Pumpkin Illuminations 2026

The Pumpkin Illuminations are back!

Thursday 29th October

Friday 30th October

Saturday 31st October

Bookings will be taken in slots from 5:45pm.

For a few nights a year, the Ramblers Retreat opens it’s garden gate for some spooky, Halloween fun! Surround yourself by the glow of carved pumpkins and fairy lights, feel the spooky Halloween atmosphere of the Dimmingsdale woods and enjoy some delicious treats!

How to book

• Please call us on 01538702730 after 10am on Monday 28th September to book your table. Bookings for our Pumpkin Illuminations are not available via our online bookings! We will take payment for your hot dog and entry immediately, everything else will be paid for on the night. (You do not need to order your hot dog at the time of booking, food is to be chosen on the night.)
• You can book one of our summerhouses, a table in our garden or in our conservatory and snug. The garden tables and summerhouses are dog friendly, so please feel free to bring your furry friends along too! (Conservatory and snug tables cannot be booked with dogs.)
• You’ll need to purchase all tickets when booking, so please have your total guests (children and adults) ready when you call. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of this event, we won’t be able to hold your table without ticket purchase.
• If you have any dietary requirements or allergies, please let us know when making your booking.

FAQ’s & Key Details:

Don’t forget the events run over three days- you can join us on 29th, 30th & 31st October 2026! Booking & pre-orders are absolutely essential to gain entry & tables must be paid for in advance.

If you need to cancel your booking due to illness, we’ll refund your total in vouchers for you to use at the Ramblers Retreat another time. For this to apply, we will need to be aware of the cancellation at least 48 hours in advance.

Our gardens will be illuminated by pumpkin light and twinkling fairy lights. Admire our team’s & guest’s pumpkin carving handiwork, whilst we serve a selection of our amazing homemade cakes, special Halloween treats, artisan hot dogs and a selection of hot drinks! Blankets will be provided, so if you go down to the woods today you’re sure of a big surprise!

MENU: We’ll be serving our amazing artisan hot dogs, sides, hot drinks & homemade cakes, with lots of autumnal drinks!

PARKING: Dimmingsdale car parks will be open longer for guests to our Pumpkin Illuminations only, so there’s no need to worry about being in the valley after our usual opening hours. As usual, we’d ask everyone who joins us to park considerately in order to maximise the parking available. We are based in a forest, therefore to keep our events at a sustainable level, there is limited parking available. When driving home, please do be careful to take it slow and keep an eye out for nocturnal wildlife!

T&C’s:

Bookings and pre-payment are required to gain entry to the Ramblers Retreat for our Pumpkin Illumination event.

Bookings for this event fill up very quickly, we will unfortunately, not be able to hold your booking without payment. Please keep this in mind when booking your table.

In the event of poor weather, any bookings in sheltered areas will continue, bookings for open air tables will be moved to our Potting Shed.