Spilmans Pumpkin Festival, Church Farm, Sessay near Thirsk

Spilmans at Church Farm in Sessay is one of the bigger Yorkshire pumpkin operations, and 2026 is its tenth anniversary season, opening on 26 September. The important thing to understand before booking is that Spilmans runs three different versions of the same field, and they are not interchangeable.

The main Pumpkin Festival runs on 26 September and then 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 and 23 to 30 October. Your ticket starts from £7.95 and includes a £5 pumpkin voucher per person plus this year's new Wizfords Academy: The Great Fortune Flop show and a Halloween fancy dress disco with Skelebones. The long list of activities, corn cannon, tractor ride, spooky walk, giant pipe rolling, jumping pillow, barrel train, carving barn, face painting and the rest, are mostly paid separately, at £2 each on the day, £6 for four via a voucher, or £17 for a Try It All ticket. Bale Mountain is free.

Back to Basics runs on the weekdays in between, 13 to 16 and 20 to 22 October. It is you, a wheelbarrow and the field. The farm shop and cafe stay open but the pizza tent and every activity are closed. Pumpkin Nights, on 10, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 and 30 October, let you pick at twilight with live music and a fire show, and carry a £4 voucher rather than £5.

Be warned about the ground. Spilmans says plainly that the patch is a farm field, that it can get very muddy and very slippy underfoot after rain, and to bring wellies and waterproofs. Dogs are welcome on a lead. Tickets are non refundable, including for rain.