Dear Mummy, we spent the weekend preparing for Halloween. From creepy painting to cake baking we had a fabulous time inside the house while the weather was frightful. However Sunday was a beautiful day so we ventured outside to Manydown Farm in Basingstoke.
Manydown Farm Pick a Pumpkin Event
When: 22nd October to 1st November, 10am-4.30pm
Where: Manydown Family Fun, Scrapps Hill Farm, Worting Road, Basingstoke, RG23 8PU
We went last year to carve pumpkins and this year the staff have changed things around and increased the size of the event. I was really excited when I heard I was going, you see they have witches in their woods and I was determined to find one and cast a spell.
We showed my mummy’s phone to the staff at the till when we arrived, see my mummy had ordered online so she could use a discount code she got from MITKBasingstoke 🙂 great thinking mummy, we made a further saving of £3.75 off our entrance fees.
Maydown Farm standard online prices:
• Adult Single Entry Ticket – £9.00
• Child Single Entry Ticket – £8.50
• Under 2’s Single Entry Ticket – Free
• Family of 3 Entry Ticket £26.00 £25.00
• Family of 4 Entry Ticket £32.50 £31.50
It’s a real shame that I’m over 2 years old now as I have to pay the full price of £8.50, even though I can’t go on the larger activities like the go carts and bouncy slide. During this event however, every child’s entry ticket gets a free pumpkin to carve and take home which was awesome!
We headed to get our pumpkin first as we wanted first dibs, slightly disappointed with the pumpkins this year though as a lot of them were rotten. But we managed to find a good one to carve. We were given a bucket, carving spoons and a small segregated knife to carve it, I watched while my mummy carved, but then got distracted by the kids laughing on the bouncy castle so headed off to explore while my mummy finished creating her masterpiece.
Tah Dah! I was a bit scared when my mummy showed me, so we left it on the side with the others and headed to get some lunch from the Farmers’ Retreat Cafe.
Manydown have expanded this area to allow for more tables and undercover places for families to sit. However the food really needs an overhaul, the hotdogs were too expensive for what they were, the soup was cold and from a tin and the roll hadn’t been cut or served with butter. The cooking staff seemed miserable and unhelpful and the bottles of Coke were all out of date!! You are allowed to bring a picnic though, so next time we will bring our own food.
The sun was shining and it was quite pleasant sitting letting the rays of autumn sunlight warm our faces. I found a twig for my magic wand and some more conkers underneath a Horse Chestnut tree by the goats, which kept me amused while my folks took turns to relax.
One of my little friends from nursery turned up and we played on the trampoline and in the sandpit together while our folks chatted and had warm drinks.
Before we knew it the farm was starting to empty, we were losing the light, so we headed into the spooky woods to find the witches.
There is a small woods onsite and the Manydown team had decorated it perfectly. Ghosts were strung up from trees, skeletons were hung. Giant spider webs were spun. There was den building and pumpkins strewn in the bushes. We stopped a while to listen and wait for the witches but none appeared.
Unfortunately we’d missed the witches Storytelling in the barn too, as the last session was at 3pm which was a shame and we weren’t he only ones disappointed too as lots of children were waiting for a witch to appear, they could have done with a 4pm session as the farm closed at 4.30pm. We headed back to the white entrance marque to collect our pumpkin, and discovered we’d won a pack of Haribo 🙂 which cheered me up.
All in all a good afternoon spent on the farm, not as good as last year for us, but still worth a visit if you have older children or under 2’s so you don’t get stung on that £8.50 charge for a toddler.
love Bella x
dearmummyblog.com 
I wish we had more Halloween events nearby, there’s really not much around for little ones and this looks great! Shame about the pumpkins though, yours looks absolutely awesome, good job! #twinklytuesday
Ah thanks! We had a better trip to Manydown last year as we missed the storytelling but it was still good fun. Hopefully you’ll find a local event! 🙂
We have yet to experience our first pumpkin carving, back in the Philippines we make shapes out of melted candle while here in Dubai a big pumpkin will cost us between 100 Dhs to 200 Dhs (about 30 quid), so staying away from the costly pumpkin for now. #Letkidsbekids
Wow! That’s really expensive for a pumpkin! Any lantern to warn off evil spirits would do… Pagans used to use turnips!
Yes, we’ll probably do with a pumpkin designed lantern
That is a seriously scary looking pumpkin #pointshoot
Wow your pumpkin is brilliant! What a cool grin! It does sound like a lovely place to visit but shame about the out of date coke and rotten pumpkins! Still a cool day out though, kids don’t see that stuff do they it’s just the grown ups who feel a bit miffed! x #twinklytuesday
…trick or treat I suppose! You are right the kids don’t notice a thing 🙂 x
Aww what a great Halloween themed day out! So many activities and fun to be had 🙂 #PointShoot
Helen x
That is a scary looking pumpkin! The spooky woods looks fun, too 🙂
I love your pumpkin. What a fab fun day out.
Thanks for sharing #LetKidsBeKids
This looks such a fun day out! Popping over from #PointShoot
That pumpkin looks awesome. I’m trying to find tips for carving because this year will be my first ever attempt. Halloween isn’t big in Australia but we are celebrating this year as we have a new American family member and don’t want her to get homesick. Looks like a fun day out! #TwinklyTuesday
Fantastic pumpkins and I’m loving the Woodland Walk, I’m hoping to make mine look as good for our fun this Friday with our holiday guests. Ouch to the toddler charge! Our Halloween fun day is all included, lots of work but so worth it. Popping by from Point & Shoot but looking forward to seeing this one on country Kids too, thanks for adding my badge.
No worries we’ll pop over at the end of the week too x 🙂
Haha love this! mummy’s pumpkin is rather artistic than my usual triangle eyes/square mouth but looks like a great place to visit! and perfect for my son who’s 3! #letkidsbekids
Your pumpkin is fab, putting sunglasses on is genius! It’s a shame that the event wasn’t quite up to scratch though and you got stung with a high entrance charge when you couldn’t benefit from many of the activities #letkidsbekids
Sounds like a great day out and the woods looked fab but I wouldn’t have been happy with that fee either! #twinklytuesday
Oh my gosh! How exciting! I love that each child got a free pumpkin to carve. That’s just awesome. #TwinklyTuesday
Fab pumpkin Bella! That packet of Haribo was well deserved. I hope you share some with mummy after ‘tinned soup gate’! I haven’t heard of this event before but it does look like fun #twinklytuesdays
Ahhhh yes ‘soup gate’ 😉 Unfortunately I didn’t share my Haribo!!! x
I love pumpkin carving!!! We went and picked pumpkin yesterday at a local farm. So much fun #whatevertheweather
Your pumpkin is fantastic and well deserved the winning packet of Haribo! A shame about the food, but it looks like you had a fantastic time playing outside with your little friend and then a walk in the woods looking for a witch. I love how they decorated the woods, lot of perfectly spooky things. Strange that you have to pay for 2 year olds, most places I know don’t charge until the child is 3 and are actually using all the equipment! Lot so of lovely photos!
Thanks so much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather. 🙂 x
Aah this looks fabulous! This is the first year we’re celebrating Halloween with the boys — they’re 3 in March — and we’re going to have a party at my sister’s this weekend.Really looking forward to it 🙂 Can’t believe the charge for a tiny tot though — I think that’s extortionate. I don’t think you should pay for children until they’re school age!! Thanks so much for linking up with us on #TwinklyTuesday
How awesome does your pumpkin look and how spooktacular is that woods!xx
We haven’t ever carved a pumpkin yet. We’re going to do some tomorrow which is exciting. I love the pumpkin wearing glasses! And I’m glad you won some Haribo. Ohhh what a shame about the cost, the food and not seeing a witch! That does sound a little bit expensive for a two year old. Hopefully you’ll see the witch next year. I’m glad you still had a little bit of fun.Thank you so much for linking up to #whatevertheweather xx
I was trying to find a pumpkin event locally and never thought about Manydown farm! Sorry it wasn’t as good as last year, but I love your pictures. Thanks for linking up to #PointShoot x