Guest Review by Local Mumbler, Vicky
Getting a wheelbarrow at Spilmans
York Mumbler Vicky recently went to Spilmans Pumpkin Festival near Thirsk with her friend and four children. Find out what they thought about their day out in her review.
Spilmans Farm is about a 20-minute drive from York, a couple of miles off the A19. It’s a family-run, working farm. The parking is on-site and spacious but in a rather muddy field due to the rainy weather we’ve had recently… be sure to take your wellies!
On arrival, we were greeted by a variety of witches and ghouls! We grabbed a wheelbarrow and headed to the pumpkin farm. The pumpkin field is huge with a large selection of pumpkins to choose from (including some white pumpkins which are called ghost pumpkins – who knew!). There are plenty of wheelbarrows to carry your pumpkin selection to the pumpkin shop.
How much does it cost & what else is there to do?
Entry to the farm is free, and on festival days includes a free tractor ride around the farm. You pay for your pumpkins after picking by wheeling them to the shop.
Watch out as the pumpkin pricing structure isn’t clear until you have picked your pumpkins… the bigger the pumpkin, the higher the price but it ranges from £1-£10 so there is something to suit all budgets, (I might have steered my boys away from the biggest they could find if I had realised!).
In the pumpkin field, there is also a straw bale mountain, a corn maze (£3 per child) and a corn cannon.
Busy carving at Spilmans
After paying for the pumpkin you’ve chosen, you head to an outdoor area to wash them off (again wellies and mud proof clothes needed if the rainy October continues!) then head into the carving barn.
In the carving barn
The carving barn has to be booked in advance. It costs £5 per child and there are two carving sessions per day. There are long tables set up for you to carve your pumpkin with the help of some on hand experts and a variety of tools and stencils. The best bit is you get to leave all of your mess behind!
Within the carving barn there is other entertainment on hand. There are singing pumpkins, a spooky walk through some decorated farm buildings and a less spooky walk for little ones and a spooky cinema.
Useful tips and information from Mumbler Vicky
To sum up Vicky thought…
Spilman’s offers a unique day out as long as you don’t mind a bit of mud. If offers the chance to carve the pumpkin you have picked from the field where they were grown. Plus some expert carving assistance, great carving kits and no mess at home!
Useful links
Pick Your Own Pumpkins are available every day in October (open 10am to 4pm). Halloween Festival Dates are weekends at October Half Term (23rd – 31st)
There is more information about Spilmans Pumpkin Festival here.
For more Mumbler reviews of the attractions in and around York visit the Mumbler Review section here.
