Whether you're whipping up pumpkin pies or carving spooky jack-o'-lanterns, put Gloucestershire's homegrown gourds to good use this October, with pick your own pumpkin patches popping up all over the county.
Spanning family attractions to farm shops, SoGlos has picked seven of the best pumpkin patches to visit in the run-up to Halloween.
Pumpkin picking at Cattle Country Farm Park
With hundreds of pumpkins to pick from — and wheelbarrows to help you cart a hefty haul — Berkeley-based family attraction Cattle Country Farm Park is opening its popular pumpkin patch on Saturday 12 October 2024.
As well as pumpkin picking, families can snap a selfie among the gourds and explore everything the farm park has to offer, with entry to the whole attraction included with pumpkin patch tickets. All pumpkins are priced by size, starting at just £1.
Pumpkin picking at Cotswold Farm Park
Grab your wellies and squelch on over to Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park, where there's a whole field of plump pumpkins to pick from — open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout October, as well every day from Wednesday 23 to Thursday 31 October 2024.
Brand-new for this year, Pumpkin Nights events offer the chance to go pumpkin picking after dark, as the patch becomes a UV-lit, Halloween spectacle with live music and tasty hot food on selected dates.
Pumpkin picking at Over Farm
Welcoming pumpkin pickers on October weekends, as well as every day from Friday 25 to Thursday 31 October 2024, Over Farm near Gloucester has gourds of all shapes, sizes and colours for families to find in its 10-acre pumpkin patch.
For added spookiness, the pumpkin patch is open after dark on selected evenings again this year, with a whole host of indie food traders, thrilling fire juggling displays and after-dark tractor rides to make hunting for your perfect pumpkin all the more fun.
Pumpkin picking at Primrose Vale Farm Shop
With another healthy crop of pumpkins this year, Primrose Vale is opening for PYO pumpkins from Saturday 5 October and will be running its usual Halloween trail from Wednesday 23 October to Sunday 3 November 2024, too — with each activity available to book via its website.
Pickers will get to pluck their pumpkins straight from the place they grew, complete with straggly vines and soil. Some vines can be prickly, so it's recommended that you bring a pair of gloves.
Pumpkin picking at Hayles Fruit Farm
From summer strawberries to autumn apples, Hayles Fruit Farm offers pick your own experiences all year round, with its popular pumpkin patch opening every October.
This year's Halloween trail and PYO pumpkin patch is open for pumpkin pickers during October half term, running from Tuesday 22 October to Sunday 3 November 2024 — but please note, the attraction is closed on Mondays.
Pumpkin picking at Elm Farm
The family-run PYO pumpkin patch at Elm Farm, on the outskirts of Quedgeley, is back for pumpkin picking from Saturday 5 October 2024 — open on weekends as well as throughout October half term.
Previously, its crop has included everything from colossal 25-kilogram pumpkins to miniature gourds for Halloween decorations, as well as perfectly round pumpkins fit to transform into Halloween jack-o-lanterns.
Pumpkin picking at The Farm Patch
Located just over the Herefordshire border near Ledbury, The Farm Patch (formerly Country Pumpkins) at Lower House Farm opens for pumpkin picking on Saturday 5 October 2024.
As well as growing several varieties of spooky pumpkins — from ghostly blue 'Crown Prince' to gnarly and aptly named 'Zombie' varieties — the farm also has a pizza trailer serving fresh, stone-baked pizzas and a brand-new, two-acre sunflower maze to try out.
