Pumpkin patch fun gets you set for Hallowe’en
You can pick your own pumpkins for Hallowe’en from a site in Bath.
Bath Pumpkin Picking Patch is located at the Globe Roundabout on the A4 near the village of Newton St Loe.
There are over 70,000 pumpkins ripe for the picking on the 15-acre site.
The patch will open on the 10th, 11th, 17th, 18th and then the 24th to the 31st of October from 9.30am until 4pm.
It has its own large car park and entry is free.
Niall Smith, is a ‘pumpkinologist’ who, along with his partner Suzanne Hennekens, is the driving force behind Pumpkin Picking Patches.
He said: “Everyone who comes to our Pumpkin Picking Patches is guaranteed a great time. There are literally thousands of pumpkins at every site.
“People collect a wheelbarrow in which they can ‘round up’ their perfect pumpkins — all for an incredibly reasonable price. Our pumpkins, which come in a huge array of sizes, start at just £1.
“Our Pumpkin Picking Patches are the perfect places to get children away from their gadgets and let them run around in the fresh air.
“There aren’t many attractions these days that are free to enter, and after some cost-effective pumpkin picking fun, you drive home with your car boot full of these glorious fruits to craft and cook at home!”
As well as pumpkin picking you can check out the straw bale sculptures and the “pumpkin house” and make your own witch’s broom, magic wand or tin can bat. Everything that Niall and Suzanne do is undertaken with ‘green’ credentials in mind.
The wood for the creative art of making magic wands and brooms has been sourced locally.
They have also adopted a no-plastic policy, and cut the energy needed to print their billboards and signs by 40 per cent using UV printing techniques.
The couple came up with the idea of their Pumpkin Picking Patches two years ago. Niall said: “We have worked in events and catering for over 20 years and before that we did new business developments for companies in the UK and abroad.
“We were invited to a Pumpkin Patch to do coffee and food and we realised what an amazing business venture pumpkins would be.
“We really saw the potential and dipped our toes in 2018, but are now fully committed to Pumpkin Picking Patches.”
Creative chefs or charities that provide food for the homeless or other groups are being sought, as Niall and Suzanne are conscious that not all gourds will be picked by the end of October.
All sites will remain open during wet conditions, but visitors should dress accordingly.
In extreme weather, if closure is unavoidable, messages will be posted on the website (pickingpatch.com) and social media.