Across social media I had seen images of a large field of lavender in Surrey. The images had shots with a red GPO telephone box and what looked like an Airstream caravan. A quick Google search and I found the lavender was at Mayfield Lavender Farm. Their website gives lots of details about access and emphasises just how many people might be there at the weekend and where to go for overflow parking.
The farm is about an hour away and we decided to visit on a Monday in the afternoon. After the M25 and the A217 we turned onto the A2022 and started looking for the farm.
As we came down a dip in the road we spotted a sign for ‘lavender farm’ and turned into a car park. Strangely there were no queues and no charges for entrance. We wandered up into the field of lavender and it looked nothing like the images.
In the sloping field there bales of straw, shelters from the sun and a small coffee van but no telephone box. We walked to the top of the field and could see the London skyline just above the trees. Further around we walked through a wood and into a field of newly planted lavender. As we walked back past the coffee van we overheard people talking that Mayfield Lavender Farm was in the next field!
Mayfield Lavender
Back in the car we turned right and after a short drive came to a roundabout with the B278 and ran into a mini-traffic jam. This was Mayfield Lavender. We joined the queue and after paying £4 a head we followed other cars along the outside of the field looking for somewhere to park.
There was a world of difference between the two farms. The other farm was almost empty this was packed. We passed the shop and the queue stretched for 30 or 40 metres, on our right was a row of port-a-loos and in the field we could see a queue waiting to take pictures around the telephone box. We found a space on the third side of the field and set off to join the crowds.
The first rows of lavender next to the road around the field were bare.
In the distance close by the entrance
we could see the most crowds.
Getting shots of the rows of lavender without other visitors was almost impossible.
We stopped at the Airstream caravan cafe and joined the small queue. Around the caravan were very uncomfortable as very few people were making an attempt to social distance or were wearing face masks. Even while we sat on a log away from the crowds but people still pushed past far far too close without masks.
The bees
After our drinks at the Airstream cafe we moved away from the crowds. I swapped my lens to my macro lens and set of to try and get images of the thousands of bees swarming around the lavender.
Final shots
