Worksop: Clumber Park visitors celebrate lead up to Halloween with fascinating pumpkin trail

Half term pumpkin trail at Clumber Parks Walled Kitchen Garden, pictured are James Henderson, four and Ben Henderson, seven

Every year the gardens team at Clumber grows pumpkins, squashes and gourds for the café, pumpkin display and trail in the Walled Kitchen Garden, which this year has a folklore and Halloween traditions theme.

Head gardener Christopher Margrave said: “We usually harvest the pumpkins in early October before the frosts can damage them and put them on display in the glasshouse.

“Stars this October are the bottle gourds, the ‘Turk’s Turban’, ‘Claws’, which looks like a baby octopus, and ‘Sicilian Serpent’, which has the appearance of a green snake.

“So far we haven’t had a frost, so dahlias, asters and sedums in the garden are still looking good alongside the hardy winter savoys, leeks and kales.

“Under glass, pelargoniums and chrysanthemums are flowering and in addition to all the pumpkins, we’ve also got over 40 apple varieties on display from our apple collection.”

The pumpkin trail runs until this Sunday, November 1. For further information on the events call 01909 544 917, email [email protected] or visit website www.nationaltrust.org.uk/clumber-park