Foire à la Châtaigne in Laguépie

Pumpkins, sweet chestnuts, outdoor games and oysters...just some of the reasons why the sweet chestnut festival in Laguépie has become a firm fixture in our calendar. (Here are posts from our first and second visits. I love seeing how much the boys have grown!) The festival is truely a marker that Autumn is here and it's time to embrace the season. This year we picked our pumpkins for Halloween and a few extra mini ones, because they're cute and we just can't help it. The market was packed as the festival always seems to draw in the crowds. The fact that it was a gloriously warm Autumn day and the school holidays I'm sure helped.

We made a tour of the market, making mental notes of what we would stop and buy on the way home, before heading to the outdoor games section. The boys love this bit. We all tried our hands at some of the different games and Andrew and Reuben stopped to play a game of draughts. We arrived at lunchtime so the supervisors weren't around for the assault course, but the boys were happy throwing, hooking, balancing and shooting their way around the other games.

Despite the market celebrating sweet chestnuts, this year we didn't come away with any. The first year we bought some we spent hours peeling them and then left them for too long and had to throw them away. The second year I bought some sweet chestnut flour and failed to find a recipe that inspired me so I think it ended up being given to a friend. So this year we bought walnuts instead. Reuben found himself a large semi-precious stone from a man who finds them locally. We found some lovely honey to give to friends we were seeing that evening who were celebrating their wedding anniversary, and we couldn't help but pick up some oysters for an afternoon treat.

We've had such lovely weather throughout October but I think it's now on the turn and I'm looking forward to cosying up by the fire and planning Christmas. The Christmas markets start next month and I've even got a table at one selling some of my handmade goods. The boys are now back at school but are already excited about the next school holiday which to be honest is not really that far away!

What seasonal produce are you celebrating at this time of year?