All kinds of spooky shenanigans are taking place in the city to help you entertain your little monsters this Halloween! Here’s a round-up of October half term and Halloween events in Bristol.
*As with all events during these uncertain times, COVID-safety measures will apply – check the individual websites beforehand to avoid disappointment. Please let me know if you hear of any more Halloween events and I’ll add them to the list.
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Half term and Halloween events in Bristol – Pumpkin patches
Pumpkin Patch at Avon Valley (2-31 October)
P-p-p-pick out a pumpkin to turn into your very own spooky jack-o-lantern from the patch at Avon Valley. Or if you don’t want to get muddy, just select a fab-boo-lous one from their gourd-geous selection (priced according to size). There’ll also be spooky characters wandering around, fairground rides (charged separately), Pumpkin Paintball, Fire shows, Scarecrow Shoot’em, Massive Pumpkin Canons (new), Pumpkin Slingshot and lots more!
Tickets: £4 per person
Please note tickets to the Pumpkin Patch do not give you access to Avon Valley Park which is closed at this time. If you choose to go on the rides or use the side stalls, these are charged separately. Pumpkins are not included in your event entry ticket.
For pumpkin picking with festival vibes check out Avon Valley’s Pumpkin Patch Nights (8-27 October)!
Image courtesy of Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park
Pumpkin Fest at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm (9-31 October)
Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm’s pumpkins are a bit special – they’re grown with the help of elephant poo! Pumpkin Fest features a Top Trumps trail, bug talks during the half term week, the newly relaunched ‘Great British Wildlife Maze’, plus pumpkin-themed foods and treats.
Pumpkin picking at Puxton Park (23-31 October)
Pick the plumpest of pumpkins from the patch at Puxton Adventure Park, then zhuzh it up with a splash of paint! Embrace the Halloween spirit with further spoooooooky goings-on in the park – including creepy critters encounters, a Halloween disco (fancy dress encouraged) and more.
Pumpkin festival at Farringtons, Farrington Gurney (2-3, 8-10, 14-31 October)
Over 40,000 pumpkin seeds have been planted for Farrington’s annual pumpkin festival – choose from an array of different varieties including the popular white ghost pumpkins. There’s also a playbarn for kiddos, an outdoor farm park, lovely farm shop and onsite cafe – perfect for a warming treat after your pumpkin-hunting extravaganza. Booking essential.
Making a day of it? For the best pumpkin picking in Somerset, read my post here.
Halloween Party and fancy dress parade, Ardagh Common (30 October)
Join in the monstrous fun at the 2021 Halloween Party & Fancy Dress Parade at Horfield’s Ardagh Common! Food, drinks, music, games, fancy dress parade (& prizes) and more! Suitable for all ages.
Half term Halloween Trails in Bristol
Halloween trail at Clifton Observatory (24 October-1 November)
Delve deep into the giant’s cave, explore the heights of the observatory tower, complete a spooky scavenger hunt and win a Halloween treat!
Clifton Observatory’s Halloween Trail will be open every day from 10am-5pm for kids aged 4-14. Tickets are £2.50 per child.
Halloween displays in Bristol (16-31 Oct)
If you’re still concerned about the ‘normal’ trick or treat experience, this city-wide trail allows Halloween-lovers a contact-free scary way to celebrate. Head out on your very own devilish adventure and seek out spooktacular home-made Halloween displays around Bristol with this handy map (which will go live nearer the time).
Halloween in Bristol – Events
Bristol Beacon Hoo-Ha Festival (29-30 October)
Bristol Beacon’s FREE family festival Hoo-Ha! returns with two jam-packed days of music, dancing, and activities for little people and their grown-ups.
Featuring London Rhymes’ eclectic and high energy musical bonanza, a live gig from the ever-popular Kid Carpet, Junior Jungle Rave plus Scrap Store, Let’s Make Art, the Explorer Dome and Conductive Music, expect two days of rollicking fun, musical mayhem and silly shenanigans. Yee ha!
Skeloween at Bristol Zoo (23-31 October)
Get into the Halloween spirit and learn all about the clever bones inside your favourite vertebrates at Bristol Zoo. Dare to discover dark and spooky Twilight World, see creepy creatures in Bug World, and spy 12 critically-endangered fruit bats.
Storytale festival (23-24 October)
Bristol Storytale Festival is a children’s book festival organised by a small group of Bristol parents. A bitesize edition of the festival will be running online this year with five live events, celebrating the wonderful world of kid’s books with lots of fun and creative activities for all ages. From drawing and dancing, to storytelling and writing workshops, join in from the comfort of your own home!
American Museum & Gardens, nr Bath (23-31 October)
Celebrate Halloween with an American-style celebration at this beautiful manor house just outside Bath. Explore the gardens, parkland and children’s play area, have a go at Halloween craft activities, pick up sweets at the trick or treat station and marvel at the fancy-dress parade (at 11am or 3pm on Saturdays 23 & 30 and Sundays 24 & 31 October) – best-costumed visitors in spooky fancy dress will be in the running for a prize.
Halloween Family Fun Day at The Helicopter Museum (24 October)
The Helicopter Museum’s hair-raising Halloween event is rising from the grave in 2021! This frighteningly day of fun includes a live ‘bubble-ology’ with tricks performed by freaky fairies.
There’s also helicopter flights, kids’ games and competitions to get involved with. Free entry for all children in Halloween fancy dress.
Weston super Scare! The Stable Games Room, Weston-super-Mare (25 October)
Spooky fun and games with Action Pussycat. Expect scary storytelling, magic, slime making, games, craft, witches, trick or treating and more!
Spooktacular Halloween fun with Henry VIII & Past Times Living History, Berkeley Castle (25-27 & 31 October)
Enjoy some ghastly goings-on at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire. Meet King Henry VIII and his two beheaded wives who’ll regale you with tales of how they lost their heads, watch out for Grim the Executioner prowling the castle with tales of gore and take part in the Gruesome Game Show! Make sure your little horrors are on their best behaviour or Wee Jobbie the Gaoler will be looking out for new residents in the dungeon and discover the latest Tudor cures for your pesky persistent plagues, but beware, be she a healer or be she a witch!
The Triwizard Tournament, The Story Cellar, Pill Community Centre (26-27 October)
Sign up your 6-11 year olds now for this fun Story Cellar workshop in Half Term. Kids can expect dragons, mermaids and mazes in this Triwizard Adventure. £50 for two days, contact liz@thestorycellar.co.uk to book.
The Harry Potter Potion Class, Coalpit Heath, Bristol (30 October)
Make two magical potions (including one drink and two cake pops) in this immersive Harry Potter experience, receive an exclusive Halloween-themed Harry Potter goodie bag and have your photo taken with props and an invisibility cloak! Dressing up is encouraged. £20 per person, suitable for all ages but pupils under the age of 6 will need to be supervised by an adult.
Halloween fancy dress disco party at Rock Out Baby, various venues (20 October)
Rock Out Baby is an interactive live music class which plays covers of pop/rock and roll songs as well as traditional nursery rhymes. Expect live music with the guitar or ukulele, bubble disco, parachute play, interactive story time and lots of puppets. Suitable From 0 – 5 years!
Halloween at Ocean Adventurers, Cheddar (31 October)
Face painting, fairground stalls, pumpkin hunts and spooky food, prizes for the best-dressed Halloween outfits and discos throughout the day, just book onto any session on 31 October and all of the above is included within the ticket price. Or join on any other day in the October half term and you will see the centre spookily transformed…Suitable for 0 – 6 years.
Halloween at Wookey Hole (23-31 October)
What better time of year to visit the Witch of Wookey than Halloween!? See the witch mixing potions in her Halloween Grotto, check out the creepy, crazy mirrors and the cave light show and expect plenty of eerie adventure around every corner!
Half term theatre
Show of Strength Treasure Island Story Walk (25, 27 & 29 October)
Bristol is where Long John Silver ran a pub called The Spyglass, where Squire Trelawney discovered and fitted out the Hispaniola ship, and where young Jim Hawkins stepped off the coach from Devon to set sail for Captain Flint’s buried treasure.
This half term, head off on a piratey adventure brimming full of secret treasure, dark secrets and dirty deeds on Bristol docks with a swashbuckling pirate and Ted the fact checking parrot.
£5 off if you use the code ‘TREASURE5’ at checkout.
The Spooky Spooctacular, Page Park (28-31 October)
Brave Bold Drama will be giving a very daft outdoor Halloween-themed family performance of their show The Spooky Mission in the sensory garden by Bean Tree Cafe in Page Park, Kingswood. Tickets to the shows include a Halloween-themed trail around the garden – complete all the challenges to bag yourself a prize from the cafe.
Autumn walks
Get the kids outside to burn off some Half Term energy by making the most of this colourful season. I’ve put together a list of some of the best autumn walks in and around the city.
You may also like to read:
Bristol parks and open spaces: family walks that avoid the crowds
Looking for an easy day trip? Things to do October half term in Somerset
Best free things to do in Bristol with kids
Day trips from Bristol: family days out within 1 hour’s drive of the city
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