Pumpkin Picking at Rogate, near Petersfield

The season ends here with a Pumpkin Smash. On Sunday 1 November, once the picking is done, the leftover pumpkins are there to be smashed, spiked, slung, dropped, crushed and chucked, and the venue says all the usual pumpkin patch activities still run alongside it. It is the sort of thing children talk about afterwards, so it is worth knowing about when you choose your date.

Before that, the patch runs daily on Slade Farm from Friday 16 October. Tickets carry a timed entry slot, but that is an arrival time rather than a limit: once you are in, there is no time limit and you can stay all day. The venue suggests picking your pumpkins early in the day, which is sensible if you want the widest choice.

Wheelbarrows are provided to get your pumpkins back to the car, and you are welcome to bring your own trolley or bags instead. Free parking is included with entry, which is not always the case at patches this size.

Some things cost extra. The Cornblaster, toasting marshmallows, the Pumpkin Sling and the fairground rides are all charged on top of entry, so take a little more than the ticket price if you expect to say yes to everything. The whole site is a no smoking event.

Tickets are bought online in advance and are non-refundable. If you set up an account before checkout you can amend your booking up to an hour before your entry time, and a standard patch ticket can be switched to a Pumpkin Smash ticket on the same terms, so a change of plan need not cost you the price of the day.