Over 85,000 people are expected to wander through the picturesque purple haze of Bridestowe Estate this financial year.
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Now, at the height of the lavender season, staff are seeing between 1600 – 1800 tourists every day.
Part of the attraction is the new tourist experiences the estate has debuted this season.
Visitors can now not only take photos in the fields and try lavender ice-cream, they can also learn to make lavender soap, cook a gourmet dish with lavender as a key ingredient, or take home a lavender Bobbie the Bear they’ve made themselves.
“What we've found is that people don’t want to come and just look at flowers, they want something they can take away with them,” Bridestowe owner Robert Ravens said.
“We now have that menu of options. It’s been extremely effective at the high-end, experience-seeking end of the market, through agencies in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
“It creates an aura of authenticity, and uniqueness – we call it luxury, even though it’s very affordable.”
Also new this year is a rotation of buskers, playing for customers while they eat in front of the farm.
One of those buskers is Peter “Pom” Willoughby, who said playing at Bridestowe was full of surprises.
“It’s so multicultural, and it’s been really interesting what people actually want you to play,” he said.
“People who can barely speak English will want you to play the most obscure country and western music – John Denver songs, from way back.”
Although his most popular song is his version of the old blues classic, Ice Cream Man.
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