North East pumpkin picking: Patches and farms near Newcastle to visit in October 2023

It may feel like summer is barely over, but Halloween is fast approaching and the North East has plenty of options for families who want to pick their own pumpkins ahead of the big day.

There is no better reason to get out of the house and support a local company this autumn, and there are plenty of options across the region to have some great family fun and build up to the spooky season.

Down in Durham, East Grange Farm is preparing for pumpkin picking season early and is opening its site up from Saturday, October throughout the month until Halloween. The site will be growing tens of thousands of pumpkins across 20 acres so there will be more than enough to go around!

The site is already offering access for select dates across October with tickets costing £5 per car. Walk-in options are not available this year. The site is promising hot and cold food, fairground rides and even more dates becoming available as Halloween gets closer.

Elsewhere in Durham, Holmside Park are offering pumpkin picking sessions from Sunday, September 1 until Halloween.

Tickets are available for £5 per child with adults getting in for free. In addition to the picking, organisers are promising indoor and outdoor activities for families as well as up to eight hours park entry with all-day admission.

The nearby Adventure Valley is also opening its doors for purveyors of the perfect pumpkin this Autumn.

The site is offering families the chance to collect a pumpkin from an on-site barn, get creative with carving and take part in games and daily shows.

Tickets for the site’s pumpkin festival are now available with sessions available every weekend from Saturday, October 14 until Halloween as well as Monday, October 30 and Tuesday, October 31.

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Further afield, family favourite for many across the North East Brockbushes Farm is already seeing a huge demand for pumpkin picking this year with some dates already sold out.

Tickets cost £2 per person and can be bought online with the public able to pick their choice of over 90,000 pumpkins. Event organisers have promised displays, interactive games and plenty of photo opportunities.

The pumpkin patch’s opening weekend is on Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1 with every weekend open to the public with the addition of the full October half term week.

Lintz Hall Farm, home of the hugely popular Psyco Path is also offering events for all ages this Halloween. Starting on Sunday, October 8, the site is opening a pumpkin patch for kids to pick out their jack-o-lantern shells.

Dates run right up until the day of Halloween and tickets are availble to buy online now. A mini play park, live music, fairground games and more are also being promised.

Further north, Morpeth’s Whitehouse Farm is offering free pumpkins as part of its Halloween spooktacular this year. Each full paying child gets a free pumpkin to use at the sites pumpkin patch and carving station.

Tickets are available now and inlcude other experiences such as time with animals, a go-cart track and huge playground. The spooktacular is open to the public from Saturday, October 28 to Sunday, November 5.