Family Fright Fest at Lintz Hall Farm

This is the daytime, child-facing side of Lintz Hall Farm, the County Durham farm otherwise known for the adults-only Psycho Path scare attraction. The organisers say the scares and shows here are family orientated and appropriate for children aged between one and twelve, which sets the tone for the whole day.

Pumpkin picking is part of the ticket rather than an extra. Each child heads into the field and picks one pumpkin to take home. Around that sit walkthrough mazes, including the iScream maze and the Pirate Ship maze, a Fun and Games Barn, face painting, wizard school, clown school and Halloween street theatre with interactive characters working the site.

Stage shows run through the day, with a SuperHero spectacular and a Frozen-themed Halloween panto, and there is a Lego coding and robotics experience on site as well. Fancy dress is encouraged rather than required, and there are prizes for it every day. The afternoon builds to a large parade at 3.45pm, so it is worth staying to the end rather than drifting off mid-afternoon.

A street food village covers lunch, with Greek food, churros, fish and chips, fried chicken, burgers and pizza. Budget for extras if your children spot the fairground, because the waltzer, disco twist, dodgems, Miami, cups, toy set, chairs, bungee trampolines and inflatable slide all cost more on top of the ticket, as does the professional photography station. The one thing to sort before you leave the house is the route, because the postcode alone will not bring you to the site.