The End of Pumpkin Season: 10 Years of Pick Your Own, 18 Years of Growing
18 years ago, Guy and Emily French planted their first pumpkins on a quiet patch of farmland just outside Colchester. Ten years later, in 2015, that same field became home to Essex's first Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch. This autumn, after a bumper 2025 season, we picked our last pumpkin. It's the end of one story at Foxes Farm, and the beginning of another.
18 Years of Growing, 10 Years of Pick Your Own
Foxes Farm has always been a working farm first. Guy and Emily started growing pumpkins here in 2007, long before Pick Your Own became part of the plan. When the patch opened its gates in 2015, it quickly became a much-loved autumn tradition for families across Essex, with hay bales, farm trails and, of course, fields full of pumpkins to choose from. A decade on, 2025 turned out to be our best season yet, which made the decision to step away from Pick Your Own bittersweet, but also felt like the right moment to close that chapter well.
Why We're Turning the Page
Running a seasonal visitor attraction alongside a working farm is demanding, and after ten years we wanted to build something that could bring people to Foxes Farm all year round, not just for six weeks in October. So we've spent the past year transforming the same farmland into a new kind of destination: a private pickleball court, a pay-as-you-go gym, dog walking fields and a dedicated dog barn, plus commercial units to let for local businesses.
What's Next at Foxes Farm
The gym is open to the whole community with no contracts and no joining fees, just flexible, no-pressure training in a converted farm building. Our indoor pickleball court is available to book for players of every level, and it's already proving popular as one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK. For dog owners, our secure dog walking fields and private dog barn offer safe, off-lead space away from busy public parks, ideal for reactive dogs, puppies and anyone who just wants some peaceful time outdoors with their dog. And for local trades and growing businesses, our commercial units offer flexible, farm-based workspace just outside Colchester.
Thank You, Essex
To everyone who visited us over the past ten Octobers, picked a pumpkin, took a hayride or built a family tradition around a trip to Foxes Farm: thank you. You made the Pick Your Own patch what it was. We're excited for you to see what we've built next, and we hope you'll find a new reason to visit Foxes Farm any day of the year, whether that's a pickleball match, a gym session or a walk with the dog.