Pumpkin Picking at Hatter’s Farm

Exploring pumpkin patches is really the perfect Autumn activity! We go to a few pumpkin patches in Essex, to see how they are. This time, we went back to Hatter’s Farm, which is one of the ones we have visited yearly since they opened, to see how things changed! Hatter’s Farm has both day and night options when it comes to visiting their farm. Their night options make the entire patch full of glowing, neon paint, which does sound like an adventure. We went during the daytime, to pick some pumpkins, eat some food, and explore the corn maze.

Photo Areas at Hatter’s Farm

Hatter’s Farm has tons of different photo areas set up, with a very new photo area that we all loved; Pumpkin Wonderland. This was like a large sculpture made of pumpkins with a pumpkin river, waterfall, and a bridge you can walk on. There is a giant jack-o-lantern that lights up in the middle of this, making it such a fun photo point. There is a smaller pumpkin house, which was the main pumpkin house last year, in this area along with a larger pumpkin house that takes centre stage more towards the entrance. The pumpkin houses are structures that look like houses full of pumpkins.

Hatter’s Farm also has smaller photo points like a sign that says “I solved the Corn Maze” and “I fired the Pumpkin Cannon”, along with three coffins that have a hatter’s farm sign on them. In the pumpkin field, there are some giant heart cut-outs and a Hatter’s Farm sign, which we saw previously at the confetti event that they do a little later in the year. I do find these different photo points to be so much fun! Robin, Amelia and Kai were all very much impressed by the Pumpkin Wonderland. Not really a photo point as it’s so big, but this year there was also a giant potion pot, which was bellowing smoke, that everyone kept trying to see into and commenting on.

The Corn Maze and Spooky Walk

Hatter’s Farm has a large corn maze that you can explore for an extra price. This corn maze had really health, tall corn! At the start of the maze, we were given a card with four spaces on them. As you explore the maze, you could find little stamps that then made a fortune when you leave. The stampers for this activity are very fun in concept, but only Dann, Kai and I could really make the stamps show up well – Amelia and Robin struggled with how stiff they are. Despite going in on opening weekend, a few of the sort of baskets that held the stamp were falling off, as clearly people used that to stamp and press very hard on the stamper. There were tons of little joke signs throughout the corn maze at Hatter’s Farm too, which Robin thought was so much fun! The entire maze took about 20 minutes, which included the bridge in the middle – perfect for photos. The fortune at the end were more like challenges – Kai ended up doing some sort of star jump, Amelia spun around, Robin did hopping – it was a fun ending!

Hatter’s Farm also has a short, indoor, spooky walk which is clown themed. This does not have an extra charge! During the nighttime there are actors that will jump scare people in the spooky walk, but during the day it’s more child friendly. There is a big room with a piano that Amelia and Robin quite like, a ghost room with hanging ghosts that’s Kai’s favorite, and a lot of clowns. It’s not a long or particularly spooky walk (especially without the actors), but it’s cute! This has not changed from last year.

Pumpkin Patch at Hatter’s Farm

Hatter’s Farm has a large pumpkin patch that’s actually where the pumpkins grow, so it’s ideal for getting long stem pumpkins as you can often grab them right off the vine. There are primarily classic, large, orange carving pumpkins! These pumpkins are scattered all throughout the field, though there are some yellow ones and a few tan ones as well. The pumpkins are sold based on size, with a bunch of circle rings to show if they are extra small through to giant. We got a few giant pumpkins! There are some wheel barrels that you can use to go through the field – Kai did this for us, moving our pumpkins about. There are a few photo points in the field; the giant Hatter’s sign, some wooden heart frames, and some pianos.

If you are looking for smaller decorative pumpkins or squashes, they have quite a few bins in their main area where their Pumpkin Wonderland is, for you to pick from, and tons right by check out as well. There are lots of options but this pumpkin farm is best for the classic large carving pumpkins.

Hatter’s Farm Pumpkin Cannon and Actors

Hatter’s Farm is well known for their pumpkin cannons! I remember the first year that we went, they had run out of pumpkins and were firing massive onions. This cannon, for a fee, allows you to shoot munchkin pumpkins and some squash towards wooden panels that are painted to be monsters. We each got two gos at the pumpkin cannons with everyone hitting a panel. The ghost and minion took a lot of hits, with Kai also getting Frankenstein. It’s always such a unique and fun thing to try out! There are also actors that are out during the daytime, which will take photos with you. We saw a witch and interacted with a scarecrow who spoke to Robin about her Halloween costume – which is always so much fun.

Food Stalls

Hatter’s Farm has six food stalls, from burgers, to sandwiches to tacos. We got some loaded fries from the burger van and one of everything from the taco stand, as the taco stand is our absolute favorite. If you are a fan of tacos, this is the one to go too! The birria tacos are fantastic. Robin devoured some nachos, everyone had a few tacos and it’s just a fantastic time. There is also a stall that sells marshmallows that you can the roast over an open fire. These marshmallows are giant and it’s just such a fun little thing that we always enjoy. By the food stalls, there is also a face painting stand, but Robin didn’t want to do it this year because she was wearing a Halloween costume.

Hatter’s Farm is a fantastic place to not only take some fun pictures but also to grab a giant carving pumpkin or even just eat some street food. We do enjoy our time there and are excited to carve up our large pumpkins.

You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!