Cotswold Lavender: A Little Bit of Provence in England

This week's trip was to Cotswold Lavender in the north of Gloucestershire. It's a field of lavender, which as the title of this post suggests, is very reminiscent of the famous lavender fields of the south of France. So it's one of those pseudo-foreign destinations in the UK that are nice alternatives to destinations abroad, especially now at this time when taking a flight or staying in a hotel can feel a little risky.

But to be honest, even visiting Cotswold Lavender felt slightly risky. It was surprisingly busy, even though we arrived there at opening time on a weekday morning and the weather was bad. (I guess that's one area in which England can't really compete with Provence!) And I often felt like my parents and I were having to be extra vigilant about social distancing, as many other people seemed to be totally unaware that it's still something we all must do...

However, it was still a really nice place to visit. The field was beautiful to see; there were several different types of lavender of various shapes and colours, as well as a section filled with chamomile flowers. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't ideal for taking photos, but that didn't stop me from snapping away with my phone!

I think Cotswold Lavender would be a better place to visit in non-pandemic times, when the distillery, shop and café are open again, and visitors can make more of a proper day out of a visit there. Right now, there's only a kiosk open to buy some gifts and drinks, and as there was already a queue building up outside it by the time we finished our visit, we decided to go and have a coffee somewhere else.

We ended up stopping off at the Cotswold Food Store in Longborough and going to the café there. The only vegan cake available was a fruit cake (which wouldn't be my first choice!) but it was very tasty, as was my soya latte.

In summary, it was a really nice morning and I enjoyed the experience of feeling like I was in France whilst still being in the UK!