Pumpkin Picking at Hobbledown Epsom

Hobbledown Epsom takes a different approach to most of the patches on this list. Rather than a field you visit for an hour, the pumpkin ticket is a full day entry to the whole adventure park, so the pumpkins sit alongside the outdoor play areas, the indoor playbarn, the Imaginarium and the farm and zoo animals. For a family with a wide age range that is often the difference between a short stop and a proper day out.

The event runs from 26 September to 1 November, which covers the half term and the weekends on either side of it. Thousands of pumpkins are brought in for it, and they are priced individually and paid for separately from the entry ticket. Around them there are photo walls and seasonal display points, and on weekends and school holidays a Trick or Treat Trail with costumed characters runs through the park.

Marshmallow toasting is available for an extra charge. The animal talks run daily as they do the rest of the year, so the autumn event is laid over the park's normal programme rather than replacing it.

Opening hours shift partway through the season. Until 25 October the park is open 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday and 10:00 to 17:30 Friday to Sunday. From 26 October, through half term and to the end of the event, it is 10:00 to 17:30 every day.

Booking online is materially cheaper than turning up. Walk up entry is £19 per person against £16.50 online, and there are open dated tickets and a family ticket for groups of three to five if you want flexibility on the date.