10 December 2013

Pumpkin Picking

*This is another very late post!* 


I love Halloween, always have, always will. I love the true meaning that underlies all the frivolity of getting dressed up and going trick or treating and always try to remember those we love who have passed (that's what Halloween is all about after all).  I don't know if I love it so much because my mum & dad always made it a big deal when we were kids, from Halloween parties with themed food and games to taking us on haunted train rides, we always celebrated in some exciting fun way or another or if it's due to my slightly dark, macabre streak.  Halloween seems to be taking off in the UK too, we aren't quite America style yet but we seem to be heading further in that direction. I mean was it just me or were there loads of houses decorated up this year? 

One thing I discovered this year that I don't think was a 'thing' when we were kids was picking your own pumpkin.  Yes, like strawberry picking but with pumpkins. When I discovered it I knew I HAD to go.

Ant was working the weekend before Halloween and my mum has a really bad shoulder so couldn't come, so there was only me & my dad fit for purpose on the Sunday.  We piled into my car with Luca and my niece Rhianna and set off to find our pumpkins.  

Farmer Copley's is in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, just a quick drive down the motorway for us.  When we arrived we parked up and headed towards the sign for the (FREE!) tractor ride.  The tractor pulled up and on we got, it drove us across the field and dropped us off at the pumpkin patch.  The tractor ride is a freebie, but such a lovely novel idea that adds a little bit of extra charm to the pumpkin picking experience.  You can easily walk to the patch, but I think it's lovely for the little ones to ride the tractor there.  

Once at the pumpkin patch we didn't know where to start. The patch is huge with loads of pumpkins to choose from and naturally my niece only wanted the biggest pumpkin, so the hunt began. 


"No that one isn't big enough"
"No, that's a funny shape"
"That one is green on one side"

After much uhming and ahhing, Rhianna found the perfect one.


Luca absolutely loved crawling through the mud and attempting to pick up pumpkins bigger than himself.  


Once I had decided on one for us (oddly shaped obviously) and a final one for my parents house, it was simply a matter of carrying them, much easier said than done. However, what we didn't realise at the time is that they provide wheelbarrows to make this task much easier, if only we'd have opened our eyes!  Oops! Instead big, strong, super Papa juggled all 3 back to the car. 


The process of payment is straightforward, £4 for a large one, £3 for a medium and £2 for a small. They measure them by fitting them through holes, so we came away with two large and a medium but in fact all three were large I'd have said.  


There is also facilities to care your pumpkin on site with people there to help and guide you to the best pumpkin design, a story telling witch in who spellbinds you with her spooky tales, barrel rides for £1, and a Corn Cannon which fires sweet corn across a field (£1 for 2 corns).  You could spend a good few hours carving, listening to stories etc and there is a cafe as well for a bite to eat and it isn't extortionately priced like some places. 

All in all we had a fabulous little trip out, much better than nipping down to the local supermarket to pick up a pumpkin.  I enjoyed it so much in fact, that I have decided this is gonna be a Kershaw family tradition and I'm already looking forward to going again next year. 

1 comment:

  1. This is fab, we loved it there yesterday, such a fun family day out xx

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