Key details
When:
Date:
Time:
27th Oct
09:00 - 10:00
29th Oct
09:00 - 10:00
Where:
New location for 2026!
Rougham Sunflower and Pumpkin Field
Just south of Junction 45 of the A14,
3 miles east of Bury St Edmunds
Detailed directions with the map below
For your SatNav, use the postcode: IP30 9HX
Pricing:
Free admission and parking.Limited tickets available for each hour.Please book your free ticket for your group (no card needed) to secure your time slot.
Book 1 ticket for your whole group. You do not need 1 ticket for each person in your group.
Ticket booking closes at midday on the day before the session
Pumpkins are charged individually depending on the size.
Tickets not yet available
Rougham Pumpkins: the SEN-friendly sessions
New for 2026! This year we have ticketed times for 2 SEN-friendly hours in the half term week at the Rougham Pumpkins.
On Tuesday 27th and Thursday 29th October between 9am and 10am, the pumpkin patch will only be open to those who have pre-booked tickets to come. These dedicated times are designed to provide a calm, supportive environment for individuals with Special Educational and Sensory Needs. The field will be open as usual to the wider public from 10am onwards on these days.
If you don’t need to come during the SEN-friendly hours, you are welcome to just come along to the Rougham Pumpkin Patch without booking. Find out all the pumpkin details here.
During these dedicated SEN-friendly times, visitor numbers are limited and background noise is reduced. These times are perfect for those who benefit from quieter surroundings, predictable routines and a slower pace. You are welcome to move around freely at the field, take breaks and engage in activities in a way that suits your needs.
The pumpkin patch has wide pathways through the pumpkins and wheelchair-friendly picnic benches. However, please note this is a large field and the ground is uneven after the long, hot sunny weather we have had, but will become muddy if it has recently rained.
Booking
Ticket numbers are limited for each morning session. They are free to book (no card needed) and you can bring helpers and carers with you as you need. When booking, please book 1 ticket per group (not per person) and let us know how many there will be in your group.
Location
The pumpkins are in a new field for 2026 – the same field as the sunflowers were in earlier this year. It’s just south of A14 Junction 45, about the same driving distance as the field last year. See the new location here.
Opening TIMES
On Tuesday 27th and Thursday 29th October, between 9am – 10am, the field will only be open to those who have pre-booked a tickets for the special SEN-friendly hours.
Things to do
There is plenty to enjoy with space to picnic including wheelchair-friendly benches, big bale pyramids to climb on, sandpits, football goals (please bring your own footballs), a nature-hunt challenge to keep little ones occupied, pedal tractors as well as lots of fabulous photo opportunities.
Face Painting
Face painting for children aged 3 years and older will be available most days from Face-It Face Painting (£5).
Snacks
Snacks and drinks will be provided by Roots&Co, an outlet of Roots Café, the café located at Blackthorpe Barn, 2 minutes’ drive away.
You are welcome to bring your own picnic with you too.
Dogs
Well-behaved dogs on short leads are welcome in the picnic area of the field. We have made a special little pumpkin patch for dogs; they are not allowed in the main pumpkin field due to having had too much to clean up in previous years.
Please make sure that your dog doesn’t spoil the enjoyment of other visitors at the event or block any passageways.
No Smoking
Please note that the whole pumpkin field is a No Smoking area.
Important information
Gallery

Things to Bring
- Wellies if it has been raining and the ground is muddy
- Cash or Card; admission and parking are free, but you may like to buy some pumpkins, a coffee or get your child’s face painted. Card is preferred but cash is accepted
- Gloves for carrying the pumpkins, if you need them
- Camera for taking pictures; tag us @roughamestate
Please Note
We will do our very best to make sure that the pumpkin field is open at the time you have booked. However this is an outdoor field and sometimes weather and other reasons outside our control can mean that the field cannot be opened to the public at certain times.
Should we not be able to open the field for the time you have booked to visit, we will let you know as soon as possible, using the contact details you have given us.
What others say...
Rougham Sunflower and Pumpkin Field, south of A14, Junction 45
On arriving at the Sunflower and Pumpkin Field you will be directed by a member of staff to park; there is ample parking on grass.
The sunflowers and pumpkins are in a new field for 2026
The field is just east of Bury St. Edmunds, easily accessible from the A14 and clearly sign-posted from Junction 45.

From J45, A14 Eastbound Carriageway:
- turn left (first exit) on the roundabout at the end of the A14 slip road
- go under the A14 bridge
- at the T junction turn right, by the white house and entrance to Blackthorpe Barn
- follow this lane for about half a mile until you reach Elderstub Lane on the left
- turn left down Elderstub Lane and the entrance is about 150yds on the right
From the J45, A14 Westbound Carriageway:
- turn right at the end of the A14 slip road
- at the T junction turn right, by the white house and entrance to Blackthorpe Barn
- follow this lane for about half a mile until you reach Elderstub Lane on the left
- turn left down Elderstub Lane and the entrance is about 150yds on the right
You don’t need to book to enter the pumpkin patch, just come along, unless you would like to visit during the SEN-friendly sessions, where you need to book a free ticket.
For the Pumpkins by Torchlight events, you are welcome to just turn up. No booking is needed. However if you would like to take part in the Silent Disco, you will need to book the headsets.
There is no entrance fee – the field is free to visit
Yes, there is plenty of free parking in the field with the sunflowers and pumpkins.
Yes, we have plenty of wheelbarrows.
Please remember to bring your wheelbarrow back to the wheelbarrow park, at the entrance, when you’re done with it, so that someone else can use it.
Well-behaved dogs on short leads are welcome in the picnic area of the pumpkin field.
There is a special little pumpkin patch for dogs, at the entrance to the main patch. We don’t recommend buying these pumpkins due to normal dog behaviour.
Unfortunately, due to having had to clean up after too many dogs, dogs are not allowed inside the main pumpkin patch.
- Please keep your dog under control at all times and ensure that your dog does not disturb other people’s enjoyment of the premises or block any passageways.
We prefer cards, but accept both cards and cash at every payment area on the field, including for the pumpkins, the nature hunt, food and drink and for face-painting.
Yes, there are portaloos at the side of the field in the picnic area. There is also a baby-change unit and an accessible toilet.
Wheelchairs are welcome in the sunflower and pumpkin field. There are wood chippings down at the entrance and in other areas of high footfall, but otherwise the paths are just the earth of the field.
If it has been dry, the earth will be hard and dusty, and may be uneven in places, but if it has been raining, it could well be muddy.
There is an accessible toilet in the picnic area of the field.
Accessible parking is available near the entrance to the field.
If it’s been dry recently, you don’t need any special clothing or footwear to visit the pumpkin field. If it’s been raining recently, the ground may be muddy and you may want to consider wearing wellies. You are welcome to wear fancy dress if you like.
These are times where entrance to the sunflower and pumpkin field is ticketed to limit the number of people visiting. They happen on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9am – 10am and are perfect for those who benefit from quieter surroundings, predictable routines and a slower pace.
During these times only those people with tickets will be given entry.
The general public are welcome to visit after 10am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with no booking required.
Yes, there is a baby-changing unit in one of the portaloos
Yes, the field is fine for buggies and prams, but please note that it is a field and can be uneven in places. If it’s been raining the ground can get muddy.
The pumpkins are all edible, but the gourds are not. We have a big board up at the field which lists the varieties and whether they are edible or not.
Yes, we have a recipe for a tasty pumpkin pie at the field, or find one online.
Yes, we have food and drink vendors at the field. Please see the list above. Please keep an eye on this page and on our social media for any updates.
Yes, there are plenty of picnicking spots. Bring a blanket and a picnic, and enjoy your time here.
Unfortunately no picnics are allowed after 5pm, when the evening events start.
Our pumpkins and gourds are all grown right here by Rougham Estate. We don’t import any.
Most of the pumpkins are scattered across the patch exactly where they have grown, waiting to be picked. You can wander amongst them to find your perfect one.
Sometimes we move some around to create features in the field, like gathering them together to make the Pumpkin House.
If your photos are purely for personal use, you are welcome to take as many pictures as you like. Do tag us @roughamestate if you post them – we love to see them!
If you are a professional photographer or are taking pictures for any for-profit/commercial reason, you are required to get a licence for the photoshoot on our private land and book a time to visit. Please see the details on this page.
Drone photography can only be undertaken at a time when the field is not open to the public. Please get in touch to book a time.
Face-painting is for children aged 3 and over.
The cosmetics have only been tested for children of this age and above. Applying the paints to children younger than this could cause a lifetime of allergic reactions.
Unfortunately we don’t have the facilities to bulk-pick pumpkins for events. If you would like to come and pick the pumpkins yourself when we are open, you are welcome to.
Unfortunately we are not able to open the field out-of-hours. The field is generally quieter at the beginning of the morning or later in the afternoon and you may find that these times are suitable for your visit.
The sunflowers and pumpkins are in a new field for 2026. It’s about the same driving distance from J45 on the A14 as the field last year, but this year it’s to the south of the A14.
The field we have used over the past few years needs a rest from growing sunflowers and pumpkins and it’s good for the ground to grow other crops for a while.
After the field closes, a local food charity comes to get a stack of pumpkins to be cooked up to make meals and the rest of the pumpkins are for a local flock of sheep that come and graze the field, eating the pumpkins and fertilising the field for the coming year.
Related Events
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ArtWorks @artworkseast opens to the public today, Saturday 12 September, in the beautiful thatched Blackthorpe Barn
📅 12th – 27th September
🕙 10am – 4pm daily
🎟️ Free entry and free parking
📍Rougham Estate, SatNav: IP30 9HZ
We look forward to seeing you!
#suffolkart #eastanglianartists #burystedmunds #artexhibitions
Now in its 26th year, this much-loved exhibition brings together 28 established artists from across East Anglia
for a two-week show of beautiful contemporary art in one of Suffolk’s most special settings.
Over 300 artworks are on display
from abstract paintings and botanical illustrations to ceramics, sculpture and mixed media.
There is such a wide variety of work, everyone will find something to enchant them
and everything is available to buy.
The Private View on Friday evening was well attended
and from now on, every day, there is at least one artist demonstrating their work in the Barn.
At the weekends there are two artists working here each day,
so come along and “Meet the Artist”!
The exhibition is open for just over 2 weeks, until Sunday 27th September
and it’s free to enter, with free parking too.
With Roots Café and the Rougham Estate Lifestyle shop just next door
there are plenty of reasons to come and visit this brilliant exhibition!
We’re hiring at Roots Café!
We’re looking for a Café Supervisor to join our small, passionate team at Rougham Estate.
This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys hospitality, loves working with people and can keep things running smoothly when the café gets busy.
You’ll work closely with our Café Manager, helping to lead the team, oversee day-to-day service, maintain high standards and make sure every customer receives a warm welcome.
If you have experience in a café, restaurant, farm shop or similar environment, and you’re a natural leader who’s happy to roll up your sleeves, we’d love to hear from you.
£14.15 per hour
Full-time, permanent
Based at Roots Café, Rougham Estate
Free on-site parking and staff discounts
Interested? Find out more and apply via Indeed on link in our bio.
#RoughamEstate #WeAreHiring #CafeJobs #HospitalityJobs #SuffolkJobs
Don’t miss our penultimate Plant Pop-Up of the season!
Chris from @watsons_plants will be back at Blackthorpe Barn this weekend, Friday 11th and Saturday 12th September, with a great selection of quality plants and plenty of expert advice.
If you’re thinking about giving your garden a refresh for autumn, this is a great chance to speak to Chris about what to plant, where to plant it and how to keep your garden looking its best as the seasons change.
The Plant Pop-Up is free to visit and there’s no need to book. You’ll find Chris just outside Roots Café and the Rougham Estate Shop, from 10am–4pm.
And with just one more Plant Pop-Up after this one, don’t miss out!
#RoughamEstate #WatsonsPlants
A little change to be aware of if you’re visiting us from Friday 11 September.
Our summer car park will be closing for the season, so parking will move back to the area directly in front of Blackthorpe Barn.
As autumn approaches, we’re also starting to turn our attention to the next season here at Rougham Estate, with Christmas planning and preparations getting underway behind the scenes…
The Estate never really stands still!
Please follow the signs when you arrive and we look forward to welcoming you.
#RoughamEstate #BlackthorpeBarn #VisitorInformation
ArtWorks @artworkseast is back at Blackthorpe Barn, opening next Saturday, 12th September.
Now in its 26th year, this much-loved exhibition brings together 28 established artists from across East Anglia for two weeks of beautiful contemporary art in one of Suffolk’s most special settings. From abstract paintings and botanical illustrations to ceramics, sculpture, mixed media and much more, there are over 300 artworks to discover and everything is available to buy.
Come and meet the artists, watch them create their art and take part in the Mini Artworks Prize Draw.
📅 12th – 27th September
🕙 10am – 4pm daily
📍 Blackthorpe Barn, Rougham Estate, SatNav: IP30 9HZ
🎟️ Free entry and plenty of free parking
🍰 Roots Café nearby, open every day
We’re looking forward to welcoming you!
#RoughamEstate #ArtworksEast #SuffolkArt #EastAnglianArtists #BuryStEdmunds
Join us for a day of weaving, nature and quiet creativity at Blackthorpe Barn.
This September, come and learn from textile artist Caroline Hyde-Brown and enjoy a beautiful day of making.
The Wild Weave workshop guides you through the art of weaving with wild grasses and freshly grown flowers on a mini hand-held loom. No experience needed, just a love of nature and a willingness to slow down and make something with your hands.
You’ll choose your raw materials from a posy prepared by Caroline, learn to weave and by the end of the day you’ll have your very own unique piece of wild art to take home and display.
Caroline will also share her knowledge of foraging, medicinal herbs and how the hedgerow has inspired her own practice, making this day as much about the stories behind the craft as the making itself.
📅 10am-4pm on Saturday 26th September
📍 The Meadow Room, Blackthorpe Barn
🎟️ £75 per person
Limited places - book on our website, link in profile.
#RoughamEstate #burystedmunds #TextileArt #NatureCraft #SuffolkEvents
As we head back to school and autumn starts to creep in, it’s hard to believe that our Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch opens in just a month!
The pumpkins are growing nicely, as you can see, and we’re busy getting everything ready for another brilliant pumpkin season here at Rougham Estate.
It won’t be long until the fields are full of pumpkins and you can come and pick your perfect one.
Who’s already looking forward to pumpkin season?
#RoughamEstate #PickYourOwnPumpkins #PumpkinPatch
There are a couple of irresistible new specials at Roots Café this week!
Salad of the week:
Maple and sage roasted root vegetables with candied pecans, herby ciabatta croutons, crumbled Suffolk blue cheese and a maple and orange dressing.
Brunch Dish
Eton mess French toast topped with end-of-summer berries, strawberry granola, coulis, meringue and a white chocolate glaze.
Both of these temptations are on the menu this week only!
Come and enjoy at Roots Café, open daily 9am - 4pm
#roughamestate #burystedmunds #suffolkfoodie
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