THE bees are buzzing softly, the mid-morning sun beats down and the gentle scent of lavender lingers in the air.
It's so idyllic it feels like the Mediterranean, but this isn't Provence it's Barnsley - and this is South Yorkshire's very own lavender farm.
Pennine Lavender is the brainchild of 60-year-old Barbara Poisson, who started the farm as a hobby in 1996.
Tired of her job as an NHS technician, Barbara was looking for an escape from the rat race when she visited a lavender farm in Jersey with her property-developer husband David, also 60.
The mum of two daughters from Hoylandswaine said: "It absolutely captured my imagination. I had been fantasising about doing something different because I was starting to find life a bit boring so I came home and bought 200 plants.
"It was really just a hobby then but in 1998 Barnsley College gave me a computer as part of a scheme to encourage small businesses and put me on the internet."
Thanks to local publicity the business took off. Some of her first visitors were two ladies from Oregon, USA, who had read about the farm online.
As the lavender bloomed, so did interest in her business.
"It all started to take off and I had to give up my job," said Barbara.
"I'd been looking for a way out of the NHS and suddenly I'd found it. I miss the camaraderie but I've honestly never looked back.
"I've found such a wonderful product to work with." The couple, who have two daughters Jameelh, 30, and Victoria, 35, bought the field behind their home and Barbara planted two different species of lavender.
She said: "I was so excited I couldn't sleep. I kept waking up in the middle of the night with ideas for the business."
Now Barbara, of Greenbottom Farm, Hoylandswaine, lives and breathes lavender and even has a personalised number plate - P9 LAV. She works hard to maintain the rolling lavender field through the winter, which is three-quarters-of-an-acre, so she can open up to the public each summer.
Barbara said: "I started with two types of lavender but they've cross pollinated and we have several varieties now - about 4,000 plants.
"We also have our own lavender honey which is produced by bees from the hives in the next field.
"The biggest problem is the weeds. It's very labour intensive and I have someone helping me with that now. The local teenagers come and do the harvesting."
The plants are at their best for three weeks from the beginning of July and if Barbara is lucky there is a second flush in September.
The farm opens today when visitors will be able to pick their own lavender, listen to a talk about the history of lavender and its uses and try lavender massage oil and shortbread.
As well as the annual open days Barbara also gives talks to groups and handmakes a selection of lavender products which she sells online.
In her country kitchen Barbara, whose 35-year-old daughter Victoria Oliver helps with the business, shows off her homemade products which include lavender bags, pomanders, sleep pillows and massage oil among others and talks about lavender's medicinal and relaxing properties.
"The Romans used to use it for their bathing rituals and it is well known for aiding relaxation," she said.
"It keeps the midges away and can be used as an insect repellent. You can also use it to treat burns or sunburn and lavender is an excellent analgesic.
"If you have any aches or joint stiffness just rub them with some lavender massage oil and in a few days you will feel a whole lot better.
It certainly seems an idyllic existence and Barbara agrees.
"Sometimes when I sit outside the chalet with a relaxing book and look out over the field I think there really is no better place on earth."
n Pennine Lavender is on Barnsley Road, Hoylandswaine, Barnsley, next door to the Lord Nelson pub. It opens to the public today and will be open every Saturday and Sunday from 1.30pm to 4pm until Sunday August 9.
n Visit thestar.co.uk/pictures for more photos.
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