The owner of a much-loved pumpkin patch in Aberdeenshire has said she is “overwhelmed” by the support she has received since announcing it will close.
Jenny Fyall has welcomed thousands of visitors to Udny Pumpkins since she first opened the site in 2018, with many making the trip an annual tradition.
Although the pumpkin patch is only open to the public for two weeks in October each year, the work behind the scenes ahead of harvest is constant.
For Jenny, Udny Pumkins has been “more than a job” and instead something she has nurtured and brought to life.
“It is fair to say that when I planted that first pumpkin in 2018 and painted an Udny Pumpkins sign on a bit of old board I found in the garage, I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” she shared on social media.
“We needed a new sofa and I thought if I planted a few hundred pumpkins I might make a bit of money to help with the family’s finances.
“When we were inundated with visitors that first year I was astonished.
“It quickly became clear there was a huge demand for this sort of experience.”
Within a few years, the harvest had grown into a major event, with Udny Pumpkins attracting about 5,000 people annually.
“This was hugely exciting and I am so grateful to you all,” Jenny said.
“However, of course, running something of this scale has also brought with it considerable pressure for myself and my family.”
Udny Pumpkins closing
This week, Jenny announced she has decided to close Udny Pumpkins, following a series of challenges.
She shared: “If the pumpkin patch only involved the two weeks in October when we open to the public, I would not even have considered taking this step.
“When the sun is shining and children are leaping on hay bales and the pumpkin patch is full of visitors with their colourful wheelbarrows it is the best sight and I am so grateful to you all for making it the thriving event it has become.
“However, the pumpkin patch involves far more than those two weeks and the truth is that physically it has become too much for me.
“As we are a very small farm we don’t have the machinery of a bigger site.
“Almost all the digging, laying of weed cover, planting, harvesting and other manual work is done by hand.
“Over the years this has taken its toll on my back and during 2024 this took a more serious turn.
“By the end of October I was struggling to walk due to a back injury from too much heavy lifting and I was in considerable pain for more than three months.
“It is only in the past few weeks that this has improved and I can now move around again pain free.”
Messages of support
Since sharing the news, Jenny has been “overwhelmed” by messages of support from regular visitors.
Many people had made an October outing to Udny Pumkins an annual tradition over the past eight years, which Jenny said she was incredibly grateful for.
She told The Press and Journal: “I have been quite overwhelmed by the reaction to the announcement on Facebook and Instagram.
“It just reinforces what I already knew – that the people who visited the pumpkin patch were the best. So kind and supportive.
“I have been really touched by all the messages.”
Conversation