Frolicking in the Lavender Fields, Surrey

To badly misquote my favourite film, “The fields are alive with the fragrance of lavender” and you only have to drive past to be enchanted by the sea of purple materialising out of an otherwise unassuming little road leading nowhere special in particular.

Having moved to the Surrey suburbia well over a year ago now, I’m particularly lucky to find myself living within short driving distance of this beautifully unassuming little corner of paradise also known to others as the Mayfield Lavender Farm.

It’s a working field (farm?) and for nothing more than a tiny little parking fee of £2, you can find yourself meandering the hedgerows and getting lost in the haze of purple and the sweet smell of lavender in the air.  This is where you’ll find families just letting the kids soak up the atmosphere and running down the lanes, couples holding hands and whispering sweet nothings, wedding shoots in progress and despite all this, the fields are large enough for you not to feel like you’re encroaching on someone’s Instagram snap and there’s plenty of space for you to enjoy your own little moment.

 

There are a couple of conveniently cheesy props and I couldn’t resist the London phone box, which was the most popular of them all, with a little group around it, all waiting patiently for their turn.

 

There goes Mum, blending in nicely with the lavender…

After we’d had our fill of roaming, we of course had to stop and fill up on some of the lavender themed goodies on offer – unfortunately their Lavender Cream tea was all sold out, but I made up my own version with a Lavender cake and Lavender tea.  Mum joined in with a Lavender cupcake but drew the line firmly at a floral tea and opted for a standard English Breakfast instead.

It was perhaps a little too floral and a little too perfumed, but you’re in the moment and you just go with it, there’s a purple magic that’s a little bit hard to resist.  I still ended up taking some lavender home to try out in my bakes, such is the power of this mild innocuous little flower.

Mayfield Lavender Fields can be found at 1 Carshalton Road, Banstead, SM7 3JA.  They’re only open in summer and if you time it right, you’ll be greeted with this glorious display of purple that just takes your breath away. It’s best reached by car although Mayfield Lavender do have directions on their website on how to reach by public transport.

And if you’re in the area, do pop into mine for a cuppa!