Picking pumpkins seems to have become more and more popular in the UK in recent years. I have noticed more and more pumpkin patches popping up. Three years ago we went to Secretts Farm near Guildford but this year, after seeing lots of lovely photos, we gave PYO Pumpkins at Beluncle Farm, Hoo, Rochester a try. Not only do they have a huge variety of pumpkins and squashes but you can also pick rainbow corn too.
The car park is big and it is free to park and enter. The field is huge! You will be greeted by a sea of orange. Each family is welcome to take a wheelbarrow and go off and look through the field. There are crates with squashes and pumpkins that have already been picked.
There are rows of all shapes, varieties, colours and sizes. We were pretty enamoured with these ones.
Right at the back of the field is the rainbow corn. There was still some left and it was really cool to search through looking for unusual colours. Once you have finished you can take your haul to the marquee to have the pumpkins weighed and priced up. Anything from 50 pence upwards. The corn was 50p a piece. They accept card payment as long as you have spent £5 minimum.
There is also a shop selling drinks, sweets and Halloween goodies and a burger van.
Riverside Farmers is a family farming business located between the River Thames and the River Medway in Kent. It was established in 2010 by Mark and Verity Batchelor. Every October the farm opens to the public for the pumpkin picking event.
A donation is made to Crohn’s and Colitis UK & Crohn’s in Childhood Research Association. In 2016 they donated over £4000 through direct donations & a donation by Riverside Farmers.
The field is open again today and tomorrow (October 26th) there were still plenty of pumpkins to pick when we went.