Autumn is definitely my favourite season. The sunny but chillier days, crunchy leaves and of course Halloween. One of the main reasons why though, is because of our yearly pumpkin picking tradition! We have been visiting Pick Your Own Pumpkin Sevington for the last few years now, and this year they invited us to check out a few little extras they have to offer.

Pick Your Own Pumpkin is a family run farm in Ashford, Kent, and is easily accessible from the M20. The patch is completely free to visit, and they have plenty of wheelbarrows available to collect your pumpkins in - or whizz your little ones about if you're like us! You just simply collect as many pumpkins as you want, and pay for what you've picked (based on size, prices range from £1 - £5). 

This year there's even more on offer at the patch aside from the thousands of pumpkins. The Fizzy Squirrel have a lovely little trailer at the farm, offering Prosecco, mulled cider, soft drinks and a few nibbles too. Another new treat trailer this year is from Out Of The Box Events, who are serving fresh wood fired pizzas (and chocolate pizzas) too. Both of these trailers are only there at the weekend, but other hot drinks are available from the Naked Espresso van daily though. There are also toilets on site (including a baby change), so there's no need to worry.

We absolutely love our visits to Pick Your Own Pumpkin, and have come home with a whole array of different pumpkins, squashes and even a few cobs of corn that the littles collected from the parking field. Indie and Parker are still talking about our visit, and have even taken the littlest pumpkins in to show their friends at school!

My favourite ones we picked this year are definitely the white/green ones, they are so unique and interesting! They have soo many on offer in the field though, so there's still plenty of time to visit before Halloween. They are open 10am - 4pm on Saturday 20th October through to Sunday 28th October. I'd keep an eye out on their Facebook page for updates though, just in case.

We were invited along to visit and gifted our pumpkins, and treats from The Fizzy Squirrel and Out Of The Box Events. I was not paid for this post, and all opinions are honest and my own.

A Trip to the Pumpkin Patch | Pick Your Own Pumpkins, Ashford 2017

If you scroll through Instagram at the moment, it will most likely be awash with crunchy leaves, conkers and all the orange pumpkins. Not ones to miss out, of course we had to visit a pumpkin patch again this year - especially as we had so much fun last year!

There are a number of patches popping up over the South-East now, however as we had such a good experience at Pick Your Own Pumpkin in Sevington (Ashford) last year, we knew we wanted to head back there. Due to regulations they have switched fields this year, but the experience was exactly the same. Just remember if you're using a Sat-Nav that it will only take you to the house, so just keep an eye out for the orange flags to find the actual pumpkin field!

We arrived around 10.30am and managed to grab a couple of wheelbarrows easily, despite it already being pretty busy. By the time we were leaving an hour later though, there weren't any at all - definitely something to consider if you've visiting over half term.

Before we could even walk a few metres all the littles were busy collecting pumpkins. Big ones, white ones, tiny ones, and lots of unusual squashes too. I think our wheelbarrows were full within about 5 minutes! It was so much fun though, and I'm so pleased we decided to start this little tradition.

With all the pumpkins we could possibly need collected, the littles spent the rest of our visit running around exploring the field. They found wriggly worms, icky squashed pumpkins and even a squash in the shape of a rugby ball! The wheelbarrows were put through their paces too, with literally wheelbarrow races - probably the littles favourite part of the day!

Despite the field being busy, it didn't feel as if we were on top of anyone at any point. There were definitely enough pumpkins for everyone, and we didn't struggle to find the perfect ones for us. The prices at Pick Your Own Pumpkins are also really reasonable, with tiny ones starting at £1 and huuuuge ones costing only £4 each.

Pumpkin Picking at Pick Your Own Pumpkins, Ashford

Like many others this weekend we wrapped up warm, and headed to our local pick your own pumpkin patch! From a quick bit of research I found two in the Kent area - one in Maidstone which has only just opened, and then one in Sevington, near Ashford. We opted for the Ashford farm after being recommend it by Harriet, and it really didn't disappoint!

Easily located (it's just off the M20 and well signposted), we parked up and got ready for our pumpkin picking adventure. This was our first year, as honestly I never even realised these kind of places existed in the UK!

Luckily it was dry so wellies weren't really a necessity, but I would definitely recommend them regardless - also brings gloves, as some tops of the pumpkins were a little on the prickly side.

From the second we arrived the kids were in their element. A HUGE field to explore, absolutely filled to the brim with bright orange pumpkins. Wheelbarrows were provided to help you with collecting (although these can get used up pretty quickly if it's busy).

Round ones, flat ones, white ones, bobbly ones - I don't think I've ever seen so many different pumpkins before. Much more exciting than the ones you can buy at the shops!

After 5 minutes we had collected nearly a full wheelbarrow load already. The kids were collecting every pumpkin they could manage - even Parker knew what to do! - and were just throwing them in.

Despite the car park being quite full, the field really didn't feel busy at all. With so many hidden gems to find as well, it's definitely worth exploring as far as you can! We eventually managed to reduce our wheelbarrow to just the pumpkins we wanted to actually buy - a very hard task with kids coming from all angles secretly throwing them in!

Even with all the extras you don't really need to worry about spending a lot of money though. Prices start at £1 (or as low as 50p for the extra little ones), and only go up to £4 for even the biggest 'Monsters'. We picked up two decent sized pumpkins for carving, and 3 little ones for a grand total of £7.50 - such a bargain!

If you're planning on visiting I'd definitely make it soon, as I can imagine it's only going to get busier! Entry and the car park are free, you just pay for what you pick. They also have reasonably priced hot drinks, a tombola and glitter tattoos on offer too. Just make sure you check out the Facebook Page for up to date information!