Pumpkin Festival at Cantref Adventure Farm

Every child who comes to the Pumpkin Festival chooses their own pumpkin straight from the patch, and it is included in the ticket rather than added at the till. That single detail shapes the visit: picking is the start of the day at this Brecon Beacons farm, not the whole of it. Extra pumpkins and gourds are on sale if one is not enough.

Carving is part of the offer, with expert guidance on hand for anyone whose triangle eyes have gone wrong in previous years. Around it runs a set of Halloween carnival games, hoop toss, ball toss, splat the rat, a nerf shootout and touchy feely boxes, plus pumpkin launching and marshmallow roasting with s'mores.

There is more scattered across the farm: a spooky swamp boat ride, a magical school wizardry experience and Mr Ev's Halloween show. With that much on, most families give it the best part of a day rather than an hour.

The festival is dog friendly, so the dog can come along too, which is unusual enough among pumpkin events to be worth planning around. Tickets are booked through the farm's own booking site.

Separately, Cantref runs Pumpkin Nights on five October evenings, a smaller and cheaper affair with live music and pizzas, where the pumpkins are sold separately and every ticket has to be pre booked. The farm also has a riding centre and holiday accommodation, so a visit can be stretched into a stay if the drive is a long one.