Pumpkin Picking at Akenham Hall

Donkey rides and alpaca leading are not standard pumpkin patch fare, and here they sit alongside the picking at a family-run arable farm just north of Ipswich. The pumpkins are picked from the field, with over twenty-five varieties grown, so there is plenty to walk past before anyone settles on one.

Entry is free and no booking is required, which is unusual enough in October to be worth saying plainly. You turn up on an open day, park for nothing and pick. That makes this an easy hour out rather than an expedition that has to justify a ticket price, and an easy one to repeat if the first pumpkin gets carved too early.

Around the field there is a bouncy castle for children, a coffee corner for the adults and sweet treats to buy. Fresh fruit and veg are sold alongside the pumpkins, and a shop stocks autumn decorations and gifts if you want the mantelpiece sorted while you are there.

There is a toilet on site and both cash and card are taken. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome, with the farm asking visitors to stick to the paths. The same farm comes back later in the season with Christmas trees, handmade wreaths and decorations, so a good October visit here tends to turn into a December one.