Pumpkin season has officially started! 🎃 Here’s our pick of the best things to do with the kids this weekend in Liverpool, Southport and Wirral, whatever the weather.
⚡ Quick picks
🆓 Free: Playgrounds near you · World Museum · Rainfords Farm entry · Goosefest late night (Sat)
💸 Deal: 20% off Farmer Ted’s this weekend
☔ Rainy day: World Museum · Eureka!
👶 Under 5s: Goosefest at Martin Mere · Eureka! under-7s zone
📍 Jump to: Liverpool · Southport · Wirral · Pumpkin picking
📍 Liverpool
🍎 Apple Day at Speke Hall
An autumn morning in the orchard celebrating all things apple, run with Alchemic Kitchen. A gentle one for all ages.
🦉 Woodland Owl Workshop at Speke Hall
An afternoon owl craft session in the grounds of Speke Hall. If you missed Apple Day on Saturday, this is a lovely reason to visit on Sunday instead.
🛝 Free pick: a playground near you
Dry autumn days are perfect for a run around the park. Browse our playgrounds by area, with photos, facilities and our own tips from visiting with the kids.
☔ Rainy day: World Museum
The aquarium, bug house and dinosaurs keep most ages busy for a couple of hours. Get there early at weekends, as it gets busy after 11am.
📍 Southport and West Lancashire
🪿 Goosefest at WWT Martin Mere
Tens of thousands of pink-footed geese arrive from Iceland and Greenland every autumn, and it’s an amazing sight for kids. Follow the Big Goose Trail (designed by local schoolchildren) and catch a daily wild bird feed.
🎃 Pumpkin Festival at Farmer Ted’s
Thousands of pumpkins, a Jurassic Halloween trail with animatronic dinosaurs, a maize maze and marshmallow toasting. Weekends sell out, so book ahead.
📍 Wirral
🔬 Tree-mendous Weekends at Eureka!
Tree-themed weekend fun on top of four hands-on zones, plus The Burrow for under 7s. Arrive by Mersey Ferry to make a proper day of it.
🧺 Pumpkin picking on a budget
- The Pumpkin Patch, Hightown: open daily from 1 October, 9am to 6pm. Free entry, pay for your pumpkins, no booking needed.
- Rainfords Farm, Eccleston (St Helens): free entry and parking, pumpkins from £1.25. Just turn up. Details
- Birchall’s Farm, Rainford: opens Saturday 3 October. Details
- Church View Farm, Lydiate: opens Saturday 3 October, free entry. Details
- Vineyard Farm, Poulton Road, Wirral: open daily in October, 10am to 5pm. No booking needed.
- Claremont Farm, Bebington, Wirral: pay per kilo, no booking needed. Look out for white ghost pumpkins and green ones too.
- Benty Farm, Thurstaston, Wirral: £2 per adult, under-2s free, pumpkins per kilo. Book in advance.
Opening days can change with the weather, so check the farm’s page before you set off.
📅 Coming up
- ✨ River of Light, 23 October to 1 November: a free trail of light art around Liverpool city centre, perfect for half-term evenings.
- 🎭 Comic Con Liverpool, 10 and 11 October, Exhibition Centre Liverpool: lots of families go in costume.
- 👻 Spooky Speke, evenings throughout October until 29 October, 5:45pm to 7:30pm at Speke Hall. Details
- ☘️ Liverpool Irish Festival Family Day, Saturday 24 October, 11am to 4pm, Museum of Liverpool. Free, just turn up.
- 🏫 Year 7 school applications close on Saturday 31 October. Key dates
- 🎃 Our Halloween and half-term guide and 🎆 Bonfire Night 2026 guide
We check dates and prices when we write this, but things change. Always check the event page before you travel.
