Pumpkin Picking at White Post Farm & Zoo

Admission here buys a good deal more than a pumpkin. The Pumpkin Festival sits inside a working farm and zoo, and festival entry comes with full access to the rest of the site for the day, which is why families tend to arrive in the morning and leave when the animals do.

The pumpkin patch itself is set up for mess-free carving, which is the farm's own phrase and a welcome one if you have ever tried to scoop out a pumpkin on a kitchen floor. You choose your pumpkin, place it on the scales, and the price depends on what it weighs. Every paying child is given a voucher for 50% off their pumpkin, so the cost lands lower than the scales suggest. Pumpkins are charged on top of admission rather than being included in it.

Around the patch there are timetabled activities through the day, including Magnificent Minibeasts and marshmallow toasting, and spooky photo opportunities set up across the site. There is enough to fill three or four hours before anyone has properly seen the zoo.

Two evening events sit alongside the daytime festival. Halloween by Torchlight runs on Saturday 24 October and Friday 30 October, and Pups and Pumpkins, a dog-friendly evening, runs on Thursday 29 October, where every dog needs a ticket of its own.

Booking ahead is worth the trouble. Pre-booking online before midnight earns a discount on admission, though the farm is clear that the discount does not apply to special events or farm evenings, so the torchlight nights and the dog evening are full price.