Pumpkin Picking at The Patchworks

Colour is the thing here. The patch grows traditional oranges alongside ghostly whites, speckled skins and warty varieties, and you might turn up a crowned prince among them. Sizes run from tiny Munchkins that sit in a small hand up to colossal gourds meant for carving.

It is a family run pick your own in Castleton, at the head of the Hope Valley in the Peak District, and the ticket buys more than the field. Interactive games are included: Pump-King Pin, Quacky Races, Cheese Board, the Black Hole Slide and Needle in a Hay Stack. Pumpkin bowling, treasure hunts and giant puzzles are part of it too.

There is an open fire pit for toasting marshmallows, and marshmallow sticks can be pre-booked with your ticket rather than hunted down on the day. Fresh coffee, locally brewed beer and freshly prepared sweet treats are sold on site, so the grown ups have somewhere to stand while the children work the games.

Pumpkins are paid for separately from entry, so what you spend is down to what you pick. Arrival slots are released every 20 minutes and each booking covers three hours on site, which is also how parking is managed, so choose a time you can realistically make. Tickets are non-refundable unless the event itself is cancelled or rescheduled, and the site can close at short notice in bad weather for safety reasons.