Review of Cockfields Farm Pumpkin Festival 2020

Cockfields Farm pumpkin picking event has begun for 2020 and you can discover what we think below. 

Cockfields Farm in Ashton-Under-Lyne is known for its amazing events and we were exhited to hear that they would be running their Pumpkin Festival for 2020. We were invited along to the Pumpkin Festival to check it out (gifted) and sent along one of our mum reviewers Amy and her ten and seven 7 year old children to see what they though. Check out their review below. 

For more details about the Pumpkin Festival see here. 

Review of Cockfields Farm Pumpkin Festival 2020

Spooky Season is well and truly here and to mark the occasion, Cockfields Farm has begun its ever-popular Pumpkin Festival. We were invited along to enjoy this fang-tastic experience. Here’s what we thought.

We arrived at Cockfields farm with much anticipation. We love Halloween and more than ever this year, we were in need of some fab-boo-lous fun! We were thrilled to see that some great activities were on offer and that careful measures were in place to ensure that we felt safe and secure throughout our day. On arrival, we were given a program of the day’s events.

My children (7&9) were eager to head straight to the animal barn. We loved feeding the goats – especially the adorable younger animals- and we spent a long time watching the playful antics of the nine baby piglets as they ran rings around their tired mum. The reptile room was a firm favourite with both of my children. My daughter (7) was particularly fond of the Skinny Pigs and is now researching whether we can keep one as a pet!

The barn was well staffed- to ensure that a limited numbers of guests could enter at any one time. This was not a problem as Cockfields has responsibly restricted the number of visitors entering the site each day. Arrows clearly mark out a one- way system and hand sanitising stations are located around the site in addition to the usual handwashing facilitates. In smaller areas, such as the reptile house, numbers are restricted to two families at any one time. We felt safe throughout our stay.

After the animal barn, we visited the play barn. The carousel was a great hit with both of my children- they were thrilled that they could go on this multiple times- this is included in the entry price.

Next, we headed off for the highlight of our day- the pumpkin patch. There are pumpkins of all different shapes and sizes and both of my children enjoyed taking their time to pick their favourites. My son made sure he examined every pumpkin carefully and was excited to find a pumpkin with the stem still intact as he thought it would make great hair once he carved it.

My daughter went for the hugest pumpkin she (or as the day went on, I) could possibly carry. The little wheelbarrows dotted throughout the pumpkin patch were a lovely touch and the small children, in particular, were in their element wheeling them around. Pumpkin picking and carving takes place throughout the day at the farm.

We also loved looking around their brand new Pumpkin Village where we found spooky looking pumpkins and gourds and had chance to posefor pictures with the great props. 

Once we had carved our pumpkins, we went to rest our feet and warm our hands in ‘woolly jumpers’ café. There was a good selection of hot meals and snacks on offer- including some ghoulish sweet treats. We enjoyed our hot drinks and the spider-web shortbread biscuits were a big hit. As an alternative, you can bring your own food: picnic benches are located in the main and play barns.

When we were warmed and fed, we headed back outside to explore, play and pet some of the gorgeous animals in the haunted hay barn. We loved stroking the beautiful, long- haired rabbits.

Visiting the Halloween Pumpkin Festival was a fantastic way to spend the day. I would definitely recommend taking wellies or boots (as the ground was muddy in places) and wrapping up to enjoy the autumn chill. We were excited to bring our pumpkins home, where they are now glowing eerily- we couldn’t wait until Halloween!

The Halloween Pumpkin Festival takes place at Cockfields Farm until November 1st.

All tickets must be booked in advance see here.