16 Pumpkin Patches in and around Manchester 2022

Pumpkin picking is an autumn activity that has become really popular in recent years. We took the boy pumpkin picking last year, and although it was more pumpkin selecting from a row of them in a field, rather than actually picking them off the vine, we still had a lot of fun. A visit to one of the many local pumpkin patches is an autumnal treat indeed.

We are keen to pick our Halloween pumpkins again this year. So I’ve put together a list of pumpkin patches in and around Manchester to visit. Most of them ask you to book ahead. Some will be patches of ready picked pumpkins to choose from, some you’ll be able to actually pick your pumpkin and take it home. Either way, it’s a fun thing to do for a few hours and you can snap some adorable photos while you’re at it.

13 Pumpkin Patches in and around Manchester

Pumpkins can be picked early in the month. They can be safely stored in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to carve them for Halloween. Pumpkin patches are often quieter in the week, so if you’re keen to beat the rush, then this is a bit of a top tip!

16 Pumpkin Patches in and around Manchester

Bolesworth, Tattenhall – Enjoy frightfully fun Halloween adventures at Bolesworth’s spooky Halloween Maize Maze and Pumpkin Picking Patch on selected dates between October 8 and October 30 2022.

Brookheys Farm, Dunham Massey – A working farm with a proper pumpkin patch.

Cockfields Farm Park, Ashton-Under-Lyne – Join them for the pumpkin festival this year.

Delamere Farm Shop – Open from 8^th October, it’s time to pick your own pumpkins!

Dunham Massey Farm Ice Cream – Check out their Facebook page for info about their pumpkin patch, don’t forget to grab a yummy ice cream when you visit!

Dunham Pumpkin Patch – Pick your own pumpkins and enjoy some wood fired pizza on site. Book tickets in advance.

Farmer Berties Pumpkin Patch, Glazebury – Opposite Bents Garden Centre, this is known for being a great patch to visit. Open for just two weeks before Halloween, more info on their Facebook page.

Kenyon Hall Farm, Warrington – With indoor and outdoor picking throughout October, this is a well-established pumpkin patch with reasonably priced tickets.

Libby’s Pumpkin and Sunflower Patch, Macclesfield – Libby’s patch is a family-friendly fun day out, with an on-site café and free parking.

Malpas Pick Your Own Pumpkins, Malpas, Cheshire – No booking required. Maize maze entry is £2.00 per person. There’s so much to do including tractor rides, meeting the mini goats and a bouncy castle.

13 Pumpkin Patches in and around Manchester

Reddish Vale Farm, Stockport – Visit Reddish Vale Farm for a spooktacular time this Halloween, visit all the animals and outdoor play areas and then join in some ‘fangtastic fun’!

Smithills Open Farm, Bolton – This year’s event runs from Saturday 22nd through to Sunday 30th October.

The Hayloft, Widness, Cheshire – Open every day from 3rd October. There will also be a spooky maze, miniature railway, tractor rides and the coffee shop will be open serving breakfast, lunches, drinks, cakes and ice cream.

The Lambing Shed, Knutsford – Pick your own pumpkin, from 15th October.

Village Pumpkins, Derbyshire – North Derbyshire’s original pumpkin patch based in Barlow a small village between Sheffield and Chesterfield.

Windmill Animal Farm, Burscough – Have a full day of farm based fun and pick pumpkins too. One pumpkin per ticket is included in the ticket price, but you can always buy more on the day.

Other Halloween events and attractions…

Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich – Take part in a hilarious supernatural expedition with immersive storytelling, magic, dancing, games and fun for the whole family this Halloween. BoOoOk your tickets now!

Spooky World at Applejacks Adventure Farm, Warrington, WA4 4NW

There are lots of pumpkin patches to pick from in and around Manchester this year. If I’ve missed any, please comment below and I will add them. Happy pumpkin picking!

16 Pumpkin Patches in and around Manchester 2022

Recipe: Honey Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie is one of those things most English people have heard of, but for the most part have never tried. Every year we seem to embrace Halloween traditions a little bit more, and each year more and more pumpkin-spiced things creep onto our menus. I keep trying pumpkin and wondering what all the fuss is about. I’m not a huge fan, but would a slice of homemade pumpkin pie change my mind?

Recipe: Honey Spiced Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is really simple. You can make your own pastry or you can buy a ready-made sweet pastry case, or so what I did and buy some ready rolled shortcrust pastry. Sometimes, just sometimes it’s absolutely fine to be lazy!

Honey Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients (serves 8)
3 eggs, beaten
1 425g tin of pumpkin puree (or make your own)
125g runny honey
80g soft brown sugar
200mls milk (I used semi skimmed)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1 shortcrust pastry case (9 inch)

Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200°. Prepare your pastry case. if you’re using a ready-made case go to step 2. If you’re making your own or ruing ready rolled pastry then follow these instructions –

Grease your 9 inch pie tin and place on a baking sheet. Roll out your pastry and press into the pie tin evenly. I like to leave my pastry untrimmed around the edges of the pie, then tidy them up once the pie is cooked.

Prick the bottom of your pie, top with a piece of baking paper and over in baking beans. Put in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the baking beans and paper and bake for another 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, beat your eggs, then add your pumpkin puree, milk, sugar, honey, spices and salt. Mix very thoroughly. Carefully pour the filling into pastry case. I liked to do this about half way, then put it in the oven and continue filling the pie, this stops it sloshing about when you’re putting your pie in the oven.

3. Bake at 200 C for 45 minutes until it’s cooked though. If you’re not sure, it shouldn’t wobble too much and you can always poke it with a knife to see if it comes out clean.

Recipe: Honey Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Do not make the same mistake as me. In my excitement I pulled the pie straight out of the oven to admire its beauty once it was cooked. BIG MISTAKE. What I should have done is turned the oven off and opened the door a tiny bit, then after a bit longer, opened the door some more and let the pie cool in the oven. Pulling it out too quickly shocked it and made it crack. This made me very sad.

If you’ve made the fatal error of taking your pie out of the oven and it cracks like this, do not despair! All you need it a lot of cream. Whip it up and top your pie before serving. No one will ever know the unsightly horrors which lurk beneath!

Has my recipe for Honey Spiced Pumpkin Pie made me fall in love with pumpkin? Not really. It was very nice and the boys absolutely devoured the lot. I just think me and pumpkins just aren’t meant to be.

Recipe: Honey Spiced Pumpkin Pie

Recipe: Halloween Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Frosting

Every year I carve a pumpkin at Halloween and every year without fail I’ve guiltily tipped the insides of the pumpkin into the compost bin. I tell a lie, one year we did try and make something but it was so inedible we tipped that straight in the bin.

This afternoon as my son and I sat around the kitchen table carving the pumpkin and scooping out the gloopy insides, I felt really bad about tipping the pumpkin innards into the bin, so I decided to try and bake a pumpkin cake of our own.

I consider myself to be a bit of a safe baker, I can do 100 variations of sponge cake but anything more complicated I’ve always shied away from for fear of failure. I sat at the kitchen table and puzzled over what to do, in the end I came up with a slightly experimental recipe for a pumpkin cake and a hope that it would work, it did and it was delicious.

pumpkin cake

This pumpkin cake recipe does make quite a lot of cake batter and there was enough to make one decent sized cake and 12 yummy cupcakes. We used the flesh, the firm pale bit, not the slimy gloopy bit. We cut our chunks of the flesh and grated them. We found we had 300g or so, though I think if you found yourself with more pumpkin than that, then the recipe is quite forgiving and would accommodate another 100g or so with no problems.

The pumpkin kind of melts into the cake when it’s cooked and you’d never, ever know what the spooky surprise in your cake really is. I suspect if you wanted to make this cake outside of pumpkin carving season a grated butternut squash would work just as well.

pumpkin cake

Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Icing

If you’ve carved your pumpkin and you don’t know what to do with the leftover flesh, here’s a cracking recipe for a cake which you can decorate as Halloweeny as you want.

For the cake…

300g golden caster sugar
200g butter or margarine
4 eggs, beaten
2 tsp mixed spice, ground
5 tsp cinnamon, ground
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
300g self raising flour
300g pumpkin flesh, grated
splash of orange juice if the latter needs loosening

For the frosting…

80g unsalted butter, soft
100g icing sugar
4 tsp cinnamon, ground
200g cream cheese

Pre-heat your oven to 190.
Cream the golden caster sugar and butter together. Once light and fluffy stir in the beaten eggs, mixed spice and cinnamon. Add to bicarb of soda, salt and sifted flour and fold in until the batter is smooth. If the batter seems a little stiff add a splash of fresh orange juice to loosen it. Stir in the grated pumpkin.
Put a dessert spoon of the batter in 12 cupcake cases and bake for 20 minutes, remove from the oven and cool on a rack.
With the remainder of the batter, pour into a lined 8 inch cake tin. For ease I used one of the paper cake tin liners you can buy and my tin was quite deep (4 inches). Bake this cake in the oven for 50 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cake inside for a further 10 minutes, then remove and cool on the rack.

To make the frosting…

Beat the icing sugar and butter together until smooth, add the cinnamon and stir thoroughly. Beat in the cream cheese until the mixture is well combined. Put in the fridge to firm up for 20 minutes.
Once your cakes are cool they can be iced, you can either pipe on the frosting or smooth it on with a knife, decorate however you want, I sprinkled some spooky sprinkles on top of mine.

The result was a surprisingly light pumpkin cake, full of autumnal spice and not at all pumpkiny. I urge you not to tip your pumpkin innards in the bin, but to try this instead. You won’t regret it. I promise!

pumpkin cake