Pumpkin picking opens 3 October at Sunnyfields, Totton (£7.50) and Picking Patch, Fordingbridge. Scare mazes for teens, Exbury's Ghost Train and 31 October.
Pumpkin picking in and around the New Forest opens today, Saturday 3 October, at two farms that have published their 2026 dates: Sunnyfields Farm in Totton, £7.50 a person booked online, and Picking Patch at Bickton, Fordingbridge, where this year’s event is called Witchville. Both add scare mazes after dark later in the month. Exbury’s Ghost Train runs 25 to 31 October, Moors Valley’s illuminated trail 23 October to 1 November, and Halloween itself falls on a Saturday, with a children’s disco in New Milton and a party in Totton that afternoon.
We read each organiser’s own website on 3 October 2026. Where a farm or venue has not published 2026 details, we say so rather than repeating last year’s.
The quick answer
| What | Where | When | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin Time | Sunnyfields Farm, Totton | Selected days 3 to 31 Oct | £7.50, under 2s free |
| Witchville pumpkins and maze | Picking Patch, Fordingbridge | 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 Oct, then daily 23 to 31 Oct, 10am to 4.30pm | Book online |
| Dark Harvest scare mazes (13+) | Sunnyfields Farm, Totton | 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 Oct, arrive 6pm to 8pm | £27.50, or £17.50 aged 13 to 15 |
| Scare Maze at Witchville | Picking Patch, Fordingbridge | 16, 17 Oct, then daily 23 to 31 Oct, 5pm to 9pm | Book online |
| Halloween at Moors Valley | Moors Valley, Ashley Heath | 23 Oct to 1 Nov, 4pm to 9pm | Adults from £15, children from £9 |
| Ghost Train | Exbury Gardens | 25 to 31 Oct | £10 plus gardens entry |
| Halloween Spooktacular | Paultons Park, Ower | 9 Oct to 2 Nov | In the park ticket |
School dates, and the daytime programmes at Beaulieu, Hurst Castle and Longdown, are on our October half term in the New Forest page.
Pumpkin picking
Sunnyfields, Totton: Pumpkin Time
Sunnyfields Farm, Jacob’s Gutter Lane, Totton SO40 9FX, turns its fields over to Pumpkin Time on selected days in October. The farm promises “thousands of pumpkins”, pick-your-own, displays and, for 2026, two new indoor experiences, a new photo booth and roaming characters. From Saturday 10 October a DJ plays from 2.30pm on every open day.
Tickets are £7.50 a person, online only; under 2s are free and do not need one (Sunnyfields Farm). The farm’s FAQ says pumpkins are priced by size, from £1.50 up to £12 for the largest, parking is free, dogs on leads are welcome, the site has hard farm tracks for buggies and wheelchairs, and there are no refunds, though you can move your date or time up to two hours before your slot. It opens in all weather unless safety forces a closure, when ticket holders are emailed (Sunnyfields FAQs).
Open days and hours, from the farm’s own 2026 calendar (Sunnyfields Farm):
| Date | Open |
|---|---|
| Sat 3 Oct | 10am to 2.30pm |
| Sun 4 Oct | 10am to 5pm |
| Sat 10 Oct | 10am to 9pm |
| Sun 11 Oct | 10am to 6pm |
| Sat 17 Oct | 8.30am to 10.30pm |
| Sun 18 Oct | 8.30am to 9pm |
| Thu 22 Oct | 10am to 2.30pm |
| Fri 23 Oct | 10am to 10.30pm |
| Sat 24 Oct | 8.30am to 10.30pm |
| Sun 25 Oct | 8.30am to 9pm |
| Mon 26 to Wed 28 Oct | 9am to 9pm |
| Thu 29 to Sat 31 Oct | 9am to 10.30pm |
Pumpkin Time is not open on Friday 16 October, though Dark Harvest is. The late finishes are the Dark Harvest nights, below.
Picking Patch, Fordingbridge: Witchville
Picking Patch is on the A338 Ringwood Road at Bickton, Fordingbridge SP6 2HA. Its 2026 theme is Witchville: a pick-your-own pumpkin market, more pumpkins hidden in “secret pumpkin plots” inside the Living Maze, a shorter Witchling Quick Trail for younger children, a Halloween Express, crafts, pumpkin carving and a graffiti lab. The farm’s own opening times graphic gives the daytime event as 10am to 4.30pm on 3 and 4, 10 and 11, 17 and 18 October, then every day from 23 to 31 October, and a Pumpkin Smash on Sunday 1 November, 10.30am to 2.30pm, “subject to pumpkins” (Picking Patch).
Tickets are sold through the farm’s booking page on Ticketscandy, which lists Witchville from 3 to 31 October in timed slots; the farm’s FAQ says booking is advised for the patch and required for the mazes, and that cards and cash are taken but there is no cash machine. This year’s Witchville material includes a “Dogville” area for dogs, while the older FAQ on the same site still says only guide dogs are allowed, so check when you book (Picking Patch, 01425 460679).
Not confirmed for 2026
- New Forest Pumpkin Patch, Strawberry Fields, Boldre (SO41 8PT). Listed by the tourist boards in past years. We could not find a 2026 date from the organiser: the Strawberry Fields website reads “Launching Soon”, and the domain that used to carry the patch’s details now hosts an unrelated blog about football and recipes. Treat any dates you see quoted for it as unverified.
- Sopley Farm, near Christchurch. Its website address no longer loads the farm’s site, so we have no 2026 pumpkin dates from it.
After dark: the scary ones
Two farms run proper scare events this year, and both are aimed at teenagers and adults rather than small children.
Dark Harvest at Sunnyfields is new for 2026: three scare mazes (Iron Haze Yard, Circursed and The Cult Reaping) on Friday 16, Saturday 17, Friday 23, Saturday 24, Thursday 29, Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October. Arrival slots run from 6pm to 8pm and the site closes at 10.30pm. It is strictly 13 and over, and anyone under 18 must be with a responsible adult the whole time. Tickets are £27.50 for 16 and over and £17.50 for 13 to 15, and include Pumpkin Time while you are on site (Sunnyfields Farm).
The Scare Maze at Witchville, Picking Patch, turns the maize maze over to live actors after dark, from 5pm to 9pm on 16 and 17 October and every night from 23 to 31 October. The farm has not published an age limit on its pages (Picking Patch).
Halloween at Moors Valley, Ashley Heath, Ringwood BH24 2ET, is the gentler option: an illuminated woodland trail with giant skeletons and lit scenes, from Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November in 15-minute slots between 4pm and 9pm. Forestry England says it suits all ages, and that the trail is the same at every time, so younger children may prefer an early slot. Prices depend on the slot: adults £15 off peak or £19.50 standard, children 3 to 16 £9 or £13, a family of four £44 or £63, under 3s free but booked. Dogs are welcome and members get one free parking space when booking in advance (Forestry England).
Exbury’s Halloween Ghost Train runs Sunday 25 to Saturday 31 October: a 30-minute live-action ride on the steam railway, this year “The Curse of the Haunted Circus”. It is £10 a person, £9 for Friends of Exbury, free under 3, and you need a gardens ticket as well. Exbury’s own warnings: it “may not be suitable for very young or sensitive children” and “may contain clowns” (Exbury Gardens). The gardens close for the season after 31 October.
Paultons Park at Ower runs its Halloween Spooktacular from 9 October to 2 November, with late openings on 17, 23, 24, 27, 28 and 29 October (Peppa Pig World still closes at 6pm). Everything is in the normal park ticket (Paultons Park).
Before half term
- Lyndhurst Scarecrow Trail, Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. The parish council says the scarecrows “will be marching their way into Lyndhurst” that weekend (Lyndhurst Parish Council).
- Silly Scott’s Family Halloween Spooktacular, Saturday 24 October, 11am, Hanger Farm Arts Centre, Totton, from £9. The venue stresses no strobes, smoke or loud bangs (Hanger Farm).
- Spooky Science Magic, Monday 26 October, 2pm to 5pm, Brockenhurst Community Hub, £12 or £40 for four, minimum age 4 (Brockenhurst Village Trust).
Saturday 31 October: Halloween itself
- Halloween Disco, Forest Arts Centre, New Milton, 2pm to 4pm. Dances with Zest Dance, crafts and face painting. £7 a child, which covers up to two adults; the centre warns it sells out (Forest Arts Centre).
- Halloween Kids Party, Totton and Eling Cricket Club, 12pm to 3pm. DJ, games and dancing, costumes encouraged, £5 a child (TECC Events).
- The Lions Halloween and Christmas Market, New Milton Hub, 10.30am to 4pm: details on our Christmas markets page.
- Longdown Activity Farm has The Creature Teachers with live creepy creatures on the day, inside normal admission (Longdown Activity Farm).
- Sunnyfields is open until 10.30pm, with Dark Harvest that evening, and Picking Patch’s Scare Maze runs until 9pm.
Getting there
The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October, so from half term the evening events are in full darkness and the forest roads are unlit. Watch for ponies and cattle on the open forest after dusk. Sunnyfields has free parking on site. For town centre events, our parking in the New Forest page has the council car parks, and roadworks and travel lists closures that could change your route.
The week after Halloween is bonfire night: Ringwood and Fawley on Sunday 1 November, Lyndhurst on Friday 6 November and Totton on Sunday 8 November, all on our New Forest fireworks page.
Still to be confirmed
- 2026 dates for the New Forest Pumpkin Patch at Boldre and for Sopley Farm.
- An age guide for Picking Patch’s Scare Maze, and its ticket prices in text form.
This page will be updated as organisers publish more.
Sources
- sunnyfields.co.uk 2026 calendar and Dark Harvest details; sunnyfields.ticketsrv.co.uk Pumpkin Time and Dark Harvest ticket pages and FAQs, read 3 October 2026.
- pickingpatch.com home page opening times, Witchville and Scare Maze panels, and FAQs; ticketscandy.com Witchville listing, read 3 October 2026.
- forestryengland.uk and moors-valley.co.uk Halloween at Moors Valley pages, read 3 October 2026.
- exbury.co.uk Halloween Ghost Train and What’s On pages; paultonspark.co.uk Halloween page; longdownfarm.co.uk special events, read 3 October 2026.
- lyndhurst-pc.gov.uk Scarecrow Trail; hangerfarm.co.uk Silly Scott listing; brockenhurstvillage.org.uk Spooky Science Magic; forest-arts.co.uk Halloween Disco; teccevents.co.uk home page, read 3 October 2026.
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