With up to 250,000 pumpkins to choose from, Farmer Copleys is the ultimate pumpkin picking spot in Leeds.
These guys really know a thing or two about growing pumpkins.
Every year, a family-run farm shop and cafe transform into the UK’s biggest pumpkin festival in October and offer the ultimate spooky day out for all the family to enjoy.
Based in West Yorkshire, nestled between Pontefract and Featherstone, the Copley family have everything you need for a pumpkin experience you’ll never forget.
Image: Farmer Copleys
Wade through mounds of pumpkins to find your perfect pick.
This year there’s a whopping forty varieties to choose from that make up some of the 250,000 available- all with some pretty extraordinary names.
Cinderella, Polar Bear, Racer and Baby Bear are amongst some of the options available, though the names do not resemble the actual characters and animals, so don’t be looking out for any princess crowns or arctic fur or you might be there all day long.
Image: Farmer Copleys
Spookier varieties hold the name of Goosebump, Pumpkin Rouge and Casperita but the rare gem to look out for is the Blue Crown Prince, this unique variety are the tastiest and come in a beautiful shade of pastel blue.
The Pumpkin Princess and the ‘Not so Wicked’ Witch of the West will be on hand throughout the day to help you find your perfect pumpkin and will even be giving out prizes to those dressed for the spooky occasion.
Image: Farmer Copleys
Once you’ve had your pick of the rainbow and found the perfect pumpkin to carve for Halloween, there are plenty more activities to get involved in. Embark on a tractor ride across the farm or take part in the daily fancy dress competition.
There will also be archery for you to practise your best bullseye shot, a dedicated storytime for little ones and grown ups to recharge, as well as a visit from Magical Mr Zen.
Channel your inner child and jump on a vintage fairground and waltz away your worries or dance along to live music from different tribute acts from Luke Combs, ABBA and Taylor Swift.
Farmer Copleys is open for the Pumpkin Festival from Friday 28 September all the way through to Thursday 31 October and tickets are just £6 each. Farmer Copleys is around a forty-minute drive from Leeds city centre and can also be accessed from Streethouse train station (3 stops from Leeds).
Tucked away in Leeds Kirkgate Market you'll find a wonderful seafood stall selling freshly shucked oysters for £1.90 each.
It's places like these that remind us why we love Leeds so much.
Established in 1880, Hayes Seafood is widely regarded as the oldest trader within the historic Kirkgate Market.
For the past 42 years, it has been run by Cliff and Michelle, the loveliest couple who welcome every customer with open arms.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The menu here is small but perfectly formed, focusing on fresh, ready-to-eat seafood that you can enjoy with a squeeze of lemon and a dollop of mayonnaise at most.
Delivered fresh every morning, there's pre-cracked crab shells, brown and white crab meat, cockles, crawfish tails - all perfectly prepared for you to eat at their bar or high tables opposite.
But, it's the oysters that you'll see people queueing for. And rightly so.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Everything here is prepared to order right in front of you, and for no extra fee. You can choose from two types of oysters: super salty Lindisfarne oysters or the slightly sweeter English Loch Fyne.
We recommend having a couple of each, pulling up a stool right by the counter and getting stuck in. If you ask Cliff nicely, he might tell you a bit about the history of the place - but you may have to order a couple more oysters for that.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
You're left to dress them yourself, whether you prefer dash of fiery tabasco or a few pickled shallots. But to be honest, they're delicious just as they come.
This spot is a real piece of Leeds history, and the queues at lunchtime as well as the repeat regular customers proves just how special it is.
All it's missing is a champagne stall next to it...now wouldn't that be perfect?
Yorkshire-set Christmas film by Leeds director starring Richard E. Grant set to hit UK cinemas next month
Clementine Hall
A brand-new Christmas film is hitting cinemas nationwide next month - and it’s a proper Leeds success story.
Jack Spring directed his first feature film at just 19 years old and has spent the last decade carving out a career in independent film, as well as co-founding Leeds-based production company Shush Films.
His first movie, Destination: Dewsbury, was shot just down the road in - you guessed it - Dewsbury. And after moving to Leeds from Grimsby, Jack became determined to build his business from the city, putting down roots and growing his production company here.
Image: Supplied
Now, after years of working on independent projects, Jack has taken his biggest leap yet with a brand-new Christmas film, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint.
Set in Yorkshire, Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint follows Aubrey Flint, a reclusive model soldier painter with a lifelong hatred of Christmas, who is sentenced to community service at Willow Lodge - a retirement home on the brink of closure.
Roped into helping with a chaotic production of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Aubrey clashes with its interesting set of residents...
And the cast is about as star-studded as it gets, featuring Richard E. Grant, John Bradley, Celia Imrie, Adjoa Andoh, Sophia Di Martino, Adrian Rawlins and Kiell Smith-Bynoe.
Image: Supplied
The heartwarming festive comedy will hit cinemas nationwide on Friday 6 November - a huge milestone for a Leeds-based director and production company, taking a homegrown Yorkshire story to audiences across the country.
You just can't beat a proper wholesome British Christmas film, so you can best believe we'll be watching in the cinema, popcorn in hand.
Clementine Hall -
9th September 2024 
