Pumpkin picking
Indoor pumpkin patches near Manchester, Altrincham and Sale
Where to pick a pumpkin under cover near Timperley this Halloween: the indoor patches, farms with a marquee, carving tent or soft play for wet days, and indoor pumpkin carving.
Published . Prices and booking status below are checked every week.
There are very few true indoor pumpkin patches within 40 minutes of Timperley, and they finish this weekend, so here they are first. After them come the outdoor patches with somewhere dry to shelter or carve, then indoor pumpkin carving and pumpkin hunts. Dates, prices and booking in each row come from our checks and update themselves; when we checked on 29 October, every patch below was still open.
Most outdoor patches close on Saturday 31 October. For every patch, indoor or out, see Halloween near Timperley, and for the rest of the week, our Halloween half-term picks and rainy day picks.
Indoor pumpkin patches
Free entry, daily 9am to 6pm, until Saturday. A woodland-themed patch inside Summerseat Garden Centre near Bury, with scarecrows and photo spots, and a free autumn pumpkin trail. You pay only for the pumpkins you take. About 40 minutes from Timperley; the café and a new food hut are next to it.
Included with SEA LIFE entry, until 8 November. Not a patch to pick from, but the closest pumpkins under a roof: SEA LIFE’s Halloween trail at the Trafford Centre has a pumpkin patch, challenges and photo spots on the way round the aquarium, fifteen minutes from Timperley. Book a time slot online for the best price; under-2s go free.
Outdoor patches with cover if it rains
Free entry, pumpkins from £2, no booking. The nearest big patch, 25 minutes away near Knutsford: four acres and more than 25 varieties. There’s a marquee with a carving area if it rains, and the Golden Pumpkin Hunt runs until Friday. The field gets muddy, so bring wellies and a strong bag.
Festival days until Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Pick a pumpkin by wheelbarrow, then carve it indoors in the Carving Cavern, with a magic show, Halloween characters and the farm’s indoor soft play for when the weather turns. Pumpkins are priced by size; tractor rides and marshmallows cost extra. About 30 minutes away in Stockport.
Daily until Saturday, child £16 with a pumpkin, adult £14. Pumpkin picking and a carving tent at Lancaster Park in Chadderton, with Wizard School, a show and Halloween displays around the animal farm. Book online (there are no tickets on the gate) and bring cash for food and rides.
Carve a pumpkin indoors
Thursday to Saturday, £6.99 a child with one adult. At Fryer’s Garden Centre in Knutsford, children scoop, carve and decorate their own pumpkin to take home, with the pumpkin, tools and a battery tea light provided. Book a session online.
Saturday 10.30am to 12pm, Altrincham. The nearest pick, ten minutes away: Halloween crafts, a pumpkin to decorate and take home, treats, and a hot drink and cake for the grown-ups. Costumes welcome; places are limited.
On Thursday evening (29 October, 5.30pm to 7pm) there’s family pumpkin carving at GRUB in Stretford, £10 a family for three pumpkins. Sale Library’s free carving contest on Saturday is fully booked.
Indoor pumpkin hunts
Pumpkins to find rather than pick, all under cover: the pumpkin hunt at Paradise Island Adventure Golf in the Trafford Centre Dome (with a round of golf, until Sunday), the free painted pumpkin trail at Barons Quay in Northwich (until Sunday), and the paper pumpkin trail at Weaver Hall Museum, also in Northwich (with museum entry, until Sunday).
Questions parents ask
Is there an indoor pumpkin patch near Manchester?
Yes. Summerseat Garden Centre near Bury has a free indoor pumpkin patch, open daily from 9am to 6pm until Saturday 31 October, about 40 minutes from Timperley; you only pay for the pumpkins. Closer to home, SEA LIFE at the Trafford Centre has a small pumpkin patch inside its Halloween trail, and High Legh, Reddish Vale and Lancaster Park have outdoor patches with a marquee or a carving room to shelter in.
Is the Summerseat pumpkin patch free?
Yes. Entry to Summerseat Garden Centre’s indoor pumpkin patch and its autumn pumpkin trail is free; the pumpkins are paid for. It’s open every day from 9am to 6pm until Saturday 31 October, at Railway Street, Bury BL9 5QD.
Where can we go pumpkin picking if it's raining?
Summerseat Garden Centre’s indoor patch stays dry. Of the outdoor patches, High Legh (25 minutes, free entry) has a marquee with a carving area, Lancaster Park in Chadderton has a carving tent, and Reddish Vale Farm in Stockport has a carving room and indoor soft play. Wear wellies at any of them; the fields get muddy.
Where can children carve pumpkins indoors near Altrincham?
Fryer’s Garden Centre in Knutsford runs a pumpkin workshop from Thursday to Saturday (£6.99 a child, pumpkin and tools provided). Mabel’s in Altrincham has a family craft and pumpkin party on Saturday morning, and GRUB in Stretford has an evening carving session on Thursday 29 October (£10 a family for three pumpkins). Sale Library’s free carving contest on Saturday is fully booked.
When does pumpkin picking end?
Most patches near Manchester close on Halloween, Saturday 31 October. Cockfields Farm, Kenyon Hall Farm and Seven Sisters carry on to Sunday 1 November. Our Halloween page lists every patch, indoor or out.
Details change, so check with the organiser before you set off. Spotted something wrong, or know an event we've missed? Tell us.