Days out in the North: Yorkshire Lavender with Dogs

It’s quaint, small and best for dogs who walk well on the lead, but it’s got a gorgeous cafe and the photo opportunities are lush. Here’s the lowdown on taking your dogs to dog-friendly Yorkshire Lavender.

Yesterday we took a little road trip to see the last of the purple at Yorkshire Lavender. It was a bit of a drizzly day, and the plants were definitely not at their best - being almost ready for harvest - but we still enjoyed the gorgeous views, and we found it to be a really dog friendly day out.

Yorkshire Lavender has spectacular lavender gardens, a specialist plant nursery, children's play area, a gift shop with a cute little range of lavender products and some cracking biscuits, cakes and sarnies in the tea room (which has plenty of areas designated for pups and their humans!) It’s £3 each to get in which contributes to the upkeep of the farm, and there’s no extra charge for car parking or dogs which means its a really reasonable day out.

It’s set in the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with gorgeous panoramic views - even better on a clear sunny day I’m sure.

If you have more of an off-lead dog then YL may not be your first choice, as dogs have to be on a lead at all times. These two are definitely used to having more freedom, but having said that they did actually behave themselves really well, and they sat nicely for the treat offered to them at the admission desk!

Yorkshire Lavender can be found in Terrington, near York. You can view it on the map here (What 3 Words reference is magnetic.unstated.cookery).

What to do at Yorkshire Lavender

We arrived at lunchtime and parked up with absolutely zero hassle. Maybe the weather was keeping people away as it was quiet generally. We paid to get in (there’s a small building at the bottom of the car park which is also the gift shop) and walked the perimeter of the grounds, stopping to look at the views as we went. It’s a small, family-run farm, so if you’re expecting a long walk, then I wouldn’t recommend. This is definitely more of a have a wander and admire the views kind of place.

If you’re taking kids, there is a playground at the top of the slope. There’s also a good selection of plants in the outdoor nursery if that’s your thing.

After walking around we bobbed into the tearoom which is excellent. I had the cheesecake (with lavender of course) and my hubs had a fruit scone with blueberry and lavender jam. Both were gorgeous. I’m pleased to report the tea is also Yorkshire Tea - very important!!

As we were sitting in the cafe, the founder came to chat to us and give the dogs a fuss. It was really interesting to hear about how and why he set up the farm after losing his wife in 1993 and made our visit feel personal.

All in all it was a lovely way to spend an hour or two, and the dogs were genuinely made to feel welcome. Next year I’ll be doing a mid-summer dog portraits event in the grounds, so if that’s something you’d like to hear more about then sign up for the mailing list below to get advance notice :)