Life as a SEN mum

Pumpkin Woods is something I’ve looked at the last couple of years, but for some reason never been. This year I decided to make a change to that and booked for early in the season. I always try to start the pumpkin picking early as the best pumpkins are obviously picked early and it gives time to properly plan our designs etc.

Price

If you can go during the week, outside of half term then I would recommend this. At weekends and half term it will cost £3 a person, on week days, however, you’ll get free entry. As much as the walk itself is nice, it’s a short walk, it’s easy to rack up extra costs, and I definitely wouldn’t say it’s worth the £3, particularly given that they often offer free trails throughout the rest of the year.

Things to do

There are plenty of photo opportunities around Pumpkin Woods, so if you’re looking for somewhere to with plenty of “insta worthy” spots, then this will definitely fit the bill. Kids can also get a free trail sheet to spot different Halloween characters around the woods. There isn’t any “prize” at the end of the trail, but it is a nice little touch for younger kids. If you’re happy to pay extra then you’ll find marshmallow toasting, bouncy castles, trampolines and they also offer bear making. Overall I’d definitely say that it is much more geared toward younger children. We didn’t take Charlotte, and as much as James enjoyed having his picture taking, and I think generally enjoyed a bit of time by himself, it definitely wasn’t the most exciting of days for him. He’d probably have been happier walking through a field picking pumpkins.

The Pumpkins

In my honest opinion, the choice of pumpkins wasn’t fantastic. All pumpkins are £3.50, but the vast majority of them are no larger than you can find in a supermarket. There was a decent number of pumpkins, however, given that we went on the second weekend I wouldn’t expect many to be left. I also noticed that many looked like they’d been through the wars a bit. Every time we thought we had found a decent pumpkin we noticed it had a big chunk missing, not from sitting on wet ground or insect/animal bites (which is always something to check for) but big cuts as if they’d been dropped or knocked in some way. Definitely not ones that would last until the end of the month. We did manage to find 2 pumpkins, but I can see why I’d seen so many people walking out without any pumpkins.

Overview

I wouldn’t say to people not to visit, but I generally would think about whether it really is appropriate for your family. For a family trail with young kids, definitely give it a visit, all be it, try to aim for a free session if you absolutely can. That being said, I probably won’t be booking again for future years. Although I do love the trails Garden King offers, and will still be keeping an eye out for all their seasonal events in the future.