Yorkshire Lavender

The moment you walk into Yorkshire Lavender, the smell hits you - proper overwhelming in the best way. Rows of purple-blue flowers stretch across the fields just outside York, and in summer the whole place is alive with bees and butterflies doing their thing. You can wander through the growing beds, pick your own lavender (if you time it right), and watch the distillery in action if you're there when they're processing the crop. The gift shop sells everything from lavender oil to soaps and honey - it's the sort of place where you'll end up buying more than you meant to.

This works best for anyone who actually enjoys plants and gardens rather than kids after a sugar rush. Families will get an hour, maybe ninety minutes, out of a visit. Bring a camera and good shoes - the ground can be muddy even when it hasn't rained. Summer is peak season, which means crowds and queues, so go mid-week if you can manage it.

It's ideal if you're based at York Meadows or Flaxton Meadows - both within five or six miles - and need a gentle afternoon activity between bigger days out. The nearby Howardian Hills have proper walks if you want something more strenuous, but this is the sort of place where you can just potter about and smell the flowers without feeling you've wasted the day.