Pick of the best

Have you ever wondered why we carve pumpkins on Halloween? And what is the significance of it? Here’s where to get your pick of the best pumpkins this season.

It’s a centuries-old Celtic tradition which originally started with carving turnips. With its roots (pardon the pun) in England and Ireland, the Celts celebrated a pagan, religious day called Samhain, (a Gaelic word pronounced ’Sah-win’). It marked the end of summer and a time that the deceased passed through our world, on the way to their final resting place. Nowadays it’s more commonly known as All Hallows Eve or Halloween.  

From the 31st of October till the morning of the 1st of November, the souls of those deceased wander the Earth in search of heaven or hell. The tradition was to carve scary faces into seasonal root vegetables, such as turnips, beets or potatoes, place a burning lump of coal inside it and place them on windowsills and doors, in order to ward off evil spirits.  

In the 1800s when travellers from the UK and Ireland sailed across the Atlantic to America, they took this pagan tradition with them. However, in the new-found-land they found a new vegetable growing in abundance, which was much more conducive to carving a face on it. Due to its larger size, as well as being easier to carve and scoop the insides out, it caught on. It was the humble pumpkin and to this day it has remained an iconic symbol of Halloween.  

Fast forward to modern day and the tradition is even more popular than ever. Which is why many pumpkin picking farms, pumpkin patches and pumpkin festivals have popped up across the UK.  

My favourite Pumpkin Festival is held in Surrey, just outside of London, at Crockford Bridge Farm. It hosts a rather epic pumpkin extravaganza over the last two weeks of October, it’s Pumpkin-tastic! 

By mid-October the pumpkins in the fields have been harvested, picked, and displayed in an array of spook-tacular installations, interactive scary sculptures and devilishly delectable Instagram back drops. It’s fun for all the family and instagrammers alike, but wannabe grammers be warned, it’s phone camera photos only. Those with professional cameras and equipment need to pay an extra shooting fee.  

There’s lots going on, from purchasing your perfect pumpkin at the pumpkin marketplace, to entertainment from fire dancers, stilt walkers and an aerialist. Fancy dress competitions for the best Halloween outfits, pumpkin carving classes and knife free decorating for the little ones. There’s a scavenger hunt, plus myriad installations! It’s a proper pumpkin extravaganza! It’s all outdoors so make sure you’re wrapped up warm and wear a suitably autumnal/orange outfit for the photo opportunities.  

If you get peckish, head to the ice cream parlour, the tea shack for hot chocolate and pumpkin spiced latte and there’s a pop-up street food area on site too. 

Crockford Bridge Farm is just over an hour from central London. It’s easy to drive to with plenty of car parking space. Booking is essential though, as the tickets sell out and you can’t pay on the door. Also, there’s a no dogs policy. 

It’s a magical experience for the whole family and I wholeheartedly recommend it, having visited every year to pick my perfect pumpkin for Halloween. 

For more info here’s the link to Crockford Bridge Farm.  

Happy Halloween guys. Hope you have a ghoulishly gourd time xx 

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