Thousands of tourists from all over the world are flocking to this iconic twenty five acres of lavender fields, 15 miles from the centre of the UK’s capital London, every year.

The site near Banstead in Surrey is a family-run business led by Lorna Maye and her husband.

According to Maye the fields once spread all the way up to Battersea in central London, and there were also lavender distilleries in Clapham.

However the industry died out due to major demand for housing which, along with a disease called “Shab”, killed off many of the plants in the 1880s and meant a lot of lavender growers came out of lavender farming and sold their land for residential development.

Thousands of acres which were once lavender fields gradually turned into housing estates and by the early 1900s most of the lavender in London had disappeared.

But in 2006 the Maye family brought it back, by starting the Mayfield Lavender Farm, which attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world every year.

According to Maye when they first opened in 2006 it was mostly people from the local area who visited. However, thanks to the power of social media, people now visit from all over the world.

Lavender is an amazing perennial plant which, according to Maye, doesn’t need a lot of water or maintenance to survive. The ideal time to plant it is Spring, when the weather in the UK starts to get warmer.

“It’s a Mediterranean plant,” explains Maye.

“It likes hot, dry, sunny conditions and so once you’ve planted it it just goes off and once you’ve watered it in, after you’ve watered it in and it’s established, you don’t need to do anything with it and that’s the beauty of it.”

Lavender needs to be planted in well drained soil, so that the water will drain away if it’s raining a lot.

It also requires a sunny position, and to be cut back regularly to maintain the shape of the plant and encourage new shoots. If well looked after a healthy plant can survive for decades.

The Maye family originally planted around 150,000 plants back in 2006, and in the last few years they have rotated and replanted some areas of the field.

As well as growing lavender so that visitors can enjoy walking through their fields, the Maye family also sell some of their plants.

As well as running the family business with her husband, Maye’s daughter Jess manages the Farms’ shop which stocks items such as dried bunches of lavender and of course, lavender oil.

“Lavender does loads of different things. It can be a great natural antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, " Jess said.

"So I use it a lot for sunburn, bee stings, mosquito bites. But, you know, it’s fantastic for helping you sleep, put a couple of drops on your pillow, put it in the bath to help you relax.”

Lavender is excellent for attracting bees and boosting the UK’s declining populations, so the Mayfield Lavender Farm offers bee themed activities, treasure trails and beetle hunting, especially for younger visitors.

The plant is also great as a moth repellent since it contains a substance called camphor, which is used in moth balls.

Lavender has also become a popular ingredient in food and drink in recent years.

Today, during a heatwave in London, tourists are enjoying the farm’s refreshments. Visitor Terry Gale says he has wanted to visit Mayfield Lavender Farm for the last 26 years.

“This is the first time we’ve been and it’s very impressive. It’s just so relaxing and obviously the lavender smells. It’s just a fantastic experience,” Gale explains