Pumpkin Picking at Hatter's Farm, Takeley

Hatter's Farm grows its own pumpkins at Takeley, a few minutes from Stansted, and the scale is the point: over 100,000 pumpkins and squashes across the fields, from white and knobbly varieties up to the giants. You collect a wheelbarrow at the entrance and work your way through the rows, which is the part small children tend to remember. The pumpkins themselves are not included in the ticket. You pay for entry, then pay again at the till for whatever ends up in the barrow, starting at £1.50 for the smallest.

The farm runs two different experiences and they are worth separating before you book. Daytime sessions are the straightforward family version. Pumpkin Nights, from 5pm to 9pm on selected dates, are the reason Hatter's has a reputation beyond Essex: over 1,000 festoon lights strung through the courtyard, live musicians, roaming street actors and the fields picked under a moonlit sky. Nights cost roughly double the daytime ticket.

Be realistic about the extras. Entry buys you the pumpkin fields, Hatter's Haunted Mad House and the Bale Kingdom, and that is it. The 7 acre Maize Maze is £2.50 per person booked online or £3 on the gate, the Pumpkin Cannon is £2.50 a shot or three for £7, and face painting is charged separately again. A family of four doing everything will spend well beyond the headline ticket price.

Dogs are welcome on leads around the site but are not allowed into the pumpkin field itself, which catches people out. Parking is on grass in the field beside the patch, so October rain matters. Food is served from a food court on site, with burgers, waffles, toasties, coffee and hot chocolate, and there are open fire pits for toasting marshmallows.