Streamvale Open Farm Halloween Pumpkin Patch

Streamvale is a working dairy farm on the Ballyhanwood Road on the eastern edge of Belfast, and the Halloween Pumpkin Patch is its biggest event of the year. It is not a field you wander into: you book a three and a half hour session, and the ticket bundles the pumpkin, the carving and the farm together rather than pricing them separately.

The detail that sets it apart is the carving. You choose your pumpkin from the patch and Streamvale's staff carve it for you, at no additional charge. Families who have battled a kitchen table and a blunt knife will understand why that is the headline.

Round the rest of the session there is a maize tractor ride, an immersive spooky trail through Hanwood House, a Broomtastic disco, monster mask making, barrel rides, a cuddle corner with rabbits and guinea pigs, animal feeding times, indoor and outdoor play areas and Halloween photo opportunities. Because this is a dairy farm the rest of the year, the animals are the real thing rather than a Halloween add on.

Three things to plan around. First, it is strictly ticket only: Streamvale says you will not be able to pay at the entrance. Second, no dogs are permitted, with the exception of registered care dogs and the farm's own collies. Third, free passes and memberships are not valid during the Halloween period, and Streamvale does not take groups or birthday parties during the event.

Ground is mostly concrete with some lightly stoned areas, so pushchairs and wheelchairs manage better here than at a field patch. The nature trail is uneven woodland and the old milking parlour has stairs, so those two areas are not accessible. There is a wheelchair accessible tractor ride. Three catering outlets run throughout each session: a Burger Barn, a Doughnut Truck and a Coffee and Ice Cream Cabin.