Last week I found myself frantically Google-searching ‘pumpkin farms near Dundee’ after finding that the farm we usually head to for fruit picking was fully booked during the entire October holidays. I clicked through a couple of links and found a recommendation for Charleton Fruit Farm – it was a relief to discover they weren’t asking people to book ahead of time, so we made plans to visit on Monday rather than at the weekend.
It turned out to be a great day. The sun was shining and there was a huge play park for the kids, which they spent hours in – there were trampolines, an enormous fortress in which they could climb up walls and rope nets and slide down the chutes, there were double-story playhouses, a zipwire, a tunnel maze, a sandpit, a tractor tyre swing, and even a mountain of hay bales for the kids to scramble over. In addition, there were giant skittles, noughts and crosses tables, an ice cream hatch… and, thankfully, a coffee shop for caffeine-deprived adults, where we got a lovely lunch for the whole family.
What’s more, the farm clearly understands the power of user-generated social media marketing – there were plenty of photo opportunities thanks to the autumnal set-ups they had dotted around the property, along with the pumpkin patch itself. It was the perfect day, pictures or not.