Hitchin Lavender

As dawn breaks, the lavender fields at Cadwell Farm are silent save for the liquid warbling of skylarks overhead, almost invisible against a brightening sky as the sun stealthily rises from behind the hill, its rays illuminating each purple row until finally the entire hillside is bathed in the sunshine that lavender craves. Farmed by the Hunter family, it is the fifth generation Tim and his brother Nick who now run the farm. There are some 14 acres devoted to lavender, planted in straight rows that run down a southwest-facing, chalky hillside. ‘We now have about 17 miles of lavender rows for visitors to wander through,’ explains Tim. For this is no ordinary lavender farm focused solely on yields, but a rare and special place where visitors, old and young, are welcome.