Tulleys Pumpkin Festival opens to record crowds

A record opening weekend

Tulleys Pumpkin Festival, near Crawley in West Sussex, opened for the 2026 season on Saturday 19 September with what the organisers say was its largest opening-day attendance. The organisers describe it as Europe's largest pumpkin festival. The scale of the opening reflects a pattern of growth that has been building over several seasons, and the first day of the 2026 run has set a new benchmark for the event. Visitors arriving on the opening weekend found the site prepared for large numbers, with the festival's fields, walkways and attractions open across more than 100 acres.

Owner Stuart Beare said social media has played a huge part in the festival's growth, with photos and videos shared worldwide each autumn. That reach has helped turn the opening weekend into a significant date for visitors planning autumn days out, and it has also shaped how the festival presents itself, with visual set pieces and photo opportunities placed throughout the site. The organisers planted around 600,000 pumpkin seeds for the season, and more than 1.5 million pumpkins and gourds now fill the site, with more than 100 varieties across the festival and Pick Your Own fields. The combination of volume, variety and a long run to 31 October gives the event a broad window for visitors.

What is new: Pumpkin Valley

New for 2026 is Pumpkin Valley, the largest single addition in the festival's history. It is a newly landscaped area with streams, ponds, wooden bridges, giant pumpkin sculptures, a Pumpkin Farm House and a Hobbit House. The organisers say it took months to build, and it represents a substantial expansion of the site rather than a small seasonal tweak. For visitors who have been to the festival in previous years, Pumpkin Valley is the main new element to seek out, and it sits alongside the existing attractions that have made the event a fixture in the autumn calendar.

The festival also has more than 30 photo opportunities, roaming musicians, street theatre, seasonal food and drink and a 33-metre observation wheel. Those elements are spread across the site, and the addition of Pumpkin Valley gives the festival a new focal point for photographs and for walking routes. The area's landscaping, with water features and bridges, is designed to be explored on foot, and the sculptures and buildings within it provide fixed points of interest. The festival's overall footprint covers more than 100 acres, so visitors planning a full day can expect to move between several distinct zones, including the Pick Your Own fields and the main festival areas.

Dates, tickets and Pumpkin Nights

The festival runs until 31 October 2026. Tickets are sold online at PumpkinFarm.co.uk. No ticket prices are given here, and visitors should check the website for current availability and entry arrangements. The festival is based at Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4PD. Tulleys Farm is a fourth-generation family farm run by the Beare family, and the pumpkin festival has grown from that farming base into an event that the organisers describe as Europe's largest pumpkin festival.

Pumpkin Nights, a separately ticketed evening event, runs on selected evenings from 26 September to 31 October, 5.30pm to 10pm. It includes illuminated woodland walks, pumpkin picking, two undercover live music stages and street food. Pumpkin Valley is included in the evening event for the first time. Tickets for Pumpkin Nights are at PumpkinNights.co.uk. The evening event offers a different format from the daytime festival, with lighting, music and food forming the core of the experience, and the inclusion of Pumpkin Valley extends the new area into the night-time programme. Visitors planning to attend both the daytime festival and Pumpkin Nights should note that they are separately ticketed and run on different schedules, with the evening event limited to selected dates rather than every night of the run.

Source: Tulleys Pumpkin Festival.

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Frequently asked questions

When did Tulleys Pumpkin Festival open for 2026?

It opened on Saturday 19 September 2026, with what the organisers say was its largest opening-day attendance.

How long does the festival run?

The festival runs until 31 October 2026.

How many pumpkins and gourds are at the festival?

More than 1.5 million pumpkins and gourds fill the site, with more than 100 varieties across the festival and Pick Your Own fields.

What is new at the festival for 2026?

Pumpkin Valley is new for 2026 and is the largest single addition in the festival's history. It is a newly landscaped area with streams, ponds, wooden bridges, giant pumpkin sculptures, a Pumpkin Farm House and a Hobbit House.

Where is Tulleys Pumpkin Festival?

It is at Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4PD.