Home > Places to Visit > Activities > Halloween and October half term 2023: What’s On for kids in Oxfordshire
Halloween and October half term 2023: What’s On for kids in Oxfordshire
There is so much to do with kids in and around Oxfordshire over Halloween/ October half term holidays. Here is your most comprehensive list of all the activities, from Pick Your Own (PYO) pumpkins to special events. I have added the ticket prices and links to the websites too, so all you need to do is sit back with your cuppa, relax and click on the ones you are interested in
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Stately homes, Castles and Gardens:
- Halloween at Blenheim Palace– Friday 20th – Sunday 29th October 2023
We went to the halloween event last year. READ OUR REVIEW HERE
🎟PRICE: Blenheim Palace Annual Passes do not permit access to the evening trail.
PEAK TIMES (before 8PM): Adults-18£ (28£ with parking), child 3+ 14£. OFF peak (after 8:15 PM): Adults- 15£, child 3+ 10£ - Haunted Half term at Blenheim palace: 21st – 29th October 2023:
- This is the DAY event at Blenheim palace during October half term, which is FREE for annual pass holders, though some (not all) activities are taking place in Adventure Play (so will need entry ticket for it). Enjoy pumpkin decorating, spooky storytelling, a variety of garden games, a family circus show, mesmerising fire performances and so much more. As well as all that, if you’re brave enough you can hop aboard our miniature train and chug through the Terrifying Tunnel.
- Halloween Hunt at Waterperry Gardens (21st October- 5th November 2023)
Take part in the Waterperry Halloween Hunt throughout the October half term. Read our review of Water Perry gardens HERE)
🎟PRICE: £3.00 per child with a prize (Garden entrance fee applies for adults). - The Moon Witch’s Halloween Adventure at Tumblestone Hollow: October 18th- 29th 2023
Follow the clues around the mysterious world of Tumblestone Hollow and the Gardens at Stonor to win a special chocolate prize (or an alternative treat). Folk of Tumblestone Hollow will be reading stories from ‘The Moon Witch and The Thief’ and giving away spooky temporary transfers. There will be pumpkins galore and ghoulish surprises.
🎟PRICE (booked online):Adult £12.50, Child over 105cm- £12.50 and Child 92-105cm- £9.50
Read our review from previous visit HERE - Ghost Fest at Oxford Castle and Prison:
- Potion making workshops (23/10/2023 – 29/10/2023): Warlock has spent the summer poring over his arcane grimoires and scouring the lands for esoteric ingredients to help you create the very best magical brews this October. Join him in the Castle crypt for a fantastic potions experience, where you’ll learn how to make three delightfully disgusting distillations!
🎟PRICE: 12 £ pp (for ages 5-10)
Watch the post about our visit from last year HERE - Spooky tour of the vaulted well chamber (16-31st October 2023): Are you ready for a scare? Steady your nerves and join a terrifying tour through our 1,000-year past and let our gruesome history come to life… It won’t be too long before our ghosts reveal themselves!
🎟PRICE: 19£ pp (for ages 12+)
- Potion making workshops (23/10/2023 – 29/10/2023): Warlock has spent the summer poring over his arcane grimoires and scouring the lands for esoteric ingredients to help you create the very best magical brews this October. Join him in the Castle crypt for a fantastic potions experience, where you’ll learn how to make three delightfully disgusting distillations!
- Halloween spooktacular at Evenley woods Garden
From the 22nd till 30th October, Evenley Wood Garden will be transformed into a Halloween Spooktacular. Collect your map and find our spooky creations to collect your bag of treats. With torch in hand, you will venture on a spooky journey of ghosts, myths and legends. On Saturday & Sunday 29th & 30th we will be extending our opening hours to 7:00pm. See the wood in a whole new light, following the pumpkins to see what might be hiding in the undergrowth!
Read our review of Evenley Wood garden HERE
🎟PRICE: 7.75 £ per child; normal garden admission applies for adults - Hallo’Welly’Ween at Wellington country park 21st – 29th October 2023
There will be friendly witches show tent and the Not so Spooky Show Tent. Face your fears and visit the ZooLab UK team with their wonderful creepie crawlies. You can also carve a pumpkin from the Pumpkin Patch and take a trip on the Halloween themed Miniature Railway (£1pp extra for all guests aged 2+).
Read our review from previous visit HERE
🎟PRICE: £15.95- 18.95 £ pp (for ages 2 and above)
- Gather your little monsters and prepare for a ghoulishly good day out at Kenilworth Castle (27th October – 3rd November 2023 ): Gather your little monsters for a ghoulishly good day out at Kenilworth Castle this half term. Follow the trail to solve creepy clues and gather round to listen to spooky stories.
🎟Price: FREE for English Heritage Members, otherwise, adult £14.50, child £8.60 - Warwick Castle Haunted castle and Castle after Dark: 21st October – 5th November 2023
- Frightful delights are in store for the whole family as over a thousand years of haunted history come to life. Explore mysterious mazes, spooky scare schools and eerie entertainment, all included in the price of your day ticket.
- Castle After Dark (Selected dates 21st – 31st October): Looking for a darker experience, brace yourself as the castle comes to life with haunted spirits and fearful frights like never before with more scares of every twist and turn of this spine-tingling castle.
🎟Price: Castle after Dark 21.50£ , Half term fun from 32£
PYO Pumpkin patches:
- Millets farm centre: Opening from the 30th September, weekends only until 14th October and then daily until 30th October. Admission is from £1.50 – £2.50 per person, depending on dates and then you pay for what you pick.
- Pumpkins by Night: Open 13th & 14th October. Then 20th-28th October. Doors open at 5.40pm. Last entry 8.40pm, event closes at 10pm. £9.95 per person.
- Spook about party at Sprouts on 24,25,26 October: Spooooktacular evening full of play frame climbing and disco dancing fun with the lights down low and music up high!
- John Lawson’s Circus is back 22nd- 28th October £9.50 per person. Under 2’s free, when sitting on an adults lap.
- Rectory Farm PYO:
The Pumpkin Patch opens on Saturday 7th October 2023 for 15 days (7th,8th,14th,15th,19th-29th) of harvest fun.
🎟Price: 3£ pp and go on sale Thursday 8th September - Pumpkin Patch at the Earth Trust, Long Wittenham ( 21-29th October 2023)
It’s time to pick your very own pumpkins and squash straight from our growing field, and lose yourself in our a-mazing sweetcorn maze! So, this half term, head over to the farm at Earth Trust to get your boots muddy and your hands grubby.
🎟Price: Entry tickets £7 per family booked in advance (booking fees apply), £10 at the gate. One entry ticket is valid for a group of up to 6 people. - PYO Pumpkin and trail at Bunkers Hill Plant Nursery: 9th-31st Oct (closed Tuesdays):
Explore the nursery looking for hidden pumpkins with pictures & letters on. Find all the letters so you work out the mystery word. Watch our post from 2020 and 2021
🎟PRICE: minimum donation £2 per child with a prize and certificate at the end. Donations go to charities Mind or Restore - PYO Pumpkin and Woodland Halloween Trail at The Old Shed, Charlbury:
Woodland Halloween Trail is back from the 2nd of October, and we also have a whole range of pumpkin varieties waiting for you back at The Old Shed to pick from.
🎟PRICE: £1 per trail sheet (don’t forget to bring a pencil). Pumpkin prices vary depending on size! - Halloween at High Lodge farm: (weekends from the 15th October, then daily from 24-30 October)
ickets include entry to the PYO Pumpkin Patch, Spooky Trail, Halloween games and refreshment area and the chance to play in our farm tractor. A free sweet treat is included for all ticket holders. Pumpkins are paid for separately.
🎟Price: £7 for children (ages 2-16) and £5 for adults. Under 2s are free.- Pumpkins by Night: Pick your pumpkin from 5pm – 9pm by torchlight for a truly spooky Halloween experience. Tickets are £7.50 for both adults and children. Under 1’s free of charge.
- Perry Tree farm, Adderbury:
🎟Price: Pumpkin Carving for 5£ per carver from 22nd – 30th October - Pumpkin pop-up event at Hadsham Farm, Horley: 14th-15th and 21st-29th 2023
Collect a sledge and head to the pumpkin patch where you can choose/pay for you perfect pumpkin. Bring your pumpkin back to the barns where you can collect a carving kit to transform your pumpkins. There is a Spooky sensory trail through the wooded area on the farm, Indoor sandpit play area and outdoor playground.
🎟Price:Entry £5 per person, under 2’s free - Glebe Farm pick your own, Banbury 13-29th October 2023
20 different varieties of pumpkin and winter squash to choose from! Coffee van will be serving delicious locally roasted Monsoon Estates coffee & homemade treats.
🎟 £2.00+£0.74 Fee for general admission to the pumpkin patch- Under 16s free - Farmer Paul: PYO pumpkins will be on sale weekends in October and daily 20-30 October (please check website before going) in ‘The Pumpkin Barn’ at Weedon Hill Farm off Buckingham Road, HP22 4DP, just outside Aylesbury.
- The Patch, MK: Open for pumpkin picking October 2023.
Watch the post about our recent visit HERE- Pumpkins at the patch:
A FANG-TASTIC day out to pick your perfect Halloween pumpkin, get some amazing photographs, let the LIL’ MONSTERS run WILD in our play areas, and ride the barrel train together. There are plenty of fun family activities for you to enjoy.
🎟Price: 3.99£ pp entry (anyone over 18 months age). Additional costs: face painting, Barrel train. Pumpkins from 1£ - Nights at the patch on 14th and 21st October: Bar – Music – Food and Pumpkins all lit up to make for a night out with a difference! Suitable for all ages but children’s play equipment will not be open during these evenings.
🎟Price: 8.50 £ pp entry (anyone over 18 months age). Additional costs: axe throwing. Fully licensed bar.
- Pumpkins at the patch:
- Spooky season at Lillingstone Pick Your Own Pumpkin Patch:
We went last year. Read our review HERE
Collect a wheelbarrow and wander through the Pumpkin Patch. Loose yourself in the magnificent Maize Maze, collecting the pumpkin clues along the way! Climb aboard the pumpkin carriage for an adventure-filled tractor ride around the Farm, spotting the spooky scenes along the way! Let the children burn off some energy and climb the Bale Mountain, rustle up some pumpkin soup in the Mud Kitchen and explore the sand tyres!
🎟 Price: not confirmed yet - Cotswold farm park have special October activities as well as pick your own pumpkin to take home. The pumpkin field will be open on October weekends and throughout half term (21st – 31st October). Entry to the field (plus a free pumpkin token) is included in your Farm Park admission. Pumpkin Field Only tickets are also available.
🎟PRICE: Adults 16£, 4-15 years £15, 2-3 years £11 (Tickets purchased online have £2 discount (*offer available until the 30th September)
Farms and Indoor play areas:
- The Witch’s House at Cogges Manor Farm 21-28 October 2023:
We went last year; read our review HERE. We loved it
The Witch’s House is back for October half term – see this year’s Brothers Grimm-inspired transformation from 21st – 28th October, Halloween outfits encouraged! Tiptoe through spooky rooms, and be scared-silly by spooktacular sights and sounds from Hansel and Gretel and other gruesome tales! Go on a pumpkin trail around the grounds, and enjoy your own witch’s brew in the Cogges Kitchen Café with tasty Halloween-themed treats. Grown-ups or children age 8+ can visit for the Witch’s House ‘After Dark’ adults-only event on Saturday October 28th – enter if you dare!
🎟Price (not yet advertised) Last year:10£ child, £14.50£ adult, under 3s Free
- Family Trail: Enchanted Forest Sutton Courtenay Environmental Education Centre 10am-2pm, 23-26 Oct 2023:
Come follow Olwen’s flight through our story trail on the autumnal nature reserve and discover the magic of trees for yourself – from healing bark to glow in the dark! The event includes a self guided trail through the woods (with activity sheet), planting your own enchanted tree seed to take home, and a live storytelling session.
This event is suitable for families with children aged 4 to 11 years (younger siblings may also attend).
🎟Price: £8.00 per child & booking fee. Supervisory adults free. - Halloween Scarecrow trail around Wheatley 22-28 October 2023:
BUY YOUR £1 TRAIL MAP (CASH ONLY) FROM…*Sun 22nd to Mon 23rd Oct – From WalkWheatley’s tea, coffee and cake stall at 50 Crown Rd, Wheatley, OX33 1UL
*Tues 24th to Sat 28th Oct – From Wheatley Estates, Bruin Café and Oak Hairdressing, on the High St (during their opening hours) -
Chilton Scarecrows going all things sci-fi! Get those thinking caps on and let your creative minds boldy go where no Chilton Scarecrow has gone before! This year’s trail will take place from Sat 21st-Sun 29th October (half term week).
- ‘Pirates ‘n’ Pumpkins: Family-friendly Halloween Event, Fairytale Farm 21-29 October 2023
Ahoy! Once upon this Halloween, pirates brought a pumpkin booty to Fairytale Farm. Shiver me timbers, Pumpkin Pirates are joining us to Trick ARRRRRR Treat ye and show ye how to be a pirate.
Special late-night Halloween and Illuminations event on Friday and Saturday 27th and 28th October including a Wizardry Workshop where children can make their own potions and spells ready to cast on All Hallows Eve, a Spooky Pirate Story corner and to get ye party started Captain Pumpkin’s Trick or Treat Bingo!
🎟PRICE: £13.50 £pp (children under 2 are free) - Hogshaw School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (previously green Dragon Eco farm) 21-29th OCTOBER 2023: Enjoy everything that our rural Wizard School location has to offer, including giant pumpkins, rare creatures, birds of prey and bags of outdoor space to test out new spells! Tickets include full farm access, with exciting Wizard School theming and daily programme of animal encounters, plus exciting Halloween activities. Fancy dress is actively encouraged!
🎟Price: Child 2+ and adult: £13.45
Watch our post about 2021 visit HERE - Pumpkin festival at Odds Farm Park 21- 29 October 2023:
Head to Pumpkin Patch to pick your own pumpkin ready to carve, have a go at Halloween-themed Arts & Crafts and find out other spooky surprises!
🎟Price: child 2+ @ £15.95 - Roves Farm, Swindon:
- Pumpkin carving 19-29 October 2023: Explore the special halloween themed trail, spooky crafts, PYO Pumpkin, fancy dress competition, Tractor ride plus all the usual farm fun.
🎟 Day ticket (age 3+) £10.80, day ticket toddler (1-2yr) £4.5
Additional charge of £4 for entry to the Pumpkin Barn, a pumpkin & carving kit - Haunted hayride (27-29 October 2023): Venture out on a hayride into the dark woodland and fields to uncover the mystery
🎟 Price: £15 per person. Event runs 5pm-9pm. Does not include admission to Roves Farm during the day
- Pumpkin carving 19-29 October 2023: Explore the special halloween themed trail, spooky crafts, PYO Pumpkin, fancy dress competition, Tractor ride plus all the usual farm fun.
- Pumpkin Hocus Pocus at Thrift Farm, MK: 21-31 October
Get your little ghouls and boys ready for a fang-tastic time at the Halloween Hocus Pocus event with a FREE* pumpkin for every paying child and lots of spooky activities
See our post from 2020 HERE.
🎟Price: Adults and child (18months+) £10-11£ - Freaky Funfest at Mead open farm 21st to 29th October 2023:
🎟Price: Child £18.95, Adult £19.95 + £0.50 booking fee - Pumpkin Spooctacular at Hatton’s country world Halloween Spooktacular will run weekends from the 14th October then from 28th to 31st October 2023.
🎟Price: £20.95 pp. Under 2s are free - Twisted circus at Magic Alley, Stratford upon Avon: Expect a full circus theme so not for those with a fear of clowns! Complete the quest and solve the puzzles and escape the big top! Everyone who completes the quest will receive a prize and certificate. Sound and lighting effects are used but this is not a scare attraction so no one will jump out at you but there is likely to be a performer in the attraction especially over the half term holiday. It may not be suitable for photo sensitive epilepsy sufferers or those sensitive to coloured lights and surprise sound effects. Children under 6 will not be permitted.
🎟Price: £9.00 + £0.76 booking fee
Trains:
- Baba Yaga: The Witch in the Woods and a train ride with Dracula! at Bucks railway centre on 28 & 29 October 2023:
Come and watch our special family-friendly, interactive play ‘Baba Yaga: The Witch in the Woods’ and enjoy a steam train ride with Dracula! Fun for the whole family, including children of all ages. You can also win a prize on our halloween scavenger hunt! Book your timed session – between 10am – 5pm – which includes the 30-minute play and a steam train ride with Dracula. We went in 2020 and had a lot of fun. Watch our post HERE
🎟PRICE: Adult £14.50, Child (3-15yrs) 10.50£, Child under 3: FREE - Hallowe’en Spooks & Ghouls at Chinnor Railways: There’s a chill in the air in the lead up to Hallowe’en and they say the Steam-hauled Ghost Train of the eerie Chiltern foothills comes ‘alive’ in a different and spooky way on 26 October and 29 October! But don’t worry – it all looks rather gentle fun and not too scary – but we have heard there could be a Hitch-hiking Ghost, perhaps a Haunted station, and maybe even some Ghastly Ghouls. As in previous years – dare the adults and children ‘dress for the occasion’ and come along for a ride?
🎟Tickets: Two children 3-15 years can travel for just £1 EACH when accompanied by fare-paying Adult (£12- Blue Light Card discount available) and in addition the young folks will each receive a small treat bag! - Hallowstream at Didcot railway: No details on the website yet.
🎟PRICE: Adult £15.00, Child (3-15yrs) 11£, Child under 3: FREE
- Cholsey and Wallingford railway: No details on the website yet. Last year: Adult £12, Child (3 – 18) £5
National Trust properties:
- Haunted half term at Waddesdon Manor: Take part in a fact filled Trick or Treat Skeleton Trail. Join Zoolab for their Creepy Critters show learning about some spooky and gruesome animals and insects or just sit back and relax in the powerhouse with some classic family Halloween films or try your luck at a vintage game. From 21 October until 29 October, children get free entry to the house and grounds at Waddesdon!
🎟Price: £3 per trail; Entrance free for NT members; otherwise entrance fee also applies.
A wide range of Waddesdon’s own pumpkins and gourds, grown and harvested from the gardens at Eythrope will be on sale. Pick your pumpkin and take them home to get your carving creations stated. Prices from £3 – £5 prices vary dependant on size. - Half-term Festival of Light and Colour as well as Fantastic Fungi trail at Basildon Park, 14 to 31 October:
Enter into the glowing interior of the house and find rooms illuminated by colourful lanterns, diyas, tealights, torans and projections. The children’s trail and activity in the house both explore celebrations of light and colour as we head into autumn. Children can create their very own vibrant rangoli bookmark and can take part in a house trail which explores the traditions of celebrating light amidst darkness.
🎟Price: This event is free, but normal admission charges apply for the venue.
You can also take part in Fantastic Fungi outdoor trail,: Find fungi themed facts, games and activities. £2 per trail sheet, includes a prize. - Autumn nature crafting at Upton House and Gardens:
Go leaf-peeping in the Woodland Walk and collect colourful leaves and twigs to make your own autumn collage. Or make a pinecone woodland animal to take home with you. £2 per child. All art materials are provided. Normal admission applies
🎟Price: Free for NT members; otherwise entrance fee applies -
Weird Things in Trees Trail at Stowe Gardens: Solve puzzles, search for clues, take selfies and find weird and wonderful things … in trees! AlsoApple Harvest weekend at Stowe Gardens to celebrate ‘all things apple’! on 21/22nd October 2023.
🎟Price: Free for NT members; otherwise entrance fee applies - Autumn trail at Cliveden: The autumn trail runs from mid-September to November. Take in the sights and sounds of the season, from golden trees to the crunching of leaves. The trail highlights things to spot, areas of the gardens to visit and activity ideas. Wrap up warm and enjoy the wonder of this colourful season!
🎟Price: Free for NT members; otherwise entrance fee applies
Museums:
- Halloween Spectacular on Friday 27th October at Chiltern Open air museum. Bring the family to our unforgettable, unmissable evening of spooky fun for all ages in the unique and atmospheric setting of the Museum’s historic buildings and woods.
🎟PRICE: Adult £11, Child (4-16yrs) 13£, Child under 4: FREE
The evening starts from 5 pm until 9 pm, with the last admission at 7.30 pm. Tickets are limited so pre-booking advised - Banbury museum have a number of fun activities during half term including halloween disco on 27th (3£ per child), brick madness (3£ per child), Woodland Shoebox on 23rd (4£ per child), Halloween Hanger on 24th (4£ per child), Animal Art on 25th (3£ per child) and Clay creatures on 26th (5£ per child)
- Plenty going on for FREE at the Natural History Museum. Read our review from the previous visit HERE
- The great Big dinosaur show at Natural History Museum on 23rd and 24th October 2023: Join poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko for a family show full of poems, raps and songs. Learn about your favourite prehistoric protagonists, and some you haven’t heard of yet! Expect spine-tinglingly funny scares in this fun show and get your groove on to Jurassic Classics! Suitable for 3 – 11 years.
🎟Price: The show is free but booking is required. - On Science Saturdays, Meet scientists to investigate real natural history specimens from the collection
- Destination Dinosaurs on 23 and 24th October to enjoy an afternoon filled with dinosaur crafts and specimens. You can also go for the Science Saturdays
- The great Big dinosaur show at Natural History Museum on 23rd and 24th October 2023: Join poet Simon Mole and musician Gecko for a family show full of poems, raps and songs. Learn about your favourite prehistoric protagonists, and some you haven’t heard of yet! Expect spine-tinglingly funny scares in this fun show and get your groove on to Jurassic Classics! Suitable for 3 – 11 years.
- Among Us: a game of teamwork and betrayal at Oxfordshire County Library on 25th October: Join a session of the hit computer game Among Us in Oxford’s central Makerspace Suite. A perfect opportunity to mix subterfuge with bluffery, with or without your friends and family. Suitable for ages 7 – 12, teenagers and adults. Children must be accompanied by an adult. There is no need to book.
- Museum of Oxford:
- Plastic Drastic Fantastic Family Dance Workshop on 24th October | £4 pp
- Medieval Medicine At MOX! on 26th October | £4 pp
- Breakdance: Introducing The Solar System on 27th October | £4 pp
- Poetry Makers At MOX! on 28th October | £8.5 pp
- Forge your own path to the future this October Half-Term (21st October – 5 November) at the British motor Museum: Follow along with the resident scientists on the Transitions Family Tour as they uncover our collection through the four themes. Then head to our Learning Space to get stuck in and build your dream car of the future, using a wide selection of parts, and your imagination, of course! For another way to explore the Museum, why not take on our “Fix It” Trail, and use parts from past, present and future to create a unique new vehicle.
🎟PRICE: Book in advance and SAVE with day tickets for just £14.50 per adult, £9 per child, £12.50 per concession and £40 for a family. - The Great British Model Railway Show is back at the British Motor Museum this Autumn! Entry to the Museum is included in show tickets
🎟PRICE: Book in advance and SAVE with day tickets for just £14.50 per adult, £9 per child, £12.50 per concession and £40 for a family. - October Half Term at Discover Bucks Museum ( 23 – 28 October): From Rangoli Sun Catchers, Autumn Collage and Clay Leaves at the beginning of the week to spooky Bats and Spider Webs later in the week topped off with a Frightful Family Halloween day on Saturday 28 October. Join them for different activities each day from Monday to Saturday. They will also have a cryptic Halloween inspired trail for £1, available every day from reception for all to enjoy. Get ready to pull up your leg warmers and scramble your Rubik’s Cubes, as Discover Bucks Museum’s exciting new exhibition, I Grew Up 80s will open just in time for the October Half-Term. Don’t forget to visit while you’re there!
Read our review from earlier this year HERE
