Hide and seek in the lavender fields

Situated around 15 miles from London in Banstead is Mayfield Lavender. We’ve visited this 25-acre farm on a few occasions since we moved to Surrey in 2010. At the right time, you can expect to see row upon row of purple hues and the smell of lavender is delicious. It can get busy at weekends during the peak period (July and August) so it’s worthwhile going Monday to Friday if you can. We didn’t have that luxury this time around so last Sunday, we set off early with the view to visiting before the masses descended. A lavender farm in full bloom is so worth setting the alarm for, isn’t it?

Mayfield Lavender Farm is less than 30 miles away so it didn’t take long to get there (we so went the wrong way last time!). Of course, we didn’t quite leave the house when we intended but arrived at 9.15am – just 15 minutes after the farm opened. Turns out people had been queuing to get in since 8.30am so it was busier than we expected. Really good value though, the entry fee for POD and I was just £2 as under 16’s go free. To be honest I would happily have paid a fiver if it meant it was a little quieter but what a beautiful setting.

Racing off in-between the rows of lavender, we had a good run around before playing hide and seek. Less of a challenge when you’re seven versus being an adult with an oversized bottom let me tell you! Hiding on the paths amid the lavender is not the easiest thing to do, let me tell you! We had lots of fun though. Many giggles and that was before we played around with the Lensball and went hunting for pretty butterflies. POD did so well, she took a photograph of one with my camera – waiting patiently for its wings to open beforehand. We then headed down to the cafe via the tractor as POD wanted to have a go on it. It wasn’t clear when the rides were starting so we took advantage of some of the treats on offer, ultimately missing the tractor completely! It was easy enough for us to make our own entertainment though…don’t ask me what she’s doing here!

Back in the lavender field, we had one last run around before taking some more photographs. It was becoming more of a challenge at this point with so many people doing photo shoots and walking around. It really is a wonderful spot though and we were thrilled to return after missing the lavender last year. Next time, we’ll aim to make our visit during the week or failing that we’ll be up at dawn! I’d really like to go there when the sun is setting but that doesn’t seem to be an option – let me know if you hear otherwise. Even POD said she wanted to go back again when it’s less busy. We left around 11am which was about the time the car park closed. That is how popular it is so if you’re going, be prepared!