Pumpkiny and Halloweeny stuff

If you're a fan of all things orange... If you've got children who are bursting with excitement to carve a pumpkin head and stick a candle inside... If you enjoy having hideous things suddenly go BOO! at you... Then these are the places to go!

• Atley Hill Farm, near Scorton. Pick-your-own opens on 8 October. That's their photo you see - the crop's coming along nicely!
• Brymor Ice Cream, near Middleham, promises a "Halloween-themed adventure area". It also opens 8 October, and will be open Saturdays and Sundays until October 22 when it will be open seven days a week for half-term.
• ​Also near Middleham, The Forbidden Corner has a Halloween Labyrinth from 22 October, with prizes, fancy dress, a spooky quiz, a witches' brew, and a night-time scare event. Sounds horrible!
• ​Stockeld PYO near Wetherby is rather outside our area, but we couldn't resist this gem from the website: after you've picked your pumpkin, you can "treat yourself with our delicious cold and hot foot in our café". 

If you know of any more Halloween venues, with or without hot feet, or if you own a PYO pumpkin patch, let us know.

And may we put out a gentle plea? Please don't junk your pumpkin in the countryside after use. It's really not a good idea, and it looks horrible. Pumpkins are food, and shouldn't be wasted. Here's a link to no fewer than 49 recipes on the BBC's Good Food site, from Pumpkin Hummus and Pumpkin Cake to the really traditional Pumpkin Pie. Yum!

---