Pumpkin Picking at Hatter’s Farm

We’ve been going to Hatter’s Farm every year for quite a few years now. Each year, they seem to get bigger and better than the last! They are known for their unique Pumpkin Cannon, that allows people to launch cannons at giant cut out board, which always feels very exciting. They also have a large pumpkin patch, a spook walk, face painting, tons of photo areas, a corn maze and actors walking around all dressed up. We actually went to Hatter’s Farm twice this year, as the first day we went we arrived a bit later than expected due to some plans shifting, so we didn’t end up getting to do everything that we wanted to do, so we decided to come back on a secondary day.

Pumpkin Picking

If you are going to a pumpkin patch, one of the main things you are probably going there to do is pumpkin picking. The pumpkins at Hatter’s Farm are grown right on their own field, with many of them still vined into the ground. They have white pumpkins, yellow pumpkins and orange pumpkins, with a bunch that are absolutely massive and perfect for carving. I really do like that they are actually grown at the farm, so you can also pick the size of the stems. The majority of the pumpkins are in a large field, with a few big decorations for photos, including a giant chair, a giant boot, and the word HATTERS. It’s a lovely walk around and they have wagons that Kai was really interested in pushing about. Hatter’s Farm also has a bunch of squashes and gourds, which are in the main area in barrels and by check out. These are so unique and fun!

Spooky Walk

The Spooky Walk at Hatter’s Farm is on the small side, but each of the areas are well decorated and contained. It’s also slightly different from last year, which I always appreciate. There are a few different rooms with animatronics, along with a giant spotted neon room full of hanging balls and a piano, which Amelia really enjoyed playing and Kai and Robin absolutely loved pushing about the big hanging balls. Another room also had neon graffiti and another was super dark with hanging ghosts. Though it’s on the shorter side, it does feel like they used the space well! During the nighttime haunt (we went to the daytime event) they have actors walking around in this walk, to make it even spookier.

Pumpkin Cannon and Maize Maze

Hatter’s Farm is known in Essex for it’s Pumpkin Cannon. If you go early enough in the year, you will be able to blast a small pumpkin or gourd at a target. If you come later in the year and they are out of pumpkins, they use large onions, which are just as fun. As we went early in the year, we all got to blast pumpkins! Robin hit both Jack Skeleton and a minion, where as Amelia aimed for a ghost. Kai also hit a minion, as did myself and Dann hit one of the back ones, I cannot quite remember which as his pumpkin exploded! Both this event and the maize maze are paid extras, but are very fun and well worth doing!

The Maize Maze is a lot bigger than I expected and there is a sign at the start that shows you the paths but this one isn’t marked with the different locations of the clues and signs, which means that you are pretty lost even with it if you aren’t good at maps! We had plenty of time, so didn’t rely on the map and instead let our children pick all the directions. The Maize Maze has a bridge on it and a giant stack of hay, letting you sort of see around. Your goal is actually to find four different potions within the maze, putting the colors on your fingers to create a pattern that will give you a fortune at the end. This is something we have never seen before – the finger paint was very fun to get onto our fingers and we all got different fortunes at the end! There are also four fact signs within the maze, which had Halloween-themed facts.

Hatter’s Farm Main Area

Hatter’s Farm also has a little pumpkin house that’s perfect for taking photos, a giant pumpkin bellowing smoke, and a bunch perfectly placed pumpkins and gourds. This area is really set up to look lovely! There is a toddler-focused hay maze that everyone can just run around as well, which Robin really enjoyed climbing across, and a giant hay tower that everyone climbed up. It’s the perfect area for pictures. The three actors that were there when we went were a witch, a scarecrow and a jester. They all interacted well with everyone, taking pictures and talking. It’s just a lovely experience and a great entrance to the rest of the venue.

Food Trucks, Face Paint, Roasting Marshmallows

There are three food trucks at Hatter’s Farm, providing a bite to eat. There are classic things like burgers and fries, but also things like chicken and waffles and a whole truck for coffee. We went for some BBQ pork loaded fries that had cheese on top, pickles, and sauces. It was delicious and nice and warm. We weren’t getting proper lunch there – just looking for a snack – but there were a good number of options for those who want a meal. We also purchased a few marshmallows to roast on the fire pits! These marshmallows are huge and quite fun to toast. There are plenty of seating both outside by the food trucks and instead the barn next to it, which homes the spooky walk. Around the barn, there are animatronics, more pumpkin displays, and face painting for an additional cost. Robin got her face painted and glitter dusted in her hair, she picked Autumn Flowers and really loved it.

It’s been fantastic to see Hatter’s Farm grow and expand – I remember when their spooky walk had primarily walls covered in plastic bags! It’s such a lovely and well presented pumpkin patch and I really do enjoy the fact that the pumpkins are grown right in that field.

Check out our list of the Best Pumpkin Patches in Essex.