Pumpkin picking at Hatter's Farm from £5 and Cammas Hall from £6.95, both open from 3 October, plus a free town-centre pumpkin patch on 30 and 31 October.
Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday, and the biggest draws around Bishop’s Stortford are two pick-your-own pumpkin farms out of town, both open from today, 3 October. In the town centre there is a free trail and pop-up pumpkin patch on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, and the arts centre runs a horror film day on the 31st. Every detail below is from the organiser’s own page, checked on 3 October 2026.
The quick answer
- Pumpkin picking: Hatter’s Farm, Takeley (CM22 6NP), from £5 a head, and Cammas Hall Farm, Hatfield Broad Oak (CM22 7JT), from £6.95. Both must be booked online, and pumpkins are paid for on top.
- Free: the BID’s Halloween trail, 24 to 31 October, then a pumpkin patch in Jackson Square on 30 and 31 October, 11am to 3pm.
- Scary, not for small children: Cammas Hall’s Resurrected nights in October and the 18+ Haunted Resurrected on 30 and 31 October.
- Half term in Hertfordshire is 26 to 30 October; the full week’s listings are on our October half term page.
Pumpkin picking
Hatter’s Farm, Takeley
Hatter’s Farm, Takeley, CM22 6NP. Its 2026 dates, from the farm’s own pages:
| Daytime pumpkin picking | Pumpkin Nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18 and 21 to 31 October | 16 to 18 and 23 to 31 October |
| Times | From 9am or 10am depending on the day, closes 5pm | 5pm to 9pm |
| Entry | £5 to £7 a person, plus a booking fee | £10 to £12 a person, plus a booking fee |
| Under 2s | Free | Free |
Entry includes the Hatter’s Haunted Mad House, street theatre actors, a hay bale mountain and hay bale maze, duck racing and a covered play area; Pumpkin Nights add live music. On top of entry you pay for the pumpkins themselves, which the farm prices from £1 or £1.50 for the smallest (its two event pages give different figures), the maize maze (£2.50 online, £3 on the day), the pumpkin cannon (£2.50 a shot or 3 for £7) and face painting. Booking is required and buys a two-hour slot. Parking is in the field next to the patch, dogs on leads are allowed, card and cash are taken, and the farm warns that the field is open ground that may be hard going for disabled visitors. Wear wellies (Hatter’s Farm).
Cammas Hall Farm, Hatfield Broad Oak
Needham Green, Hatfield Broad Oak, CM22 7JT. The farm reopens for Halloween on Saturday 3 October and runs on selected dates through October, with pre-booking essential (Cammas Hall Farm).
- Pumpkin Patch (daytime): from £6.95. More than 80 varieties of pumpkin and squash, sold separately by weight, plus the farm’s erupting “Pumpcano”, a pumpkin mosaic, Halloween characters and a Wicked Walkway. The farm says there are no scare actors in the daytime; the Terror Tunnel is recommended for ages 12 and up. On Thursday 15 October the patch opens from midday to 8pm. Under-2s are free. Dogs are not allowed in the patch, though they can go in the outdoor dining and play area and the maze (Cammas Hall Farm).
- Halloween maize maze: £6 a person, with 20% off if booked with patch or Resurrected tickets. Not suitable for buggies at this time of year.
- Auntie Celia’s Anti-Crow Cure, a family witch show, £5.95, Saturdays and Sundays in October.
- Party Monsters’ Halloween Takeover, a UV glow party for children, 26 to 30 October at 11am and 2pm: £8.50 a child, £5 an adult, babies on laps free (Cammas Hall Farm).
In the town centre
For the first time, Bishop’s Stortford BID and Jackson Square are running a pop-up pumpkin patch in the shopping centre’s community space on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, 11am to 3pm. Entry is free, but children earn it: posters in shop windows around the town each carry a letter, and a completed trail sheet spelling the word gets them in. The trail runs Saturday 24 to Saturday 31 October. One pumpkin per child, while stocks last (Discover Stortford).
Jackson Square car park is short stay; every town-centre tariff is on our parking page.
Halloween night in town
South Mill Arts, 1-3 South Road, turns Saturday 31 October into a horror film day in its cinema, £10 a film (South Mill Arts):
| Time | Film |
|---|---|
| 11am | The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG) |
| 1pm | Friday the 13th |
| 3.15pm | Paranormal Activity |
| 5.30pm | Carrie, 50th anniversary |
| 7.45pm | A Nightmare on Elm Street |
| 9.45pm | Scream, 30th anniversary |
Earlier in the week, Ghost Stories of M.R. James is on at South Mill Arts on Wednesday 28 October at 7.30pm, £17, with the audience choosing which tales are told. The town’s ghost walk on Sunday 25 October is already sold out on the venue’s box office.
Scare nights for teenagers and adults
Cammas Hall closes at 5pm on its night-event dates and reopens at 6pm, with no facilities in between. Dogs are not allowed at either night event (Cammas Hall Farm).
- Resurrected, recommended for 12 and over: gates 6pm to 9pm, last entry 7.30pm, live music 6.30pm to 8.30pm. £15.95 adults, £9.95 under-16s. Tribute acts on Friday 16 October (Amy Winehouse and a swing act), Saturday 17 (George Michael and Wham), Friday 23 (Lucy Wild, ’70s and ’80s legends) and Saturday 24 (Freddie Mercury).
- Haunted Resurrected, strictly 18 and over, Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October: a scare maize maze, terror tunnels with scare actors, the Pumpcano at night and live music, £19.95. A “Cabin in the Woods” trailer ride is extra (Cammas Hall Farm).
Halloween at the big attractions nearby
- Audley End House and Gardens, Saffron Walden. The Great Pumpkin Party, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4pm: storytelling, spooky games, a themed trail, a selfie spot and a daily fancy dress competition. Included in normal admission, 15% off if booked ahead, English Heritage members free (English Heritage).
- Mountfitchet Castle, Stansted Mountfitchet. “Sherlock Bones”, a skeleton hunt around the castle, village and grounds, 24 October to 1 November, included with a normal ticket (Mountfitchet Castle).
- Hertfordshire Zoo, Broxbourne. Pumpkin Valley, Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November, included in a day ticket, and the separately ticketed evening Dinos After Dark on 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31 October and 1 November (Hertfordshire Zoo).
Getting there
Both farms are out in the countryside on the Essex side of the town; Hatter’s Farm parks visitors in the field next to its patch. Check our roadworks and travel page before setting off, and our fireworks page for the rugby club’s display a week later, on Saturday 7 November.
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