, Cheddar Cheese is the most popular cheese in the United Kingdom. At the start of the twentieth century there were some 3500 traditional farmhouse cheddar cheese makers but today the figure has dwindled to two dozen. Cheddar is a favourite on many menus throughout the region and can also be brought directly from supermarkets.
Cider
Somerset has always been renowned for its apples and 156 varieties trace their origins to the area. The ancient name for Glastonbury was Avallon which means "the Isle of Apples" in the ancient British language. Today, Somerset is still famous for its apple orchards, apple cider and apple wines. Old varieties of cider apple such as Dabinett, Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill and Harry Masters are among those used by the Somerset Distillery. Their cider brandy is stored in barrels which give the apple juice some colour as it ferments and dra
ws off some of the alcohol content "the angel's share". For connoisseurs, the brandy is aged for ten years to make Somerset Ten Year Old Cider Brandy. Local ciders can be found in many Bath pubs. You can also sample and purchase locally made cider at Dick Willows Cider Farm & Shop, which brews craft ciders from locally harvested apples. Popular varieties include Morgan Sweet, Broadside and the self named Dick Willows - a great taste of the West Country!
Ale
The history of brewing in Bath dates back to the time of Ralph 
Allen, one of the founding fathers of the Georgian city, who owned the Bath stone quarries at Combe Down. He established a large brewery at Widcombe in 1736. A number of other large breweries grew up in Bath during the course of the eighteenth century. Up until that point most of the beer consumed in the inns and alehouses came from small brewhouses in their backyards. The Museum of Bath at Work tells the story of Bath in its industrial heyday.
To try a taste of something truly local, make sure you sample an ale from the two local brewerys, Abbey Ales and Bath Ales. Both sell a range of locally brewed beers that can be found in a variety of pubs in and around the city.
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