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About Wolds Way Lavender~Wolds Way Lavender at Deer Park Farm is the result of a lot of hard work and time by the current owners, Steve, Anne and Sarah Jaques. The property, a disused Piggery with just under 12 acres of land was purchased from the previous owner in the winter of 2001 / 2002.~~~322~324~~

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Original building~The original buildings were erected from 1956 onwards and were used intensively for the next twenty five years by the previous owners. The buildings and land were then sub-let and sub sub-let with little care or maintenance. They fell into a severe state of disrepair some of which is still evident today.

The hedgerows around the field had not been maintained for many years. The initial estimate was that two hundred metres would require replacing. As the old hedges were cleaned up this estimate grew to an actual four hundred and sixty metres.
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Fencing~A new fence over 200m long had to be erected the full length of the north side of the site. The hedge rows on the other sides had to be cut back, and the rubbish removed to make way for new hedging to be planted. Cutting back also allowed rabbit netting to be attached to the existing fencing all round. A trench round the full perimeter of the site had to be dug by hand, to let the rabbit netting into the ground, over 1600m of netting was used.~~~322~358~~

Trees~Planting took place in early 2002 using a mixture of native hedgings including; Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Holly, Beech etc. All require protection guards due to the rabbits, which were running rife on the land with warrens running for many metres. The sandy conditions made for easy digging and with no control over the years their numbers had reached epic proportions. The most awkward task was fitting the numerous plastic spiral guards. The woodland area was then planted with eight species of trees. Friends and family were called upon to complete the massive planting task before the spring of 2002. The first tree to be planted was a large Oak.
The land is free draining sand with a neutral to alkaline PH level. Over the last few years it has had Linseed grown on it in order to gain the maximum subsidies available with the least amount of input.
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Entrance~The whole area around the buildings were littered with rubbish, left by the previous occupiers. There was scrap wood, steel and discarded building materials everywhere. Pits had been dug and filled with rubbish, then covered over. They were all to dig out and dispose of correctly, a slow and time consuming operation. The area around the buildings were also thick with nettles and weeds which were all to remove.

The entrance to the site - BEFORE and AFTER

The buildings were in a severe state of disrepair, having suffered many years of neglect. The first task was to remove the collection of debris that had been allowed to accumulate. The buildings will take a lot of time and money to rectify and will be restored one by one over the next few years. The site had been a blot on the local landscape and it required a lot of vision to see the potential!~~~322~360~~

Digger~As with all projects there have been high and low points. Fortunately the times when we have wondered what on earth we have taken on, have been outweighed by the good times. We love it when a plan comes together! The buildings whilst looking daunting were all basically sound. The electric's and plumbing had to be scrapped and have been completely renewed. There is always a job to be done!

The name Deer Park Farm, is taken from the adjacent property that was the Deer Keepers Lodge for Scampston Hall. The Hall used to have a large Deer herd up until the Second World War. The Keepers Lodge is now known as The Deer park~~~322~361~~

Landscaping~After the trees came the serious landscaping. Years and years of rubbish had hidden the previous roads and hard standings. A friend and his digger made short work of what would have been back breaking work by hand. Overnight the site was transformed. The entrance was straightened and made wider, the car parking area was formed along with the main access paths to the Lavender.

18 months in and the Lavender has grown beyond all expectations. We opened to the public on 1st June 2003 and are receiving encouraging compliments from the many visitors who have been to experience the wonder of the Lavender and Herbs.~~~322~362~~