Location: Essington Farm, Bognop Road, Wolverhampton, WV11 2AZ
Opening Times: Open every day 10am – 4pm but the special PYO pumpkin sessions (including tractor and main pumpkin field) are on Sat 13th, Sun 14th, Sat 20th, Sun 21st and then every day until Wed 31st October 2018.
Prices: Pumpkins vary in prices from £2 upwards (see picture below). The ride on tractors are free as is the tractor ride to the field (donations are very welcome for the tractor ride, proceeds go to Breast Cancer Action Support Group, Wolverhampton).
Our Trip to Essington Farm:
Yesterday I decided to take the girls to our local PYO Pumpkin field (14 minutes drive from M6 J7 which is near to where we live).
We headed off in the afternoon and were happy to find it nice and quiet when we arrived. First stop was the poly-tunnel with toy ride on tractors for children.
The girls had a great time on these and there were plenty available to play on. In the same poly-tunnel was lots of seating for tired adults who might want a rest after picking pumpkins.
In the next poly-tunnel was a selection of Halloween props and a photo booth style section. The girls absolutely loved this and dressed up as witches.
The poly-tunnel also had lots of pre-picked pumpkins of various sizes, so if you didn’t want to pick one yourself from the field, you could choose one from here.
As you leave this poly-tunnel and enter the pumpkin field there were a number of wheelbarrows to choose from to pick your pumpkins from the closest pumpkin field. As we went midweek, the main field which the tractor takes you to, wasn’t open. But for us that was easier as I was on my own and staying closer to the main entrance was preferable. That said, the field closest to the entrance was in fact still huge and we spent a good hour running around the field checking out pumpkins that looked like they had eaten a human, they were HUGE!
The girls loved finding small pumpkins though and that became the game. Who can find the smallest pumpkin?
Jemima found a nice little one. Have you ever seen a smugger face? Ha!
Do’s and Don’ts of Pumpkin Picking:
If you are going to be heading here, we have (along with Essington Farm) some top tips (or Do’s and Don’ts)
- Wear suitable clothing. This includes footwear (you are on a field) and please make sure you wear some gloves. The pumpkins are prickly when you pick them
- Bring something to carry your pumpkin home in. My best recommendation is one of the large Aldi reusable bags.
- The best pumpkins are the furthest away, make sure you explore the fields
- Take a wheelbarrow but please do bring it back and do not leave it in the field if you decide you do not want to use it any more
- Have Fun!
- Only carve your pumpkin just before you want to use it. A carved pumpkin lasts 4-5 days.
- If you are not carving your pumpkin for a bit, then leave the stalk on and place it in a cool dark place (this would help it to last until November).
Special Dates:
There is a Pumpkin Carver on 13th, 14th, 21st and 28th October carving the most amazing pumpkins. Perfect for giving you some inspiration on what to do with your own picked pumpkin.
This weekend (13th and 14th) there will be a Face Painter available to paint on some scary halloween pictures. Or maybe you’d like to be a pumpkin? If you go along, please do upload some pictures onto instagram, facebook or twitter and tag us at @smallhousebigtrips (insta), @smallhousebigtrips1 (facebook) and @mummytrips on twitter.
Something to Eat:
There’s a lovely shop and restaurant here with locally produced products. I never seem to be able to leave here without buying two bags of produce. The prices in the shop and restaurant are not cheap, but you are paying for quality, locally produced products that are incredibly yummy, so it is worth the extra pennies.
Essington Farm is very child friendly with good toilet facilities for little ones. I wouldn’t recommend bringing a pushchair, unless yours is good for farm terrains, but what child wants to stay in a pushchair when they have a whole field of pumpkins to run around?
Last year we said we would make this a yearly tradition after we visited (see our last review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_f1GVg-zy/?taken-by=smallhousebigtrips) and we have indeed after coming back yesterday. Same again next year for us. We hope you go along and have a great time this year.
Any questions, feel free to ask.