Autumn Fun | Visiting Hatters Farm Pumpkin Patch Essex

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If you’re looking for places to go pumpkin picking in Essex, a great option is Hatter’s Farm in Takeley, just down the road from Stansted Airport! Open on selected dates during October, here’s what you can expect when visiting!

Disclosure: ad invite | I was invited to visit Hatter’s Farm but all opinions are my own

Hatters Farm Pumpkin Picking

📅Weekends in October and throughout October half-term

🕐Daytimes from 9.30/10am-4/4.30pm | Pumpkin Nights 4pm – 8pm

💰Tickets from £2

🚾Facilities: portaloos available, food and drink vendors, undercover barn

Pumpkin Picking

At Hatter’s Farm Pumpkins, there is an entrance fee starting at £2 per person. Time slots can be booked online in advance. After collecting a wheelbarrow, you can head into the pumpkin patch to choose from over 100,000 pumpkins in a variety of different sizes and colours. (Visit early in the season for the most choice).

Pumpkins are priced by size, with the smallest ones starting from £1. There are some demo pumpkins near the start to give you an idea of the sizes. On check out they are measured with a wooden ring they have to fit through!

Within the field, you’ll find a range of different photo opportunities, from a giant welly boot, photo frames, giant chairs, and more. I thought the little pumpkin house was cute!

Information boards show visitors the lifecycle of how pumpkins grow and what they can be used for in cooking. Obviously, most people get pumpkins just to carve or use for displays but they of course can be eaten too!

Along with entrance to the pumpkin patch, the entrance fee includes the ‘Field of Fun‘ with a Hay Bale Maze, Bale Mountain, and Hatter’s Mad House.

Personally, I didn’t go into the Mad House as I am rubbish when it comes to anything jumpy that has motion sensors etc. But it’s a clown-themed indoor maze. During the daytime, I believe there are NO live actors in the Mad House, however, there may be some lurking during the Pumpkin Nights!

Maize Maze

💰£3.50 (4 for £12)

One of my favourite activities was the Maize Maze. It has an additional fee, but we were in it for around 20 minutes! A cool addition to it is that you get a worksheet to complete while going around. You have to find the friendly monster signs, answer the question, and collect the letters that make a secret word.

The maze itself is quite easy, the path kind of follows round, so it’s not that hard to get lost. We stumbled upon the exit while we had one monster still missing, so went back in to find it! You will need to check down EVERY path to find them (many loop back round)!

During Pumpkin Nights, the live actors may be hiding in the Maize Maze too!

At the end, if you have successfully found the secret word, you can enter into a prize draw to win a visit to the Confetti Flower Field. They are hoping to make this an event in 2024.

Pumpkin Cannon

💰£2.50 a shot (3 for £7)

Another fun activity is the Pumpkin Cannon and woah it is powerful! There are some painted character boards dotted in the field and the aim is that you have to try and hit them with a pumpkin. I completely missed and it went flying over the top of one, but my mum hit it with her turn!

Having a couple of extra turns may be a good idea if you want a ‘practice’ shot first! Under 13s must be with an adult and children under 6 are not able to fire the cannon. It is the first pumpkin cannon in the UK!

Waffles & Co.

During my visit, there was a coffee cart and ‘Waffles & Co‘ where you can purchase food and drink. We bought a Blackberry Fool Waffle from Waffles & Co. and it was so yummy! It was covered in cream, blackberries, and lemon curd. They are planning to sell toffee apple crumble ones and pumpkin pie waffles too!

Other Tips For Visiting

• The fields can get muddy, so make sure you are dressed for the weather! Welly boots may be a good idea!
• Dogs on leads are also welcome, although not in the main pumpkin field itself.
• For more information and to book tickets, check out the Hatter’s Farm Pumpkins website.