A purple haze is taking over a corner of East Hampshire as a perennial attraction is about to reopen.

Hundreds of people are expected to make a beeline to Hartley Park Farm as Lavender Fields Hampshire will reopen on Monday, June 16.

Visitors can drink in the scents, sounds and sights of the shrub from 10am to 5pm daily at the attraction south of Alton on the B3006 Selborne Road.

Lavender, a hardy, scented perennial which attracts butterflies, bees and other beneficial pollinating insects, has been farmed at Hartley Park since 1999 and the fields have been open to the public every year since 2001.

With its rows of lavender and gorgeous hues, the farm is the great place to have a picnic or get a good Instagram or family picture.

There’s an on-site coffee shop selling paninis, cakes and cream teams during July while well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome to the farm.

Hartley Park Farm is run by Nick and Lyndsay Butler whose family has been farming since the 1930s.

It is set against the ancient Selborne Hanger woodland and is close to Chawton, Jane Austen’s former home, where both Jane Austen’s House and Chawton House can be visited.

The Lavender Fields gift and coffee shop is open all year, offering everything from lavender ice cream and lavender jam to hand creams, soaps and room sprays.

Lavender has been used as a perfume and for medicinal reasons for thousands of years and Queen Elizabeth I is known to have used it as an antidote to migraines.

The lavender season usually runs until mid-August, with different lavender varieties flowering at different times. The farm closely monitors the fields’ progress and keeps visitors updated via www.thelavenderfields.co.uk.

The farm can also be called on 01420 511146.