A PICK-your-own pumpkin patch in the New Forest is set to open this weekend, just a few weeks ahead for Halloween.

Picking Patch will be opening their popular spot off the A338 Ringwood Road near Fordingbridge, which will also be host to a spooky Halloween themed maize maze, on Saturday October 9.

The company, which also has sites in Bath, Sompting, Cardiff and Porthcawl, is offering free entry to their five sites and collecting money in aid of the Great Ormond Street charity.

A spokesman from Picking Patch said: “Pumpkins, like us, come in all shapes and sizes, have different colours, tastes and uses.

“Their names are wonderfully evocative with Polar Bear, Goosebump and the cute Munchkin giving a real sense of what each one is.

“Gold Medal for carving, Kabocha for a wonderful soup, Casparita because how can we ignore a name like that, and the wonderful Monster Smash are just some of the 20 plus varieties we have planted for you to pick.”

Bournemouth Echo: Niall and Suzanne prepare the Pumpkin Picking Patch at Bicton next to the A338 for visitors to stroll amongst the many types of Gourds grown on the four acre field and choose the ones they wish to take home in preperation for the halloween festive

Customers can pay for what they pick at the patch in Bickton, and staff will price the pumpkins up by size.

Children can also try and tackle the Halloween Maize Maze, complete with creepy crawlies, hungry crocodile and an abandoned shipwrecked. Or if you think you’re brave enough, why not take on the Twilight Maze.

To find out more and secure a ticket, visit pickingpatch.com.