Stephney Farm Pumpkin Patch
In the heart of the west Cumbrian countryside, on the outskirts of the village of Calder Bridge near Seascale, you will find Stephney Farm, a family run farm who for the third year running will be opening up their diversification project, a pumpkin picking experience like no other.
Previous years have been a massive hit with customers from near and far and this year is anticipated to be bigger and better than ever with pumpkins galore, Halloween themed crafting, inflatable bouncy castles and rides and the opportunity to meet the animals on the farm.
The event will be supported by a coffee and snack barn, outdoor food vendors and this year the family are excited to announce live entertainment at each and every session with three different local collaborations included with your ticket from Flip Entertainment, Stu-Di-Do and Pet Encounters meet and greet.
We caught up with Kate who alongside her partner Ian, and the rest of the family, are preparing to open their pumpkin patch, to talk about how online connectivity is supporting
their event, and much more behind the scenes.
Kate said, “I love autumn and all that this season has to offer, and at Stephney Farm we wanted to celebrate this and give people the opportunity to come along to our farm, experience our pumpkin patch, and see what we as a family do here”.
Kate went on “focus at Stephney farm has always been on beef and sheep and British farming will always be central to what we do here. Our diversification events with the pumpkin patch, sunflower field and Easter attraction provide something a bit extra and very much support the ‘Back British Farming’ moto”.
“Being able to get online is so important to many aspects of our business and day to day life here at Stephney Farm. We live in an age where it is essential to our businesses, our education, and our home life to be able to access a decent online connection”.
“Our farm relies on the use of online connectivity for many administrative tasks from the reporting via the British Cattle Movement System to completing online tax returns and using Bacs to manage our finances.”
“In addition to this, the events we run here rely heavily on the use of social media for publicity and we use the tyg tickets cloud based online system for the management of ticket sales”.
“We have a healthy following on social media and the minute we announce our events, we do see an influx of engagement followed by ticket bookings. Social media is such an important tool for us here and I truly believe it is pivotal, alongside word of mouth, in the success of our events. It allows us to communicate with our customers, provide real time information about our events, and encourages feedback from those who visit us. It is true what they say, positive feedback really does go a long way. We also love to be tagged in customers’ photographs and posts and seeing how much pleasure they get from their time with us”.
“The service which Tyg Tickets provides with their secure and automated booking system includes real-time reporting so we can see numbers attending at the touch of a button, and also helps logistically when customers arrive at our events with their contactless entry and offline gate management making for smoother event operations on the day. Whereas we do have decent outdoor mobile connectivity in our area, it can at times, especially when we are busy, be subject to dips in performance”.
Kate went on “alongside working on the farm, I also teach at Whitehaven Academy. In my role as a secondary school teacher, I am extremely aware of the importance of access to online services for the next generation. It opens so many doors from an educational perspective and I really think it is a must in enabling students to reach their full potential. Living where we do, I am acutely aware of how lucky we are to have the online connection
that we do, and we are really looking forward to planned improvements in our area via the UK Government Project Gigabit programme which we feel will futureproof our online connection for years to come. The investment in gigabit connectivity is really important for our county and hopefully it will leave us in a great position when it comes to what we are able to access and do online for years to come”.
So, if you are looking for an autumnal activity for the month of October, look no further than Stephney Farm who open their pumpkin field gates weekends throughout the month of October and on Monday 27 October. You can find out more about them via their Facebook page and book your slot here. Following sell out weekends and in excess of 6,000 visitors in previous years, we would urge those wishing to attend to book early to avoid disappointment.
Kate would encourage other rural businesses to check the online connectivity options available to them “the benefits of online connectivity to rural business are significant. It has allowed us to market our business, operate in more efficient ways, access digital tools to support what we do and enabled our business to grow. It is definitely worth reaching out to find out what is available to you”.
To find out more about the connectivity options in your area, contact info@connectingcumbria.org.uk