Northamptonshire attraction to remain closed through summer as organisers take ‘tough’ decision to protect land
A popular family attraction in Northamptonshire will not open to the public this summer after organisers took a decision to protect the soil in its flower fields.
The Patch MK, which opened in 2019, is a family-run farm that features 50 acres of land, containing more than 500,000 sunflowers and 50 million wildflowers.
Located at Mount Mill Farm, off the A422, on the border of Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, it has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors to its pick-your-own sunflower fields, wildflower displays and family-friendly activity fields.
Founders Rosalyn and Joseph Gurney have announced they are hitting pause on the farm’s 2026 summer season, in a move designed to ‘rest’ the soil within the flower fields.
The couple say that allowing the land to ‘recover’ will enable the sunflower and wildflower displays to continue to thrive going forward.
“This year we’ve made the tough decision not to open our sunflower and wildflower fields to the public,” said Joseph.
“We stick closely to organic growing methods in our flower fields and therefore, to ensure the best possible future harvests, we need to give the soil in our flower fields a rest this year.
“Although we are not opening our sunflower fields this year, we will be re-opening in the autumn for our annual pick-your-own pumpkin events, and we know that our Halloween events will be bigger than ever.”
The pumpkin nights feature activities including barrel train rides, fire and LED shows, live music, axe throwing and marshmallow toasting.
Early bird Halloween tickets are due to go on sale on Monday June 22 at 7pm through The Patch’s website.
ANALYSIS – By Neil Shefferd
Last summer I paid a visit to The Patch with my girlfriend, shortly after writing about the attraction being named as the second-best sunflower farm in the country.
We visited on an extremely hot summer’s day, and in the glorious sunshine, the sunflowers and wildflowers were a fabulous sight.
Despite not having children with us, we also enjoyed The Fun Fields, which featured activities ranging from crazy golf to musical mazes - it had something for everyone!
We were thinking of paying a return visit this year as there was so much to see and do, so my first reaction when I saw the news was ‘that’s a shame.’
On the day we were there the place was packed, and you can see why it was, as the Gurney family admitted, “a tough decision,” to close for an entire summer, from a business perspective.
At a time when climate change and the future of the planet are issues in the spotlight, The Patch’s commitment to organic growing methods and prioritising ‘sustainable techniques that support soil health and biodiversity’ is to be applauded.
Any short-term pain of lost footfall this summer will hopefully be negated by the long-term gain of ensuring this popular attraction will continue to thrive, and tickets for the autumn’s pumpkin-picking and Halloween events are sure to be in high demand when they go on sale.
Fallow years also happen with the Glastonbury music festival, held at a working dairy farm in Somerset, with the festival taking years off every five to six years to protect the land and allow the ecosystem to recover from the impact of having large numbers of people on the site.