Try as you might as a parent, it’s hard not to get sucked into the high jinks of Halloween, which gets bigger and spookier (and more heavily marketed) each year. We say you’re better getting stuck in to the madness, especially since Halloween always falls around October half-term, ensuring a week packed with excellent events for kids. So, whether you’re staying at home for the holidays, or already booked on a British break, these Halloween dates are worth getting on your broomstick for.
1. Fright night, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
There can be something sinister about funfairs at the best of times and Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach takes that to the next level, installing characters who roam the park (zombies, killer clowns, escaped convicts) and spooky, seasonal rides such as a Scare Maze and Not So Fun Factory. The startle-factor peaks on Sunday, October 29, with a monumental fireworks display (from £20; pleasure-beach.co.uk). It’s recommended that under-tens steer clear, so take very little ones to Hippodrome Circus instead for a Halloween-themed show, where fancy dress is encouraged for maximum larks at its dance-party climax (adults from £20, children from £13; hippodromecircus.com). Parkdean’s Vauxhall holiday park in Great Yarmouth has glamping, lodges and caravans, plus an indoor waterpark.
Details Three nights’ self-catering for five from £99; parkdeanresorts.co.uk
2. Pumpkin picking, Guiting Power, Gloucestershire
Preschoolers and pooches are the stars of a very wholesome Halloween at Cotswolds Farm Park (adults £12.95, children £11.95; cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk). Fittingly, it’s owned by the Countryfile farmer Adam Henson, who invites all ages to his photogenic pick-your-own pumpkin patch, or for free face painting (vampire, ghost or cute pumpkin?), as well as pumpkin-carving sessions and fun in the maize maze. There are even autumnal selfie stations with red-and-gold backdrops, where costumed kids — and dogs — can pose for pictures. Stay in a lodge, safari tent or camping pod on the farm grounds.
Details Tent pitches from £28; cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk
3. Scary fairytales, Ushaw, Co Durham
On the moors that fringe Durham city, Ushaw — an historic house, chapel and gardens — has the look of a haunted mansion year-round, with its gothic windows, stained glass and ancient stone statues. But things get spookier at Halloween, when an illuminated night trail leads children through dark fairytales come to life; meet Little Red Riding Hood, who isn’t as innocent as you might expect, and the eerie Gingerbread Man with his ominous plans. There are three trail times on the nights of October 28 and 29, each scarier than the last, so check Ushaw’s scare-o-meter before booking a slot (adults £10, children £7; ushaw.org). If you dare sleep over, some rooms in this 200-year-old house are open to guests.
Details B&B doubles from £60; ushaw.org
4. Spooky prison tour, Belfast
Creepy Crumlin Road Gaol, with its hanging cell and graveyard, might sound like a half-term day out that’ll leave you with PTSD. But for October only, with kids in mind, the Victorian-era jail is running tours led by Anna the Friendly Witch, who’ll explain the haunted history of the building before taking kids to the Pumpkin Patch. Here, in the gaol gardens, children use wheelbarrows to hunt for pumpkins and are then treated to a Halloween musical (£15; crumlinroadgaol.com). Not far from Belfast, haunted Ballygally Castle is where you’ll want to stay to complete a ghoulish getaway; the historic hotel has two resident ghosts and serves Halloween high tea.
Details B&B doubles from £150; ballygallycastlehotel.com
5. Taxi ride of terror, London
Graham, a grisly London historian and author, also happens to be a cab driver with a firm command of the Knowledge. On his “London Horror Taxi Tour” you’ll explore execution sites, plague pits, murder scenes and haunted churchyards across the capital (from £49pp; toursbylocals.com). It lasts three hours and can be tailored for tots. Then check in to Treehouse Hotel London in Marylebone (less than ten minutes’ walk from Hamleys toy shop), which has Family Tree rooms for four people, with tepees, games and bathrobes for the children. Over half-term there will be Halloween brunch on the menu, for guests and non-guests, including pumpkin cake and black ice cream.
Details Room-only doubles from £329; treehousehotels.com
6. After-dark antics, Hampshire
Hampshire’s New Forest is already a half-term family fave, thanks to the autumn leaves and its child-friendly activities. Outdoor archery gets a Halloween twist with vampires and werewolves becoming targets, while canoeing will creep you out — there are special after-dark river tours, featuring ghost stories, tricks and treats (from £17; newforestactivities.co.uk). Over in Paultons theme park, rides stay open until 7.30pm and the entire place — including Peppa Pig World — gets a spooky makeover (£42; paultonspark.co.uk). Stay at family-focused New Park Manor hotel, where children can venture into its wooden haunted house or do pumpkin carving and Halloween craft activities.
Details B&B doubles from £119 (newparkmanor.com)
7. Wildlife and wizardry, Eden Project, Cornwall
If your children aren’t the ghouls and guts type, there’s a more mythical type of Halloween going on at the Eden Project, where towering Tree Giants have taken root at the Cornish natural park for October. Once you find one of these forest guardians hidden among the grounds, they’ll entertain with immersive storytelling and performances; there are also wand-making workshops and ice skating (adults from £33, children from £11; edenproject.com). Stay at Fowey Hall nearby, where families can go ghost hunting and decorate Halloween pumpkins and biscuits; the hotel also has indoor and outdoor pools.
Details B&B doubles from £191 (luxuryfamilyhotels.co.uk)
Source: The Times
