The field is, unsurprisingly, much busier on a weekend. So my top tip would be to go on a weekday, if this is an option for you. However, the lavender field is vast and there was still plenty of space for all, although taking "unspoilt" photos was a little trickier.
Last year, as we wandered around the field, we kept spotting small shiny metallic beetles of a kind I had never seen before. When we reached the cafe, we saw signs informing us that these beetles were, in fact, the "rosemary beetle", a pest which has arrived in England from either South America or Southern Europe and is steadily munching its way through lavender and rosemary plants of southern England.
To help stop the beetles from eating up Mayfield's organic lavender, you can ask at the shop for a jam jar to collect thems in and, on returning a jar of collected beetles to the shop, you can claim a small, edible prize.
Last year, by the time we saw the signs, it was too late for us to embark on a beetle-collecting expedition, despite the pleas of my four year-old. So we said that the next time we came, we would be sure to collect a jam jar first, before setting out on our wander around the field.
And that is what we did.
Unfortunately, however, it seems that so had plenty of other keen beetle-catchers and it took us quite some time before we managed to spot our first beetle. In the end I think we had amassed about eight beetles between us (three adults and two children, although one child wasn't really spotting) but thankfully it was still deemed sufficient to warrant a prize.
We then treated ourselves to some yummy lavender ice cream from the cafe and I bought a jug and bunch of lavender from the shop. The helpful assistant advised that I should lay out the lavender to dry for five days, before putting it back in the jug, so the bunch spent most of last week laid out on a sheet of newspaper on my dining room table.
It is now happily back in the jug and looking and smelling rather lovely.
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