Pumpkin Picking at Whitehouse Farm Centre

The pumpkin patch here is indoors, which in Northumberland in late October is not a small detail. Rain does not cancel the picking, and there is no muddy field to negotiate with a pushchair.

Each full-paying child gets one free pumpkin, and extra pumpkins can be bought for anyone not covered by that offer, while stocks last. A carving station runs on site during the event, and Penny Pumpkin appears at the patch. The patch is open only to visitors booked onto the Halloween Spooktacular, so it is not somewhere to call in on for a pumpkin alone.

The Spooktacular itself is built around live shows. Pirate Games, a comedy show, Magic Merlin and the Witches and Wizards School all run during the event, alongside a Walkway of Terror, a fancy dress competition and Halloween photo opportunities set up around the farm. The tubing slide, the indoor and outdoor play areas and the usual animal interactions are included too.

Booking is required and tickets go through the farm's online ticketing. One thing worth knowing: once booked, you can log in and change your date of visit free of charge, as many times as you like, up to six hours before your visit. For a family watching a bad forecast, that is a useful amount of freedom.

There is enough under cover here to make a full day realistic rather than a dash between showers, and the tubing slide and indoor play are there whatever the sky is doing.