From autumnal pumpkin picking to ghastly ghost walks that will have you quaking in your boots, there’s sure to be something for everyone to choose from in this spooktacular summary.
Creepy Castles
Where better to go for a scare than a spooky castle, complete with dungeons and towers? Muncaster Castle in West Cumbria is running a Halloween Festival Week, between 23rd to 31st October. Activities include a scary maze, fire juggling shows, axe throwing, and a zombie shoot out! Remember to buy your additional ticket so that you can also go and see the daily show, Emporium of Stolen Souls!
Warwick Castle’s After Dark Experience is a must-see for thrill seekers. Meet the Witches of Warwick, discover the legends and ghost stories of the castle, and lose your way in the spooky castle maze. For those aspiring spook spotters, there are witch and troll hunter schools, which are new for this year’s attraction.
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Pumpkin Picking
Taking a stroll in the countryside to hand-pick a pumpkin from a local farm is a perfect autumnal activity, even if you prefer to avoid the spookier aspects of the Halloween season. Willows Activity Farm in Hertfordshire is hosting a Pumpkin Festival this year, with a daily carving competition. Take your prized pumpkin home to make delicious seasonal treats like pumpkin pie and soup.
Gruesome Ghost Walks
Many cities offer ghostly tours in the evening. Halloween is the perfect time of year to check these out. The Ghost Hunt of York runs all year round, departing each night from the Shambles. The spooky shenanigans last about 60 to 75 minutes and the tours must be booked in advance. The City of the Dead ghost tours in Edinburgh are not for the faint hearted. Several different options are available, including a trip to the Underground City of the Dead and a Haunted Graveyard tour.
Zoos and Zombies
Spooktacular activities are being offered at Colchester Zoo in Essex during their half term Shriek Week. With a fang-tastic face painting station, the younger members of the family can become a wicked witch or scary zombie. Make sure you take the time to visit the Pumpkin Patch to choose your very own hand-picked pumpkin to take home with you.
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ZSL London Zoo is planning a Halloween Top Trumps challenge trail. Pick up a tournament card at the entrance to the zoo and make your choice of which animal to play. Spend the day battling it out with the zoo’s fastest, cutest, greediest, and longest living animals by seeking out the giant Halloween Top Trumps cards. ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire also has plenty of spooky activities planned to keep the whole family entertained during this Halloween half term.
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Ghastly Ghost Trains
Hop on board the ghost train with Epping Ongar Railway’s Fright Week in Essex. Meet the spooky characters who are ready to scare and entertain passengers as you take part in a ghost hunt, gaze out at the gruesome graveyard, and calm down with a hot chocolate in the Buffet Stop café. The train is running throughout Fright Week, between 26th – 30th October.
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Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire is also offering ghostly train rides, as well as the opportunity to hunt for monsters in the Pleasure Gardens Maze and look out for a wicked wizard stilt walker in the Great Court. Family tickets cost £43 for four. Adult tickets are £16 each and children’s tickets are £7.40.
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Halloween Festival Fun
This October, the Marsh Farm Halloween Festival is taking place (15th, 16th, and 22nd-30thOctober) in Essex. The farm will be transformed with demonic decorations, ready to welcome witches, wizards, vampires, and all things spooky. Come along in fiendish fancy dress to enjoy the funfair, pumpkin picking patch, adventure play, and spooky 3D cinema. Tickets cost between £5.50 to £20.49 online.
Creepy cocktails and club nights
Electric Shuffle in London and Leeds is the place for epic Halloween plans. Head there for a spooky brunch. Wear your scariest costume and embrace the themed cocktails, free-flowing bubbly, and plenty of games.
For a cool evening filled with fantastic live music, check out Halloween with Word of Mouth at The Talbot on Hartle Lane in Worcestershire. Tickets are from £5 each and there is a prize to be claimed for the best dressed!