Where to go pumpkin picking near London this Halloween

If you can't make it to a pumpkin-picking farm but want to feel a bit more festive than a trip to Tesco’s fruit and veg, get down to Covent Garden’s Halloween Pumpkin Market, hosted in Apple Market. There will be pumpkins, squashes and gourds galore, as well as a stunning autumnal floral display designed and created by the Covent Garden Horticultural team. 

If you're a southwest Londoner, why not head out to Surrey for this pumpkin bonanza? The fields at Crockford Bridge Farm are often too muddy for visitors to pick their own in early October (check before you go) but their annual outdoor Pumpkin Market is still more exciting. Pumpkins and gourds of every shape, size and colour are piled up on haybales in a display which runs from mid-October until Halloween, or whenever its bountiful crop sells out. Plus, there's family fun galore laid on at the weekend as Hallowe'en approaches, including kids' entertainers and spooky games.

Garsons in Surrey is sprouting another 10,000 pumpkins for the public to snaffle. The fields are open seven days a week in October and pickers need to have pre-booked a farm pumpkin pass online in order to access the spoils. Once all pre-release early Pumpkin Passes have sold, additional ones may be released on a daily basis, which means it tends to not be totally sold out like other farms. 

Winterdown Rd, KT10 8LS. Oct 1-31. £4 adult, £1 child, book here.

Run by brothers Toby and Max Williams, this 150-acre Kent farm grows 20 to 30 varieties of fruit and vegetables, including a huge patch of pumpkins in various shapes and sizes. Pick up individual specimens from £1, or grab a wheelbarrow and fill it with as many squashes as you can carry for a very reasonable £35. Just bear in mind that you’ll be living off pumpkin soup until at least Christmas.

Birchwood Rd, DA2 7HD. Oct 15-28 definitely and Oct 29-31 if there are pumpkins left by then. £3, book your slot here.

Each year, Kent's Four Winds Farm holds a bonanza of squash-harvesting and spooky fun in the run up to Hallowe'en, including a scarecrow hunt, face-painting and tea and cakes. Pickers are reminded to bring wellies and a strong bag for their spoils.

Head to Essex and you'll find not one but two popular Foxes Farm pumpkin patches: one in Basildon and one in Colchester. They'll be open every weekend in October, plus each day over halfterm. As well as selecting and uprooting squashes, you and the kids can scale a haybale mountain, get lost in a five acre corn maze, and play outdoor games galore. Book your timeslot in advance to secure a spot.  

Watch House Farm, SS15 4ER and Green Lane, CO6 3PR. £5

Lathcoats Farm in Essex earns its living mainly from fruit, but in October the pumpkins pop up. Some of them grow undercover in a massive polytunnel, so pumpkin-picking can be an all-weather activity here. The farm’s Pumpkin Festival also offers carving and a Halloween hunt. While you’re there, fill your boots with apples too.

Beehive Lane, CM2 8LX. Oct 15-29. £1.

If you want to go all out on the spooky vibes this Hallowe'en, then head to this family-run farm in Hertfordshire this October. It's got 60 varieties of pumpkin, but the real thrill comes from the extras: costumed Hallowe'en characters roaming the fields, a Terror Tunnel, and a haunted Maize Maze. By day, it's all kid-friendly fun, but the twilight sessions amp up the fear factor.

Needham Green, CM22 7JT. £5-£6 admission.

This Surrey pumpkin patch has the added lure of tractor rides that'll take you straight to the field. If that seems too much like hard work, you can also buy a pre-picked squash from the free-to-enter Pumpkin Palace. Once you've secured your future jack-o’-lantern, take the kids on a treasure hunt or follow the Halloween trail.

Sandy Lane, RH1 4EJ. Until Oct 31. £4-£6.

This Surrey farm is holding a whole week of Halloween-themed entertainment, with pumpkin-picking as the key activity alongside a fancy-dress competition and pumpkin-themed menu. 

Hurst Farm, Chapel Lane, GU8 5HU. Oct 21-29. £3 entry.