Hitchin Lavender Farm, England
We decided to celebrate the nice warm sunny weather of the first weekend in August with a trip up to Hitchin Lavender Farm. The town of Hitchin is about an hour by train from London but we opted to hop in a car with a couple of our friends to enjoy a ride up north through the countryside. It didn't take long to feel like we were out of the hustle and bustle of the city and riding along the rolling hills of England.
We got to Hitchin Lavender Farm shortly after it opened its doors to customers for the day. There was already a fair amount of people wandering through the fields collecting their own bundles of lavender to take home with them. By the time we were done at the farm, it seemed like there were double, triple—lots—of people filling the rows of beautiful purple.
The farm has an entrance fee of £4.50 per adult but this includes picking. The farm gave each of us a medium sized brown bag to fill to our liking as we strolled through the farm. This was plenty to make two decent sized bundles when I got back to my flat. My plan is to dry them out so I can hang on to them for awhile. I also was able to make a small bundle from a few of the tinier stems I picked.
One thing I will note is to wear pants! I was not thinking at all and it was a bit uncomfortable walking through the fields with the flowers hitting my legs. While I could have put up with that, the extra fear came from the (millions) of bees buzzing around. I will fully admit to getting stung good by one on the leg. I think I officially learned my lesson to wear pants to lavender fields—ha!
After picking, we headed over to the shop and cafe that sits at the other side of the farm. The shop has everything lavender flavored, scented, and colored. You could get anything from handmade soap to marmalade. We chose to take some wonderful lavender oil home to help make our flat smell like heaven and a screen print of the farm to hang some where on our walls to remind us of such a lovely day!
This little Saturday adventure just goes to show you that you don't have to venture far out from London to get out into the countryside and enjoy nature. It's also a reminder that you don't need to go to France to see beautiful lavender fields. London has at least two (that I know of) nearby to go off and explore while you can!
We're hoping to get into the habit of taking more trips to gems like this just outside of the city or only a couple hours away. Our little corner of the world has so much to see and we're excited to continue on exploring it!
