Pumpkin Picking at Sompting (West Sussex, UK) in 2023
Whether it's finding a pumpkin for your Fairy Godmother to turn into a carriage.
Or finding pumpkins so that you can carve scary faces on them in hopes of warding off the ghouls and ghosts that haunt Halloween night.
Everyone needs a pumpkin during the Halloween season.
Popping to your local shop is quick and efficient, but lacks the seasonal experience.
However, if you want to truly indulge in the cosy autumn aesthetic and add a sprinkle of magic to your October, then you HAVE to go pumpkin picking at your nearest local pumpkin patch (at least once, just to try it).
Not only does it help support local farmers in your area, but you get to share fun & cute autumn memories with your significant other/friends/family.
(While also getting to take some very cute autumn pics together.) 🎃📸✨
This year was my first time pumpkin picking at Sompting Pumpkins (at Lychpole Farm) in West Sussex.
And it was definitely a gourd-geous day out! 🎃 Continue reading for some pumpkin picking tips, and what I really thought of the pumpkin picking experience at Sompting Pumpkins.
About Sompting Pumpkins
Based in West Sussex, Sompting Pumpkins is an annual event hosted at the family-run Lychpole Farm, just off the A27.
This year over 70,000+ pumpkins and gourds in 20 varieties were planted.
With a sustainable approach in mind, Sompting Pumpkins make an active effort to provide recipes for cooking pumpkins (as a frightful amount of pumpkins end up in a landfill).
They either donate unsold pumpkins to local soup kitchens, or repurpose the pumpkins on their farm for things such as animal feed or keeping the soil fertile.
Parking and entry is free, and once you've been guided into a parking spot, you can collect one of the wheelbarrows lined up along the fence to begin your quest of finding the perfect pumpkin(s)!
If you've never been pumpkin picking (or strawberry picking, or sunflower picking, etc.) it's referred to as Pick Your Own (PYO).
So once you've got your wheelbarrow, it's up to you to go out into the orange polka dot field and search for the pumpkins you want, fill it up, and then go back to the entrance to pay.
The pumpkins are readily harvested, so no need to cut them from their vines.
Also bare in mind that the pricing is based on pumpkin size, below are the 2023 pumpkin prices:
I ended up getting x3 different sized pumpkins as seen below which ended up costing £18 in total.
With a number of food & coffee trucks, as well as a spooky craft tent, and tractor rides every 20 (ish) minutes, you can definitely make this a fun day out to enjoy.
Top Tips for Pumpkin Picking
- Check the weather ☔️
You might get lucky and have beautiful blue skies. But, with it being Halloween season, the weather can always play a trick on you! Be prepared for the weather to turn by bringing a pair of wellies, a rain mac or a fleece/cardigan for any cold winds.
- Inspect your pumpkin 🎃
When choosing your pumpkin, make sure to inspect it all over. Check the bottom and sides for soft spots or cuts that show early signs of rotting, as these ones definitely won't last until Halloween.
- Bring sturdy bags 🛍️
Most pumpkin patches (but not all) will provide wheelbarrows for you to wheel around the pumpkin fields and collect your chosen pumpkins. But once you've paid and are ready to leave, you'll need a way to get the pumpkin(s) back home with you. If it's a particularly muddy day, having some strong sturdy bags to put your pumpkins in will seem like a strike of genius.
- How to use your pumpkin 👩🏽🍳
Whether you're looking for a pumpkin to carve a scary face on, or to cook up a tasty autumnal dish with, there's a whole variety of different types of pumpkin to choose from based on your needs. As you enter the pumpkin patch, keep an eye out for any educational signs which will help guide you to find the right pumpkin or gourd that will be perfect for your needs.
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Currently residing in West Sussex, Maddie is a 26 y/o blogger and illustrator with a passion for mythology, legends, fairytales & folklore. You'll regularly find her escaping into fantasy books, films, TV, and games.