When the poppy pictures started to appear on Instagram, I got very excited. There is nothing I enjoy more than an adventure to a beautiful nature spot.

Living in Hertfordshire, we are very lucky to have lavender fields, rape seed fields and bluebell woods on our doorstep, but I have never seen a poppy field; so when I spotted one tagged with a Hertfordshire location, I knew we had to go!

It was about a 20 minute drive from where we live and when we got closer, the burst of red that emerged from the field got us all very excited.

What a truly spectacular sight! So uplifting, especially in these difficult times. The children were just as enchanted by it as us adults.

There are lots of little pathways through the poppies, which made it nice and easy to get these beautiful photos without the girls trampling them. 

How to find the Panshanger Poppies…

We visited on the 14th of June and according to some local Facebook groups the poppies are now starting to come to an end. However, if you want to try and find the final blooms, search for ‘Panshanger Lane’ in between Welwyn and Tewin in Hertfordshire. We parked in a lay-by near to the old entrance to Panshanger Aerodrome.

The padlocked gate, which is the main entrance along Panshanger Lane, means there is actually no public access. So please refrain from jumping over the gate!
Instead you should visit the field via the public footpath. Please see the map below for details. This is where the public are being asked to take their photos from.

Who owns the Panshanger Poppies?

Since our visit I have done a bit of research into this poppy field, to find out who owns it. As I didn’t want to send people onto private land!

Thanks to the Welwyn Facebook community I have found out that this field is privately owned and whilst the owners of the field appreciate that everyone wants to come and see the poppies, they actually have a crop of beans growing there! – (This solves the mystery of how my daughter managed to bring home a pea pod from our visit).

Why are the poppies there?

According to one source on Facebook, this field was intended as a crop field for producing animal feed and so it was never sprayed with any chemicals or weed killers and the poppies ‘just grew’.

If this is true then there has never been such a perfect example of the word ‘Serendipity!’

Protect the poppies

If you do visit this field, please be careful of the poppies! There are plenty of pathways to walk along to take photos from a safe distance. 

It is so important that everyone respects this land. I have heard of other wildflower fields across the country having to stop visitors due to damage and litter. Such a shame if this beauty cannot be shared by all.