Red Shepherdess hosting pumpkin patch in Langwathby

Hannah Jackson, who is better known as the Red Shepherdess, is welcoming the public to Red’s Pumpkin Patch this month, which is based on Culgaith road, next to where our Cumbria team operate.

This is the second year Hannah has hosted a pumpkin patch, but this time she has decided to support GNAAS during the event by having a collection bucket for our charity, as well as raising money from facepainting and Halloween tattoos.

She said: “With the location of our patch being opposite the base it made sense to support GNAAS. My sister is an A&E doctor at Carlisle, so she has been on the receiving end of the team coming in with a patient, and we’ve actually seen the helicopter in action.

“It’s a vital service in our rural community, and it’s insane the amount of experience and medical knowledge they have, so we’re trying to provide a little bit of support for them.”

Hundreds of people have travelled to the event, coming from as far away as Leeds and Scotland, and it looks like it’s going to be extremely busy this half term.

Hannah said: “We never expected it to be this busy, but we’ve grown thousands of pumpkins that are just waiting to be picked. I think we’ve grown three times the amount we had last year.

“The main aim of the patch is to reconnect people with farming and where their food comes from. We want to encourage families to go outside and get their hands dirty and have fun.”

In addition to picking pumpkins, there are also numerous photo opportunities, Red merchandise and books on sale, and drinks and snacks available on site.

The event is open every day 10am-3pm and entry, as well as parking, is free.

The cost of pumpkins starts at £2 and then goes up £1 per kilo (anything over 10kg will be £10) and it is cash only.

Hannah said: “The support has been amazing, and it is very humbling to see so many people visiting the patch. Today has already been really busy and we’re expecting this to continue during half term.”