Looking for a family day out that’ll tire out the kids, get them out and about in nature and provide (hay)bales of fun? Enter The Patch MK, a family-run working farm near Milton Keynes that goes all out during summer and autumn, creating a space for some seriously wholesome seasonal entertainment.

During the summer months you can expect three maize mazes to lose your brood in for an hour (or two), stunning flower fields blooming with more than 220 varieties of bee-friendly sunflowers and wildflowers, and plenty of down-on-the-farm fun in The Fun Fields adventure playzone, with mini-golf, tractor rides and more. The new crop for this summer is The Labyrinth of Illusions – a giant maize-maze full of mind-bending tricks – which joins the Music Maze and the Lost World maze. (Clue: there’s a six-metre-high Brachiosaurus).

As well as PYO own bouquets (from £5 a bunch), the flower fields provide perfect photo opps too – there’s 20+ giant sculptures where you can pose for family snaps among the blooms, including a fabulous giant steel heart made by a local blacksmith. That’s the grandparents’ Christmas gift sorted!

Come October, The Patch MK is your one-stop-shop for award-winning pumpkins and all sorts of suitably spooky goings-on. With 61 different varieties of pumpkins and squash planted, there’s over 500,000 different sizes, shapes, and colours to choose from (great if you like them particularly warty!). Go for the pumpkin-picking, stay for the marshmallow toasting and barista coffee in The Grazing Shed café.

Seriously, there’s too much fun to be had at The Patch MK during the day which is why they hold pumpkin nights too – pumpkin picking under the stars plus live music, delicious seasonal food and a bar makes for a lush autumnal evening with your nearest and dearest, wouldn’t you say? And what do they do with any leftover pumpkins, I hear you cry? Donate them, of course! The Patch MK work closely with London-based charity The Felix Project, who redistribute any unpicked pumpkins to food banks, schools, and refuges. To date, they’ve donated the equivalent of over 54,000 meals in fresh produce.

Owners Joe and Roz are passionate about farming, family, and community so their good deeds don’t stop there. Since opening The Patch in 2019, they’ve also raised over £11,000 for the MK neonatal ward, built a toilet block in Malawi, sponsored two local sports clubs, and held yoga classes and mental health mornings among the flowers. Plus the hundreds of millions of wildflowers they’ve planted support bees, insects and other insects and invertebrates. Head up to the farm to see for yourself what the buzz is all about.

It may only be open across summer and autumn, but The Patch MK really makes the most if it and will fast become your school holiday hero. Add it to your must-visit list.