Nothing says autumn like pumpkin picking - which is why we've gone and put together a list of some of the best pumpkin patches in and around Leeds and West Yorkshire.
Now October is finally upon us, it’s time to embrace those shades of burnt orange and brown as we enter into spooky season.
Before the nights start in the afternoon and it becomes too chilly outside, check out our favourite pumpkin patches to collect your Halloween pumpkins.
Bert’s Barrow
Austfield Lane, Hillam, Leeds, LS25 5NQ
Image: Bert's Barrow
Bert’s Barrow has grown 30,000 pumpkins over the past few months and re-opened to the public yesterday. The dog-friendly farm is open to the public from 9 am until 4 pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday but The LS25 farm are urging pumpkin pickers not to leave their trip too late in the year, so grab your pumpkins whilst you can this year.
No tickets are needed for this event. Bert’s Barrow is located in Hillam (LS25), which is around a twenty-five-minute drive from the city centre.
Temple Newsam will running a pumpkin carving workshop 1-3pm on Tuesday 31 October 2022 to get all of the family into the Halloween spirit over half term. The event will run between 1 pm and 3 pm, but families are also invited to find the ghostly residents of Home Farm and Temple Newsam House throughout the week.
No tickets are needed for this event. Temple Newsam is on the outskirts of the city centre. The LS15 postcode is around a fifteen-minute drive from Leeds city centre.
There’s far more than just grabbing your pumpkin for spooky season here. There’s 18 different varieties to choose from so grab your favourite white, blue, orange, green, warty big or small one and take a tractor ride through the picking fields. If that’s not enough, there’s plenty of photo ops here, an onsite cafe and even face painters to bring your spookiest ideas to life.
Birchfield Ice Cream Farm will be open from Thursday 6 October 10 am - 4pm every day until Halloween, but if you can hold out until half term, you can join the Pumpkin Festival activities. Tickets are free to attend but if you wish to join the additional activities, visit the farm animals, activities, maize maze and carving barn there's a £5.95 charge per person.
It’s ‘go big or go home’ at Farmer Copleys. The Pontefract-based farm has planted over 200,000 pumpkins and claims to have the ‘biggest pick your own pumpkin patch’ in the UK. Take your pick of the rainbow and find your perfect pumpkin, in twenty different varieties. From traditional orange to green, blue and even white pumpkins, each pumpkin is unique and perfect for carving later in the month.
Redwood Farm
Tingley, Wakefield WF3 1EF
Image: Redwood Farm
Head to Redwood Farm's opening weekend event either on Saturday 14 and 21 October or Sunday 15 and 22 October or join the half-term family day-trippers from Saturday 26 October until Halloween.
There will be no bookings required and both cash and card are accepted on site. Redwood Farm is around thirty minutes from Leeds city centre, located near Wakefield.
Yorkshire Pumpkins open their fields to pumpkin pickers on weekends from Saturday 7 October for an early weekend pick before welcoming guests every day from Thursday 26 October until Sunday 30 October 2022. They recommend bringing wellies, gloves (pumpkin plants are covered in spikes), a camera and a very strong bag to carry your pumpkin home in.
Tickets cost £1.50 each and prebooking is required, but the value of the tickets is taken off your pumpkins.
Yorkshire Pumpkins is located in Lodge Farm, Cundall and is around a fifty-minute car journey from Leeds city centre. Due to the remote location, we would not recommend travelling by public transport.
Having planted over 125,000 pumpkins, Spilman’s Farm has pumpkins for everyone across their twenty-five-acre plot. Located on a family-fun-farm, visitors have the choice of picking orange and white pumpkins, gourds and squashes before heading to the new ‘Last Pumpkin’ musical theatre show, which is included in the ticket price. Visitors will also be given a £5 voucher on arrival to spend on your pumpkins or Spilmans activities.
The Spilman’s Pumpkin Festival will be open every weekend in October, just remember to pre book a ticket to avoid disappointment. Spilman’s Farm is located north of York and takes around an hour to reach by car from Leeds city centre.
You’ve spent over three years studying and now it’s time to say celebrate so we’ve rounded up some of the best places in Leeds for you to do so.
Those all-nighters in the library are now a distant memory.
It’s time to celebrate all the hard work you’ve put in over the years and what better way to spend it than eating delicious food and raising a toast to yourself.
Whether you’re celebrating with family, friends or a loved one. We’ve sorted you some of the best deals on offer, from free glasses of beer Prosecco, to 2 for 1 cocktails and discounted set menus.
Tattu
29 E Parade, LS1 5PS
Images: The Manc Group
The ‘Power of Wisdom’ set menus are available for £37.50 for lunch and £45.50 for dinner, with graduates receiving an ‘Elixir of Life cocktail’, or a complimentary glass of Prosecco.
Enjoy three courses with a glass of Prosecco on arrival for £55; you can even upgrade to the proper stuff and pay an extra tenner for Moët & Chandon Champagne for each person.
Fancy Italian? Freshly crowned graduates dining from the special set menu can enjoy a bonus Bellini to toast their success.
Flight Club
1-2 S Parade, LS1 5QL
Image: The Hoot Leeds
As a congratulations to the city’s graduating students, Flight Club has lined up a treat for the class of 2026. Any guest with a valid student ID or graduation certificate can raise a toast to the celebrations with a complimentary bottle of prosecco for the group when they book a game of Social Darts.
CrowdedHouse
Level 5 & 6, Trinity Centre, 70 Boar Ln, LS1 6HW
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Enjoy your celebrations whilst taking in jaw dropping panoramic views of the city at Leeds' newest rooftop hangout. Their set menu offering two courses for £26 or three courses for £30 is not one to be missed.
Book a table at one of Leeds' most celebrated restaurants and enjoy a free glass of prosecco as a cheers to you. Available until Sunday 16 July and you must mention graduation when booking.
Uyare
Victoria Gate 3rd Floor, Rooftop, George St, LS2 7AU
Image: The Hoot Leeds
As a graduate, you can enjoy 15% off your bill when you book with the code 'GRADUATESOF26'. Plus, you'll receive a complimentary glass of prosecco to toast the occasion.
Banksia
2 Lower Briggate, LS1 4AE
Images: The Hoot Leeds
At this Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, graduates will eat for free - now that is an offer. Enjoy the special graduate set menu priced at £39 for three courses, with graduates eating for free with two paying customers.
Enjoy Blackhouse Gastrobar's fabulous steaks and seasonal dishes with a free glass of prosecco for every graduate, plus if you're a table of six you'll get an entire bottle on the house. We'll cheers to that.
Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena, Leeds – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
American rock band Kings of Leon are making their way to Leeds for a visit to First Direct Arena as part of their current EU/UK tour.
Formed in 1999 by brothers Caleb, Nathan, Jared, plus their cousin Matthew Followill, the rock band has gone on to achieve nine top 40 singles and six UK number one albums.
The rockers have two singles in Spotify’s Billions Club, including their standout hit ‘Sex on Fire’, which has amassed over 2 billion streams and ‘Use Somebody’ with 1.2 billion – two tracks that helped skyrocket them from cult favourites here in Britain to global superstars.
This four-piece’s latest LP, Can We Please Have Fun, dropped mid-2024 and knowing how energetic Northern crowds can be, it’s safe to say we’ve got this covered.
Last time they travelled over the pond, they let the Manchester crowd know the England score in real-time (read our full review).
Gig guide – Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena, Leeds
Kings of Leon UK tour dates
Fri 3 July – Glasgow, UK – Bellahouston Park
Sat 4 July – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Mon 6 July – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
Are there any tickets left for Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena?
If you’re wondering where you’ll ‘Find Me’ on Monday 6 July, it is probably watching these four relatives play their two decades’ worth of hits at First Direct Arena.
Don’t ‘Waste a Moment’ as there’s only a limited number of tickets left if you’re after catching a glimpse of Kings of Leon live – get yours HERE.
Kings of Leon are gearing up for their Leeds gig at First Direct this July (Credit: Press shot)
Kings of Leon setlist for 2026 UK tour
These American rockers have been performing all across Europe, switching up a couple of songs at each show; however, the hits below have featured at most of their appearances.
Slow Night, So Long
Waste a Moment
Find Me
On Call
Radioactive
The Bucket
Revelry
Manhattan
Use Somebody
Wait For M
Split Screen
Closer
Molly’s Chambers
Razz
MyParty
Supersoaker
Fans
Back Down South
Seen
Pyro
Black Thumbnail
To Space
Knocked Up
Sex on Fire
What are the stage times for Kings of Leon in Leeds?
Doors for Kings of Leon at First Direct Arena in Leeds are set to open at 6pm with a kick-off time of 7.30pm from a huge indie rock band.
Supporting the US rockers is a band who have received comparisons to Kings of Leon, the loud-and-proud Scottish stars The Snuts, known for their tracks like ‘Glasgow’, ‘Elephants’ and ‘Maybe California'.
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
Clay Pit Lane
Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in Leeds
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
Sophie Smith -
1st October 2023 
