Have you ever been on a lavender field lit up by glowing sunshine? Imagine being surrounded by an ocean of blueish-purple flowers smelling absolutely divine… having your picture taken for Instagram… Sounds like a dream?
Well, you have a perfect chance to make your dream come true here, in England. In the Cotswolds, to be precise.
Cotswold Lavender farm opens its doors to the public every summer when the lavender looks at its best (normally from mid-June till first week of August). The farm is tucked away from the main roads, not far from Snowshill, overlooking Broadway and The Vale of Evesham.
The first lavender seedlings were planted here in 1999, and since then the farm has grown 40 different varieties with a total number of 500,000 plants. Lavender thrives on Cotswolds limestone soil and produces best quality flowers which – with proper equipment and skill – could be turned into something blissful - like English Lavender Essential Oils.
Harvest usually starts during the last week of July, when the plants are fully in colour and continues until early August. The harvester travels along the rows and picks up the sides of the plant so that all of the stems are vertical. The heads and stems are then neatly cut, drawn in the machine, and collected in a trailer following behind. It takes nearly an hour to collect one trailer load of five tonnes of plant material.
Then freshly cut flowers are delivered to the on-site distillery where they can be immediately processed. The farm uses a very simple technique of extraction which has been used by ancient Egyptians and Romans. It’s called Steam Distillation. This process involves only 2 ingredients: freshly cut flowers and rainwater, no chemicals are used. This guarantees that at the end of the process only Pure Essential Oil has been extracted.
After the oils have been distilled, they can be used as pure oils for aromatherapy and massage or can be added to skincare or bath products. Cotswold Lavender shop sells a wide variety of bath, skincare, well-being, home range products alongside with gift sets and dried florets.
Lavender works wonders on inflamed and irritated skin. It contains natural anti-inflammatory properties and helps healing bruises and burns, taking down swelling and redness and helping to form smoother scar tissue.
People suffering from severe acne and sebum excess will benefit from using lavender-infused cosmetic products. Lavender is an anti-bacterial and cleaning agent helping to clean the skin without drying it out.
However, people suffering from severe eczema should be avoiding using essential oil because it may cause their condition to worsen.
If you had a long and hard day, take a bath with lavender salt followed by a lavender rub which will ease your muscle ache and release the tension.
Did you know that lavender is widely used in cooking? English Lavender has a particularly sweet fragrance and makes a lovely addition to many dishes. Sweet treats, jams and cakes probably benefit the most from adding a drop of lavender. But it will also add a lovely hint to lamb if used instead of traditional rosemary. And lavender added to your cuppa before bed time will get you ready for a good night sleep in no time!
You don't need to book your tickets in advance - just pop around. However, weekends are normally busier than weekdays so keep that in mind.
There is an ample on-site parking (free of charge). Toilets are located in the car park, outside of the entrance to the farm.
Near the fields there is a small kiosk selling ice cream, drinks and treats . All visitors are more than welcome to bring their own picnics - you will find plenty of picnic tables and benches evenly distributed around the farm.
Cotswold Lavender
Address: Hill Barn Farm, Snowshill, Broadway, Worcestershire, WR12 7JY.
Follow the brown tourist signs “Snowshill Lavender” giving directions from the main roads in the local area. Only 10 min drive from Graziers Cottage!
2023 opening times:
From 14th June until 6th August
10 am – 5 pm
Check their website for entry prices
Free ample on-site parking
