If you’re embracing the Autumn season this year, sticking an artfully carved pumpkin outside your student residence is a must. Rather than purchasing the freaky fruit from the supermarket (yes, pumpkins are fruit), why not pick one directly from the patch? This year my friends and I embraced this festive activity at Pennywell Farm which turned into a great day out.
The farm is located outside Exeter in Buckfastleigh. If you or a housemate have a car, it’s a 40-minute drive; if not, you can take a 30-minute train to Totnes, grabbing a taxi the rest of the way. Given the journey time and expenses, I recommend going with a group of people to keep the costs low and the spirits high.
Pennywell farm is perfect as a day out as they have a variety of activities on offer alongside pumpkin picking. We had the opportunity to feed several animals, walk around their maze, and even watch a pig race! They have plenty of food and refreshment outlets on the site, though after cheering on ‘Hamela Anderson’ and ‘Albert Swinestein’, I no longer fancied a sausage roll for lunch.
We had the opportunity to feed several animals, walk around their maze, and even watch a pig race!
To say the farm has a pumpkin ‘patch’ is a bit of a stretch, as its more of a field in which pumpkins have been placed sporadically, but you can still say you’ve picked your own. They had pumpkins of all shapes, sizes, and varieties and we had fun choosing which we’d take home. Though there were a few students, it was mostly families we saw when we went, which added to the wholesome feel of the day.
We ended up spending several hours at Pennywell as we took advantage of everything on offer, letting the time fly by. I really recommend going pumpkin picking with your housemates and friends this Autumn. Even if you’re not big on Halloween, its still a fantastic chance to get outdoors — especially if you’ve spent the week studying at the library!
