Pumpkin Picking at Ripon Walled Garden

Inside the old brick walls on Palace Road, Ripon Community Link turns its garden over to pumpkins for the last fortnight of October. The charity runs the event itself, and the money raised goes back into its work with adults with learning disabilities, which makes for a rather different afternoon out from a commercial farm patch.

Entry is free. Families are encouraged to come dressed in Halloween costume, and the garden leans into that, so a child in a witch's hat will be in good company rather than the only one. Pumpkins can be carved on site during the visit, which means you are not carrying an uncarved one home and hunting for a suitable knife.

When hands get cold, the garden cafe serves hot chocolate and Halloween-themed cake, and the shop alongside it stocks seasonal treats to browse on the way out. The walled garden is a contained space, which suits families with younger children who tend to wander off.

This is the garden's annual Halloween event rather than a large commercial operation, so come for the atmosphere and the cause as much as for the pumpkins themselves. Most families find one to two hours is enough for a costume, a carved pumpkin and something warm to drink.