Pumpkin Picking at Hopefield Animal Sanctuary

The Halloween Festival here is built on top of a working animal sanctuary rather than staged beside one. Hopefield is a registered animal charity, and general admission to see the rescued animals comes with the festival ticket, so the residents are part of the day rather than a separate outing.

Pumpkin picking happens indoors, in the sanctuary's pumpkin barn, which takes the weather out of the decision entirely. Every paying child gets a pumpkin included in the ticket price, so there is no stall to queue at on the way out.

Around that, the ticket covers a Pirate Treasure Trail around the site, the Spooky Barn, a chance to meet the sanctuary's creepy crawlies, Halloween arts and crafts, and costumed characters doing walkarounds. For any child who would rather not face the scarier parts, there is a Fright-Free Zone.

Every paying child also leaves with a goodie bag containing a free return voucher. It is worth understanding how that works before you use it: the voucher can be redeemed on a later visit, but a child coming in on one still needs a wristband, which costs £4.50 booked online or £6 on the door.

The festival covers the Essex October half term, running from 24 October to 1 November, and Hopefield has frozen its 2025 prices for the 2026 season.