Farmer Scott's Outdoor Pumpkin Patch, Brentwood

Farmer Scott's is a working Essex farm at Coxtie Green Road near Brentwood that turns 35 acres over to pumpkins each October. The farm's own pitch is that it is one of the closest pumpkin patches to east London, and the geography backs it up: Brentwood is about 30 minutes from Stratford on the Elizabeth line, then a short taxi to the gate.

The practical difference here is that it is not just a field. Your ticket covers the outdoor patch, the indoor Pumpkin Barn with its own mini patch, the spooky maize maze and the dahlia field. The barn matters in Essex in late October, because it gives you somewhere dry when the weather turns and the outdoor patch gets heavy underfoot.

Pricing splits into off peak and peak. The first two weekends, 3 and 4 and 10 and 11 October, are £4.95 per person online or £5.95 on the door. From 17 October onwards, including the 24 and 25 October weekend and the 26 to 31 October half term week, it goes to £6.95 online. Booking online saves a pound a head, and under 2s are free. Opening is 10am to 5pm with last entry at 3.30pm, which is earlier than people expect and catches out anyone planning a late afternoon visit.

Extras are charged separately and are the reason a visit can run longer than an hour: a new apple cannon, a shock chair, a trucker hat bar and hair braiding, alongside food and drink and photo stations through the patch.

Dogs are welcome, parking is free, and the farm has baby changing. Not all of the site is pushchair friendly and it is not wheelchair accessible.