Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
31 Free and Cheap Things to do this Halloween Half-Term
Rachel Hazelwood
14th Oct 2025
As half term falls across Halloween this year, here at MoneyMagpie we thought we’d see if we could find as many free and cheap things for you to do with the kids.
From kicking leaves in the park to tricksome trails; from strange science to fearsome festivals, there’s something for everyone. All over the country there are things to do that will keep the kids entertained and get you all into the spooky spirit of Halloween. Half term on a budget is always a challenge, especially in autumn as we start to think about our Christmas budget too – so try some of these budget and free activities for the kids to save money and still have fun.
- Theatre Trips
- PYO Pumpkin Patches
- Treats and Trails
- Freaky Festivals
- Electrifying Exhibitions
- English Heritage Days Out
Theatre Trips
Enjoy a spooky show with your older children this half term. You might not feel like theatre tickets are affordable but you’d be surprised! There are loads of offers on London Theatre Direct, with tickets starting from £19. A MoneyMagpie favourite is Starlight Express, but there are lots of shows to choose from. Remember that you can join together with friends and family to take advantage of discounts with group bookings to make it more affordable, too!
Or you can enter our competition to win a pair of tickets to Ghost Stories at the Peacock Theatre (for children 15+ only).
Community and local theatres also often have child-friendly workshops and shows during school holidays. Check out Skiddle for events near you.
PYO PUMPKIN PATCHES
Of course we have to start with the Pick Your Own (PYO) Pumpkins Patches. There are so many now all over the country but here are just a few to get you in the mood!
Check your local paper, Facebook or community WhatsApp group for the best deals around and to see if there are any offers. Just look out for whether or not pumpkins are included in any entry prices, so you don’t have a scary surprise when you get there…
Yorkshire – The Balloon Tree at Gate Helmsley
Open 10am to 4pm Monday to Sunday until end of October.
No need to book, just turn up and follow the ‘Pick Your Own’ signs. Pick fee is £1.50 per person.
Average sized pumpkins cost £4-5 each
Surrey – Secretts at Hurst Farm
From Sat 25th to 30th October. Tickets are £6.50 each and include a wide range of activities on site, although there are some optional activities which will require additional payment.
Dressing up is encouraged – there will be a competition! Pumpkins are individually priced and start at £3.
Leicestershire – Halloween Farm
Open until 2nd November, it’s arguably the biggest pumpkin picking experience in the UK. This year, there’s a Wild West theme.
Ticket prices of £3 include your pumpkin, parking, the Nashville Music area and some of the attractions (others may cost extra but you can add these at the checkout). For a money-saving budget, opt for one of the pass tickets starting from £19.99 which include the extra activities.
Ashover Family Farm, Chesterfield
With free parking and free entry, and a ton of activities such as a corn maze and marshmallow toasting, this is a great day out! Pay for pumpkins picked.
Scotland – Loch Ness Pumpkins
Tickets are £7.50 and include activities like a barrel train, bale run, and suction archery. Dogs on leads welcome at selected sessions, check before booking. On-site toilets and a tea shed for refreshments.
Wales – Poundfflad Farm, Swansea
The farm will be open for pumpkin picking until 31st October. There is no entry charge to the patch but you can book tickets online to the Halloween party and show, which are extra. This year, the Monsters Ball ‘Glow and Foam’ party is the main attraction, with tickets £9.99 for those aged under 12 and £4.95 for those over 12.
Wales – Bellis Brothers Farm, Wrexham
Open until 31st October
Free to enter but booking is essential.
Pick your own pumpkins at the family-run Bellis Brothers Farm. There is also a spooky maize maze for children to explore, which costs £2.50 each).
TREATS AND TRAILS
Haunted Half Term at Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace, 25th Oct – 2nd Nov
Check out the Potion Quest Trail and roving shows from a bumbling wizard, or take part in craft workshops or watch a potions show all at Blenheim Palace this half term.
Covent Garden Halloween Trail
Central London 31st October only – FREE
A great chance to get dressed up and take part in a free Halloween Trail around Covent Garden, exploring parts of the area you may not have visited before. There’s also a photo competition.
Halloween at Hyde Park
Central London 28th – 30th OCT – FREE
Another great opportunity to get dressed up and take part in a whole host of free creepy crawly activities in Hyde Park. This free event is happening 11am – 3pm (closes at 3.30pm), no booking is necessary but they would appreciate it if people could register their interest via the website.
Liverpool One Halloween Party
Liverpool 26th October
A day for fun from 11am – 5pm, including events like drumming workshops and zombie dance classes, with the classic costume competition and much more.
There are also plenty of other things to do in half term, from Halloween crafts to decorating your own pumpkin doughnut at Krispy Kreme.
Ghost Week York
York 25th October – 2nd November
York is said to be one of the most haunted cities in the country. It will be celebrating all things ghostly this half term with a twilight ghost hunt, a trail of the seven spectres and a spooky short film. The Little York Ghost Hunt takes place in the evenings, with the chance to win the famous ghosts from York Ghost Merchant, hidden around the city.
Ghosts in the Gardens has also returned, with spooky sculptures scattered across the city – can you find them all?
Gothic Garden Trail
Alton (Hampshire) 22nd October – 2nd November
The house and gardens turns into a gothic playground, with creatures hidden around every corner. Two new trails take place inside the house, while in the gardens you can follow the cauldron trail. Activities included with the price of admission (family ticket one adult three kids £18, two adults three kids £30).
Join the Halloween kids craft workshops on 26th October for £5 each, or attend the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies After Dark Screening with older kids (15+).
Scaresville, Kentwell Hall
Bury St Edmunds (Suffolk) 15th Oct – 1st November
A live action immersion evening suitable for older kids and adults, a spooky walk through the woods and through buildings, with live actors on site. This is not for the faint hearted or younger children. Tickets from £28.25.
For younger children, try Kentwell’s Halloweenies workshops and sorcery trails, from £15.
Also for older children (14+) is the Ghostly and Macabre Tours, which take place until March 2026, with tickets £10 each.
The Giant’s Lair
Slieve Gullion Forest Park (Co. Armagh) Open Daily – FREE
There are fairies, witches, dragons and giants to be greeted along this trail inspired by local legend.
Halloween Makers Market
Fargo Village (Coventry) 25th – 26th Oct – FREE
Fargo Village is a repurposed industrial space in Coventry city centre. Over the Halloween Weekend, the market is host to a range of artists and makers and will feature scary arts and crafts, candles, jewellery and more.
FREAKY FESTIVALS
Derry Halloween
Londonderry, 28th – 31st OCT – FREE
Europe’s largest Halloween festival comes back to life with free events. Check out the walled city trail, carnival parade, live music, fireworks and much more.
Halloween in the City
Manchester, 25th – 26th OCT – FREE
This spooky event is back! There’s a procession, live band, stilt-walkers and fun rides. The Manchester Monsters are back, with live music, spooky tales and much more. Events run from 25th – 31st October, with most activities happening 25th – 26th October.
Creepy Creatures, Arnos Vale Cemetery
Bristol, 27th Oct – £6
Get creative with recycled materials to make all kinds of creatures against the backdrop of the spooky Arnos Vale cemetery.
And check out loads of other family fun events across Bristol for the half-term weekend, too.
Spooks in the City
Swansea, 25th OCT – FREE
It’s a Monster Mash Up this year, with events taking place 3pm – 8pm. Loads of children’s entertainment is available at St David’s Peculiar Place, from music to games and a fancy dress competition.
Nottingham Castle Halloween Events
Nottingham, 25th Oct – 2nd Nov
Join a range of half term events from as little as £1 a ticket at Nottingham Castle. From the Monster Mash on 31st October with a DJ, free face painting, and games and crafts, to the Dungeon Tales, Caves Stories, and Witch’s Trail, there’s something for every level of budget and spook-appetite.
Galoshans Festival
Inverclyde, to 17th – 30th October – FREE
This family festival with a Halloween twist is back for an eighth year. While some events are ticketed, a huge number are free, including spooky tours of Custom House Quay and a ghost story club in Greenock Central Library. The main parade and party takes place from 5.45pm to 8pm on 30th October.
ELECTRIFYING EXHIBITIONS
Celebrate Science
County Durham, 28th – 29th Oct – FREE
At its brand new location of Locomotion in Shildon, this free two-day event includes loads of science workshops and fun activities. It’s free, but you need to book a ticket.
Bat Trail – Oxford Museum of Natural History
Oxford, 23rd Oct – 2nd Nov FREE
The Museum of Natural History in Oxford is home to a permanent collection of animal skeletons, butterflies, and creepy crawlies. This year, see how many bats you can spot hanging out in the museum! Entry is always free.
Gladiator Fights – Leeds Royal Armouries
Half of the MoneyMagpie team is based in Yorkshire, and we love Leeds Royal Armouries as a reliable go-to for a cheap or free day out with the family during the holidays. This year, you can watch gladiators battle it out, learn about the way the Romans lived, and much more all for free. For a small fee, you could also learn how to fire a crossbow or participate in an escape room, too!
ENGLISH HERITAGE MEMBER DAYS OUT
These following events are free for English Heritage Members. If you aren’t a member but want to join in, prices are listed on the websites.
Alternatively, you can find out more about becoming a member here. (For 1 adult and up to 6 children it is £6.83 per month, for 2 adults and up to 12 children it’s £12.)
Halloween Trails
Various locations, Sat 22 – Sun 30 Oct 2022 / 10am – 4pm
English Heritage has a wide range of spooky talks and walks, nature trails, and workshops and activities across their sites. Check the booking details for each, as some are inclusive of admission and others have a small additional fee.
ILLUMINATED ABBEY
Whitby Abbey, 24th – 1st Nov – 6pm – 9pm
See Bram Stoker’s inspiration in a new light as Whitby Abbey is bathed in dramatic illuminations once again. Have your camera at the ready as you explore the gothic splendour of the ruins lit up with all the colours of the rainbow.
And of course it wouldn’t be Halloween without the Count! See the story of Dracula brought to life before your very eyes within the abbey ruins all aglow, with a twist on our usual show as we celebrate 125 years of Dracula.
VISIT A CREEPY CASTLE
Why not visit a creepy castle this Halloween! The MoneyMagpie team have picked their Top 3 fearsome fortresses:
There we have it! 31 (and a few more sprinkled in, for good measure) fun activities for this Halloween Half Term!
And finally:
National Rail Discounted Days Out
If you take the train for your family days out, remember that you can get up to 50% off your tickets!
Our favourites for October half term include:
- Half Price York Dungeon Tickets
- 15% Off the Official Oxford Ghost Tour
- 2-for-1 Chinnor and Princes Risborough Heritage Railway
- 1/3 Off Legoland Windsor
- 1/3 Off Warwick Castle
- 2-for-1 London Witches Tour
- 2-for-1 The Clink Prison Museum
- 2-for-1 Black Country Living Museum
Subscribe
Login
0 Comments
