SAY cheese!

An Oxfordshire couple have swapped the rat race for a goat farm to realise their cheesy lifelong ambition.

Fraser Norton and Rachel Yarrow are hoping to become the big cheeses of the Oxfordshire dairy scene with their new herd of 12 Anglo Nubian goats.

English teacher Miss Yarrow is quitting her job at prestigious Abingdon School to become a full-time farmer, while Mr Norton is going to squeeze the milking in between his current job as a project manager at international agricultural research organisation CABI, just outside Wallingford.

The couple have moved into the picturesque North Farm on the banks of the Thames near Shillingford and all they have to do now is go to it.

Mr Norton, 46, said they were inspired to take the leap into the unknown by a magazine article they read on holiday in Summer 2014.

They spent the next year and a half meticulously researching goat breeds and cheese making set-ups.

Mr Norton said: "Right from the start, we decided we wanted to build a herd of purebred Anglo Nubian goats - they're known as the Jersey cow of the goat world due to their rich and creamy milk.

"We also knew we wanted to focus on creating high quality-local cheese in a sustainable way.

"Finding the land for the goats and somewhere to make cheese were initial hurdles to overcome."

The farm which they found is owned by Little Wittenham wildlife education charity Earth Trust, which also owns the iconic Wittenham Clumps hilltop woods.

The couple are the newest tenants on the Trust's Farm Step programme which offers first-time farmers cheap rent as well as support and business advice.

The cheese itself will actually be made at nearby Nettlebed Creamery, opened just over a year ago by local cheesemaker Rose Grimond.

In keeping with the local theme, the couple have named their first cheeses after nearby landmarks: Little Wittenham, Brightwell Barrow and Sinodun Hill (the historic name for Wittenham Clumps).

The first ever batch of Norton & Yarrow Cheese will go on sale this Sunday(mar6) at South Oxford Farmers' and Community Market at South Oxford Community Centre on Lake Street.

Miss Yarrow said: "We are so pleased to finally be up and running; our goat herd is expanding thanks to the arrival of two kids, and our first cheese sale is coming up.

"We would never have been able to get to this point without all the help and support from the local organisations like Earth Trust, Nettlebed Creamery and South Oxford Farmers and Community Market."

And whether or not people like the cheese, they have been able to meet some of the Norton & Yarrow goats at the Earth Trust's Lambing Weekends this month.

Find out more at earthtrust.org.uk