The Sun, Travel News
From pumpkin picking to broomstick making – the best Halloween events in the UK this October half-term from just £7.50pp
Oct
HALLOWE’EN is just around the corner and attractions across the UK are already rolling out the horrors, with special tricks and treats to celebrate the spooky season.
From rollercoasters after dark and spooky scare mazes to pumpkin patches and ghost tours, Sophie Swietochowski picks out the best spine-tingling activities to get stuck into this half-term.
14
THE NORTH
FOUNTAINS ABBEY NORTH YORKS
14
HALLOWEEN is not all about things that go bump in the night.
At Fountains Abbey, in Ripon, a mystical light and music experience is taking place after dark.
Visitors can wander through the floodlit ruins and shadowy archways, before listening to the haunting sounds of monk chants and a choir.
Runs every Saturday in October and Friday 21 and 28, from 5-9pm.
Tickets cost £10 per adult, £5 per child, under fives go free. See nationaltrust.org.uk.
REDDISH VALE FARM MANCHESTER
THIS family-run farm doesn’t just have fields of pumpkins fresh for the picking, but also a haunted straw maze for kids, a monster ball and vampire archery.
When you have woven through the mounds of pumpkins, ride the Spooky Express through the haunted woods and gruesome graveyard (£2 per ride).
The Halloween festival runs until October 30.
Tickets are £16.50 for children, £12 for adults. See reddishvalefarm.co.uk.
Most read in Travel
BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH LANCASHIRE
14
SILENT assassins, undead sorcerers and clowns will be lurking around corners at Blackpool Pleasure Beach as you travel through the eight scare zones of the Journey To Hell experience.
On top of mazes and ghost trains, there is also live music and spooky grub being dished up in the FY4 area.
Journey To Hell is for over-tens. It runs from 7-10pm on October 21, 22, 27, 28 and 30.
Tickets cost £39. See blackpoolpleasurebeach.com.
SCOTLAND
HAUNTED FORTRESSES TOUR FIFE
14
FEW landmarks have seen more horrors than Scotland’s historic fortresses and on this Rabbie’s Tour you’ll explore the eeriest of the bunch.
The St Andrews & the Fishing Villages of Fife tour will take in Falkland Palace in Fife, home to the ghost of the Grey Lady, who roams the corridors awaiting her soldier husband who left for war and never returned.
You’ll also explore the charming fishing village of Anstruther and take in the mighty St Andrews Cathedral.
The tour starts from £48pp, departing from Edinburgh. See rabbies.com.
THE SOUTH
GROOMBRIDGE PLACE, KENT
HARRY Potter fans will love the Witch and Wizard School at Groombridge Place, with experiments galore and the chance to make a bubble snake.
There’s also a pumpkin hunt, spooky disco with stilt walkers and a Pumpkins and Pixie Dust Show.
And it’s worth shelling out for a boat ride (£2 per child and £2.50 per adult) along the canal to Crusoe’s World with a treetop adventure playground.
The event runs daily from October 22 to 30, from 10am to 6pm.
Tickets cost £15pp or £49.50 for a group of four. Under-threes go free. See groombridgeplace.com.
FRIGHT NIGHTS AT THORPE PARK, SURREY
14
TERRIFYING live actors lurk in the shadows of every ride, path and thrill zone you enter.
On top of roller coasters after dark, new for 2022 is The Terminal, a space-themed scare experience where you’ll be transported to your own terrifying pod, plus Survival Games, the goriest scare maze yet.
The experience runs from 10am to 9pm on selected dates until October 31 and is recommended for kids aged 13 and over.
Tickets cost from £39pp. See thorpepark.com.
HALLOWEDEN, CORNWALL
14
THE Eden Project will stay open until 8pm from October 22, with a torchlit story trail through the rainforest.
The attraction will be littered with pumpkins and squashes throughout the Halloweden festival, and over the Halloween weekend you’ll get to see an expert pumpkin carver transform them into spooky creations.
There will also be ghost stories and s’mores around a fire pit, web-weaving workshops and a special flower display in the Mediterranean Biome inspired by the Day of the Dead.
Tickets cost from £32.50 per adult, £11 for under-16s, and under-fives go free. See edenproject.com.
THE LONDON DUNGEONS
IN the attic of the capital’s most haunted house – 50 Berkeley Square – the spirit of a murdered young girl still lurks . . . and until October 31, included in the standard entry to the Dungeons is a ticket to the show set in the creepy attic.
Tickets cost from £32 per adult and £26 per child on the door, or book in advance online to save up to 20 per cent. See thedungeons.com/london.
LEGOLAND WINDSOR, BERKSHIRE
14
THE theme park has a new 4D movie for Halloween this year – The Great Monster Chase!, where a group of superfans sneak into a Lego Monsters party.
And Monster Street is a ghoulish trail for trick-or- treaters, with odd residents giving out free goodies.
Brick Or Treat runs through October – tickets from £39pp, kids under 90cm free. See legoland.co.uk.
IRELAND
CAHERNANE HOUSE HOTEL, KILLARNEY
14
THIS chic hotel is holding ghost and ghouls packages for Halloween eve.
Those who are lucky enough to bag a space will spend the night with a traditional Irish seanchai (Gaelic storyteller) who will recall ancient tales of saints, monsters, ogres, giants, and ghosts.
Families can spend the night gorging on treats and indulging in spooky movies before visiting Killegy Graveyard the next morning, where the Herberts of Cahernane House and Muckross were buried.
The two-night B&B package costs from 250euros (£218) per person, including dinner on one evening.
See cahernane.com or call +353 64 663 1895.
THE WEST
MARY SHELLEY’S HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, SOMERSET
14
MARY Shelley’s House of Frankenstein in Bath is a horror attraction in its own right.
But for Hallowe’en, things have been ramped up a notch with the launch of a multi-sensory event called After Dark: Purgatory.
Creeping your way across four floors and the basement of an eerie town house, you’ll encounter horrifying live actors, deathly aromas and terrifying sounds.
Steady your nerves with a cocktail (or three!) at Bloody Mary’s Bar.
The experience is for adults or teens aged 15 and over and runs from October 21 to 31, from 6-10pm. Tickets cost £15pp. See houseoffrankenstein.com.
WITCHCRAFT WOODS, SHROPSHIRE
VENTURE into the woods in Whitchurch, Shropshire, and you’ll find broomstick-making sessions, Hallowe’en stories and magic shows among the trees.
From this weekend until October 30, Winnie Witch and Wilbur Wizard will be taking over Alderford Lake with spooky activities for kids aged 10 and under.
The event runs from 10am to 4pm and tickets cost £12.50 per child. See alderford.com.
BOLESWORTH CASTLE CHESHIRE
14
LITTLE ones can get lost in a “maize maze”, before joining craft sessions where they’ll make their own wish-catcher at Bolesworth Castle this October.
There’s also the chance to pick your own pumpkin for cooking or carving, and make a bubble wand, while there are plenty of photo opportunities on the creepy walking trails.
The Hallowe’en event takes place on selected dates until October 30. Tickets cost £8.50pp or £30 for a family of four. See bolesworth.com.
THE MIDLANDS
SCAREFEST AT ALTON TOWERS, STAFFORDSHIRE
14
NOW in its 15th year, with terrifying mazes for thrillseekers and the sugar-filled Trick O Treat Town for little ones.
And there’s a new immersive attraction, The Invitation, where you walk through a dark lakeside cemetery before entering the coffin-laden burial chamber.
Scarefest takes place every day until October 31 with rides after dark.
Tickets from £42pp with scare attractions costing from an additional £32. See altontowers.com.
DRAYTON MANOR, STAFFORDSHIRE
THE theme park’s spooky festivities kick off next Saturday with rides kept open after dark.
There’s a Pumpkin Smash Bash and live performances from The Fat Controller for little ones, while kids aged 14 and over can get their thrills at the Night At The Manor event, creeping around the Castle Of Screams.
Visit on October 30 for a firework display.
Tickets cost from £24, while under twos go free. Or book a Stay and Play package in the park’s on-site hotel and theme park tickets from £62pp. See draytonmanor.co.uk.
WARWICK CASTLE, WARWICKSHIRE
14
THE historic castle has been bewitched for the whole of October with spooky decor and story-telling sessions, but from next weekend things are even more frightful.
Kids can learn to cast spells at the Scare School, gobble ghoulish treats from food stalls or – on selected days – visit the castle after dark with three spine-chilling attractions including a horror maze.
Spend the night at Fright’s Village which costs from £60pp, based on a family of four sharing a woodland lodge.
Daytime tickets cost from £29pp, while after dark tickets cost from £20pp. See warwick-castle.com.
THE EAST
GHOST WALKING TOUR, SUFFOLK
14
THE peaceful Bury St Edmunds comes alive at this time of year.
On a 90-minute walking tour, guided by experts dressed in character, you can relive all these historic horrors and gruesome tales.
The Ghostly and Macabre Walk takes place every day over Halloween weekend from 6pm and 7pm.
Tickets are £7.50pp. See burystedmunds tourguides.org or call 01284 758000.
RUMBLE LIVE CAMBRIDGESHIRE
TEENS can burn off buckets of energy at Rumble Live in Huntingdon.
The woodland laser-tag site has introduced new missions, like Zombie Apocalypse where you battle it out against the undead.
There’s also a new Red Light, Green Light bonus mission, inspired by the Netflix hit, Squid Game.
Sessions from October 27 to 30 will include Halloween missions. A one-hour session is £15pp for anyone aged eight and over. See rumblelive.co.uk.
ROARR! DINOSAUR ADVENTURE NORWICH
14
FROM next weekend, Dippy the friendly diplodocus is taking over Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure in Lenwade, with the School of Dinosaurs and The Undead.
Kids will have a schedule with history lessons from Professor Bloodlust and art with Professor Pumpkin.
Adults visiting after 6pm will be spooked senseless at the PrimEvil event with five scare experiences.
The School of Dinosaurs event runs from October 22 to 30 and tickets cost from £20.95.
Tickets to PrimEvil will cost £30 per person. For more details see roarrdinosauradventure.co.uk.
Read more from the source page
