Pumpkin Picking at Blackberry Farm Park

Turn up in fancy dress and the day costs less. Children aged 2 to 16 get half price entry to Spook-tacular Halloween if they arrive in costume, which has to be worn on arrival and is checked at the entrance, so the effort has to be made before you leave the house rather than in the car park.

The pick your own pumpkin patch is the reason most families come, and the farm describes it as suitable for all ages. Pumpkins are charged separately from entry, and if you would rather not take a knife to one at the kitchen table, the farm will carve it for you for a set price that includes the pumpkin.

Entry buys a good deal more than the patch. Tractor rides, Barrel Bug rides, animal handling, the Highland cow, the pig and owl talk and the Dropslide are all included, and during the Halloween run there is a scarecrow tractor ride with scarecrows to spot along the way, plus a Mystery Maze.

A few things are not included. Pony rides, animal feed and mini golf are paid for separately at the gate when you arrive, so it is worth having a card to hand for those.

This is a family run farm park in the East Sussex countryside, open 362 days a year, and the Halloween run covers the whole of October half term. Pre-booking is advised and tickets are sold through the farm's own ticket shop. Children under 2 go free, though a free under 2 ticket is still issued through the booking system, and carers go free with the right documentation.