It won’t be long until majestic lavender fields are all over Instagram! Last summer I decided to join in the celebration and went along to a tour of the lavender fields at one of Kent’s most photographed lavender growers; Castle Farm in Shoreham.
Despite having lived nearby for many, many years, we had never visited the fields before so Nikki and I went along with our grandmother, mother and Nikki’s friend Karen in tow to see what all the fuss was about!
Family-run Castle Farm is the biggest lavender farm in the UK and from late June into August the fields around the farm are simply overflowing with purple flowers. They really take advantage of the lavender season with all sorts of activities available during the flowering weeks including tours of their fields and facilities as well as massages, pilates and picnics amongst their fragrant crop.
Not surprisingly Castle Farm’s main export of the farm is their Kentish lavender oil which is both sold as is, as well as being made into all manner of delightful household items such as lavender tea, jams, sleep balms, lemonade, decorations and food essences.
The tour included visiting the lavender fields as well as seeing inside the oil distillery where the flowers and converted into the aromatic oil many of us enjoy at home. Our tour guide, Phil, educated us in all things lavender including which varieties were being grown and what they were used for.
Castle Farm grows 4 lavender varieties including the dark blue ‘Folgate’ and ‘Super Blue’ Lavender which is cut by hand and made into decorative bunches, as well as the strongly-scented Lavandin ‘Maillette’ and ‘Grosso’ which is harvested by a large cutting machine and distilled to produce a high-quality essential oil.
We learned that lavender oil is relaxing and is perfect for use in the bath or on your pillow for a good night’s sleep. It is also lovely when used for a soothing massage whereas lavandin (another variety) oil is more invigorating and is used in many cosmetics and toiletries. It has a strong camphor fragrance which makes it an excellent insect repellant.
After visiting the fields we were shown into the distillery where the lavender flowers are steamed to release the oil and then the steam is cooled and condenses to make lavender water. This water is then filtered, allowing the oil which sits on top of the water to be collected.
After being shown around the distillery we wandered to the shop to browse the lavender goodies on display. I picked up some edible lavender flowers and essence as well as some lavender sleep balm which I massage into my temples at night for a restful sleep.
I really enjoyed my visit to the Castle Farm lavender fields and would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about this beautiful, fragrant flower (and get lots of amazing photographs for Instagram!)
