Lancashire pumpkin picking: 9 days out and a £5 option

demoduck.co.uk editorial team 2026-09-07 18:56 3 min read

A large wooden crate overflowing with freshly harvested bright orange pumpkins for autumn.

Pumpkin picking and Halloween festivals return across Lancashire from 2 October to 1 November 2026, with nine family days out listed at farms, a heritage hall, a country park and a steam railway. Bowland Country Park has sessions starting from £5, while tickets are required for most other venues and prices vary.

The programme compiled by Visit Lancashire stretches beyond the pumpkin patch. Depending on the venue, families can find carving stations, farm animals, maize mazes, Halloween trails, dinosaurs, craft sessions and autumn photo displays.

Lancashire pumpkin-picking dates at a glance

Venue	Confirmed dates
Farmer Ted’s	2 October–1 November
Mrs Dowson’s Farm Park	3–31 October
Greenlands Farm	3–31 October
Windmill Animal Farm	10–31 October
Ridgeway Farm	10–31 October
West Lancashire Light Railway	11 October
Bowland Country Park	Selected days from 17 October
Samlesbury Hall	26–30 October
Thornton Hall Farm	To be confirmed

Farm adventures ranging from indoor picking to dinosaurs

Windmill Animal Farm is placing more than 20,000 pumpkins inside its Halloween Barn, creating a no-mud picking experience regardless of the weather. Admission includes one pumpkin, animal encounters, indoor and outdoor attractions and a ride on the farm train. Additional pumpkins can be bought on the day, and wheelbarrows are provided.

Farmer Ted’s runs for the longest period, from 2 October to 1 November. Its child-focused festival includes a new Pumpkin Village, sorcery school, an end-of-day show, a scary maize maze, ghost stories and 12 animatronic dinosaurs. Each child aged over two receives a pumpkin, and fancy-dress competitions are also due to return.

Lancashire pumpkin picking: 9 days out and a £5 option

Mrs Dowson’s Farm Park offers three acres of homegrown pumpkins, including 12 rare imported varieties, alongside full admission to the farm. Its adults-only Pumpkin Nights experience opens on 18 October, with pumpkins picked beneath fairy lights and a Baileys hot chocolate served as a welcome drink.

At Greenlands Farm, visitors can choose from thousands of pumpkins before using the carving station. The wider programme includes animal encounters, bouncy pillows, a play barn and a trick-or-treat trail.

Ridgeway Farm has grown 15 varieties, including white, blue, pink, warty, goblin and fireball pumpkins. After picking, families can take their pumpkins by wheelbarrow to the autumn orchard barn, where carving and decorating stations sit alongside animals, refreshments and seasonal photo props.

Steam trains, haunted halls and Halloween crafts

West Lancashire Light Railway offers a different take on the season on 11 October. Its Pumpkin Sunday combines vintage steam-train rides using two engines with light refreshments in the catering van and tearoom.

Bowland Country Park begins selected sessions from 17 October. Entry starts at £5 and includes one pumpkin to take home. Some sessions will also feature hands-on Halloween crafts and potion-making workshops in the venue’s events space.

Samlesbury Hall, described by the source as Lancashire’s most famous haunted house, hosts its Halloween Pumpkin Fest from 26 to 30 October. Visitors can select a pumpkin in the orange-decorated courtyard, follow a pumpkin hunt inside the hall and take part in a Halloween quiz. The Tea Room and Garden eatery will serve themed treats, and fancy dress is encouraged.

Thornton Hall Farm is planning a mud-free pumpkin patch, carving area, farm-animal encounters and indoor and outdoor play. Its 2026 dates remain unconfirmed, and the source says tickets are coming soon.

What families should check before booking

Most venues require advance tickets, but individual prices and booking arrangements vary. The supplied listing does not provide every venue address, direct booking page, transport information or accessibility details, so families should confirm those points with their chosen farm before travelling. Refreshments are available at most farm cafés, while the pumpkin included with admission differs by venue; Bowland, Windmill and Farmer Ted’s explicitly include one under their stated conditions.

Source: Visit Lancashire Blog

Context & actions About this article

Source check Source trail

Dates, included activities and stated prices were checked against the Visit Lancashire roundup supplied for this guide.

Checks

Confirmed the overall programme runs from 2 October to 1 November 2026.
Matched each listed venue with its published date or unconfirmed status.
Retained the £5 starting price only for Bowland Country Park.
Flagged missing venue addresses, direct booking details, transport information and accessi...

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