A visit to Wolds Way Lavender.

Good morning, it's the weekend again, time goes far too quickly. I started this post last night, but put it on hold till this morning, couldn't keep my eyes open. So what did I do yesterday? The morning brought sunshine, so only one thing to do, go out. Now where can me and the pooch go within about an hours drive? I gooooglied, days out in Yorkshire, and came across Wolds Way Lavender. I had thought about looking at lavender fields in the past, but decided against it because the web site I saw said 'sorry no dogs'. But this one was different, dogs allowed on a lead. Then I realized there are two places which look similar, the other one, Yorkshire Lavender, do not allow dogs, so it was to Wolds Way lavender that we journeyed. Easily found just off the A64, Malton to Scarborough road. 

I was given a map upon arrival at the entrance, free parking and free entry by the way. I decided to let Rocky walk around by himself, the paths are flat, some gravel and some grass. He was fine, but very slow. He is very cautious when we go somewhere new, always looking to me to show him the way, no worries about him running off. We don't need a lead, he will just bimble by my side. 

There were a few people about, not too crowded.

There is a path through the middle called 'Harry's Sculptured Walk'. It looks as though some of the exhibits  had been there for a while and were in need of some refurbishment. Maybe a rusting dinosaur looks more in keeping with the rotting tree trunk, I don't know. Maybe a blast with a steam cleaner and a spray of oil would buff it up nicely.

The willow deer family looked a bit weather beaten, antlers missing and some were crumbling beyond recognition. The sky looked better than the sculptures.

The lavender fields are in flower, plenty of bees buzzing around, and a grassy path to walk down the centre of the rows.

They have a miniature railway which is used to bring in the wood for the distillery and the harvested lavender from the fields. It also provides rides for children, although it wasn't running yesterday.

There is a viewing area in the distillery, with an audio/video presentation running continuously on the screen. I sat and watched, it was interesting to learn how the oil is extracted from the flowers. 

If you fancy a cuppa there is a tea room which serves cakes and ice cream. Also a shop to buy gifts or a lavender treat for yourself. I thought I might splash out, hey, go wild once in a while, but common sense prevailed and I decided I don't actually need anything. £15 for a pot of cream is a bit out of my price range, I put that in the want category.

WWL is great for kids, lots to do. There's a giant Games Maze. It's about 1km long and lots of games to play on the way around it. There is also a Nature Walk which winds it's way around the perimeter through the trees. There are ponds with big fat colourful fish in them, raised herb beds, and plenty of places to sit for a while. Here is a link to their web site.   And this is a link to their 2015 brochure. I have no idea what the Yorkshire Lavender place is like, if someone has been there, maybe they could tell me. They don't allow dogs so I couldn't go there.

On the way home, I just had to stop at the famous Wetwang Fish and Chip Shop. A £1.50 portion of chips was just the thing to fill my tum.  Heaven. I need chip shop chips at least three times a year, ha ha.

We made one more stop on the way home, which I will tell you about tomorrow. So till then, I'll sign off. Looks like another nice day today, so best to get out and make the most of it. Have a nice weekend.
Toodle pip

PS. Hi. I've just re read this post and can see an error. When I said I decided to let Rocky walk by himself I meant without the pushchair, I felt he was able to cope with the distance on his own four legs. I didn't mean that he was allowed to go off lead the whole time. You can see the lead in the dinosaur picture. I dropped the lead on two occasions, when I stepped a few feet away to take a picture. At no point was he allowed to wander around by himself. 

PPS. Thank you all for adding your bit to the Summerhouse post yesterday, I was amazed at how many comments there were. I am chuffed.