October Half Term in Northumberland 2026: What's On and What's Shut
Nine days, one clock change, a castle that's already shut and more pumpkins than anyone needs. Here's what's actually on in Northumberland, day by day and area by area.

Nine days, one clock change, a castle that's already shut and more pumpkins than anyone needs. Here's what's actually on in Northumberland, day by day and area by area.

October half term in Northumberland runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 (schools close Friday 23 October and reopen Monday 2 November), the same week as Newcastle and North Tyneside. Alnwick Castle is closed by then, but Bamburgh Castle, Belsay Hall, Seaton Delaval Hall, Wallington and the Ford and Etal Scarycrow Trail all run half-term events. The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October, and after that the sun sets before 5pm.
Checked 29 September 2026. Dates and prices change, so the organiser's link is the one to trust.
October half term in Northumberland runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, and it's an odd week to plan. Half the county is carving pumpkins, the other half is putting the shutters up for winter, Alnwick Castle has already closed, and the clocks go back on the first Sunday. Don't let that put you off. Bamburgh, Belsay, Seaton Delaval and Wallington all run Halloween events, the first seal pups should be turning up on the Farnes, and a teatime sunset means stargazing before bed.
We holiday up here a lot with our two, who are six and seven, so this leans towards primary-age bairns and parents who'd like a hot drink at some point.
So Tyneside and Northumberland are off together, and both Saturdays will be heaving at the big places. If you can do Tuesday to Thursday, do.
Alnwick Castle shutting just before half term is the county's version of the ice cream van pulling away as you reach the front of the queue.
Which castles are open Opening months, prices and parking for every castle in the county. →
The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October (GOV.UK). By our own sums for Alnwick, sunset is about 5.45pm on the Saturday, 4.43pm on the Sunday and about 4.29pm on Halloween, properly dark by ten past five. Our calculation, not an official almanac, but close enough.
Most places stop letting people in around 4pm anyway (Bamburgh's last entry, Belsay's Halloween fun, The Alnwick Garden's closing time), so do the outdoor bit in the morning and pack a torch for any beach walk after half three. The extra hour in bed is a lovely theory no six-year-old has heard of. The upside is stargazing at teatime, with the kids still in bed at a sensible hour.
Dark skies guide Where to stargaze in the Dark Sky Park and which sessions suit children. →

English Heritage's Halloween half term runs 24 October to 1 November, 10am to 4pm daily: interactive storytelling, spooky games, a themed trail, a selfie spot and a daily fancy dress competition with prizes, so pack the costume. Included with admission.
My pick for mixed ages: flat garden paths for the buggy and a ruined castle for anyone who needs to run it off.

Open daily 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm. Gory Stories runs on 24, 25, 30 and 31 October at 11.15am and 2.15pm in the Keep Hall (the castle warns some tales are quite gruesome; pre-book, and there are steps). Drop-in clay Halloween crafts run 11am to 3pm on 24, 25 and 31 October and 1 November, and The Doctor Will See You Now shows off grisly old medical kit on 26 and 29 October.

With the castle shut, this is Alnwick's half term, open daily 10am to 4pm. The Pumpkin Garden (scavenger hunt, harvest games) is free with Garden entry, and Spookydorei Days at Lilidorei has a Spooky or Not so Spooky trail. Spookydorei Nights (23 to 31 October, 5pm to 9pm, book ahead) is for 11 to 15 year olds.
A Garden-only adult ticket gets up to four children in free, so if pumpkins will do, skip Lilidorei and save a packet.
The Basement and Stables become a trail of ghostly legends, witches and spiders, with dressing-up on the West Wing stage, 24 October to 1 November, 11am to 4.30pm. Free with admission, no booking, and much of it is indoors, which makes it a good bet near the coast if it pours.
Homemade scarecrows go up around Ford, Etal and Heatherslaw from 26 October to 1 November. Free; the map and score sheet cost a donation to a local charity, from the village shops or as a download the week before. Most of it is walkable, though a few scarecrows need the car. Go in daylight and let the kids do the scoring.

The narrow-gauge line along the River Till runs daily until Sunday 1 November. Trains leave Heatherslaw at 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm, and Etal at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 3pm and 4pm. Buy tickets on the day at Heatherslaw. With the scarecrows out, the last week is the best one.

Little Leaf Collectors (24 October to 1 November, 10am to 5pm) hands children a wheelbarrow and rake to help clear the courtyard, crafts run in the yurt by the Adventure Playground from 27 to 29 October (11am to 3pm), and there's a Creatures of the Night story trail in the West Woods. All included with admission. The leaf raking is, and I say this with love, free child labour that the child enjoys.
The Wildlife Trust hides 12 pumpkins in the woods, 26 October to 1 November, 10am to 3pm, with a café treat at the end. Ages 3 to 10; book through the Trust and the map comes by email. On 31 October Jim Grant tells Mystical Halloween Stories in the woods at 11am and 1pm (ages 6 and up). Cheap, short and muddy, so wear boots.
Daily 23 to 31 October: an indoor pumpkin patch with a free pumpkin per full-paying child, shows, storytelling, animals and soft play. The priciest thing here, but much of it is indoors, which on a wet Tuesday is worth money.

Pick your own from the field, daily until Saturday 31 October, with a carving tent (kits extra) and food vans. Online booking only, non-refundable. Wednesday 28 October is a Woof Wednesday, so the dog can come on a lead.
Steam trains from Lionheart Station on 31 October and 1 November, with a bat trail to follow. Departures 11am, 12.15pm, 1.45pm and 3pm.
Rides and competitions on Beaumont Street, Saturday 31 October, 2pm to 9pm. That morning there's a free Spook Night poster workshop at the Moot Hall, 11am to 1pm.
Free drop-in crafts at the Market Pavilion (NE24 1BW), 27 to 31 October, 10am to 4pm, building a giant spooky creation through the week, plus a costumed parade in the Marketplace on Friday 30 October at 3pm.
Saturday 31 October at Mermaid Car Park by the beach (NE24 3PL), 4pm to 9pm: a low-noise display at 6pm for little ones and anyone who hates bangs, then the traditional one at 7.30pm. Free. Two displays is a very good idea and more places should pinch it.

Bad news first: all four half-term Space Kids sessions (24, 26, 28 and 31 October), the teatime ones for 6 to 12 year olds, showed sold out when we checked, and the grown-up evenings were nearly gone. Sessions go ahead in cloud. For next year: it can sell out three months ahead.
A 1.5-mile gravel trail from Kielder Castle, fine for pushchairs apart from one short steep bit. Through October there are Halloween cauldrons to find, with clues and a crossword for a sticker. October only, so aim for the first half of half term, and bring a flask: the castle is shut.

Nearer Tyneside than Kielder, with kids' sessions on the calendar: Stargazing for Kids on 24 October (7pm) and 30 October (6.30pm), which moves indoors if it's cloudy, and Ready-Set-Rocket on 31 October (6.30pm), building and launching water rockets (bring an empty fizzy drink bottle). Ages 6 and up.
Billy Shiel's says pups are on view from late October until January, and the National Trust counts around 3,000 born on the Farnes each autumn. So half term is the start, not the peak: you might spot a few white pups among the adults. The 90-minute cruise sails all year, weather permitting, with no landing. Dogs welcome.
The same 1.5-hour loop, daily all year except Christmas Day, with the Grace Darling story on the way. Well-behaved dogs welcome.
Pale-bellied brent geese fly in from Svalbard every autumn; Lindisfarne is their only regular wintering site in Britain. The reserve's Goose Festival runs 26 to 31 October, with sunrise events at Budle Bay and family activities. Free, but times weren't out when we checked.
If anything is on Holy Island itself: the causeway floods twice a day, so check the council's safe crossing times before you set off.
Boulmer on the coast averages about 72mm of rain in October (Met Office 1991 to 2020 averages), so you'll use at least one of these.

Open daily in Northumberland school holidays, and under 18s go free. The big draw is the Arborialis Luminarium, a giant walk-in inflatable of glowing tree shapes, 24 to 29 October, 10am to 4pm. Shoes off, booking essential (tickets weren't on sale yet when we checked). Also a pumpkin trail to 1 November, birds of prey on 31 October and a quiet Sound Down Sunday morning on 25 October.

Open daily in the school holidays, 10am to 4pm. Until 1 November there's a Skull Trail round the galleries (find them all, get a sweet) and a drop-in Make a Groaning Ghost craft, both included and children free. A jail museum with a skull hunt in Halloween week. It sells itself.

Bare Bones (24 October to 1 November) is a Halloween-flavoured look at the Vindolanda Trust's animal bones. On 31 October and 1 November it's National Lottery Players Weekend: show a lottery ticket, paper or on your phone, and you get into here and Vindolanda free. The cheapest Roman day you'll ever have.
From 24 to 28 October you can card wool, spin yarn and weave on a small loom to take home, inspired by the Roman textiles found here. Included with admission, and the £2 Archaeology Detectives pack gives restless ones a job round the fort.
Monday Mini Makes on 26 October (10am and 2pm, ages 3 and up) makes pom-pom bats, and Wild Wednesday on 28 October (10.30am and 1pm, ages 5 to 11) has a ranger helping children build a bat box to take home. Adults free but staying. Book through Ticketsource.

Free storytelling with Chris Adriaanse, 30 October to 1 November at 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm and 3pm: the Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, the Henhole fairies and more. Book ahead. Anglo-Saxon Tales and Ancient Legends runs on 27 and 28 October at 11am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm.

Gaby Gulliver's Travels, a 45-minute shadow puppet show for ages 5 and up, is on Saturday 24 October at 11am and 1.30pm. CAST's young company does Matilda JR from 28 to 31 October at 1.30pm and 5.30pm, which is a lot for a youth show, though it's their big week.
Free 45-minute sessions making lanterns for the Hexham Lantern Parade, Tuesday 27 October at 10am, 11am and 12pm, ages 6 and up.

Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom shows daily, with a sensory-friendly screening on Friday 30 October at 2pm: lights low, sound down, no trailers, subtitles, and nobody minds wandering.
The Almanac Every dated event across the county, updated as organisers publish. →
See what's on in The Northumbrian AlmanacFree, two short emails a week, and you choose which. Read the latest one first.
No spam, no ads. Unsubscribe from any email with one click. Privacy
Most Northumberland council schools close on Friday 23 October 2026 and reopen on Monday 2 November, so the break is Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November. North Tyneside matches exactly and Newcastle's community schools are off Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Academies and church schools can differ, so check your school's website.
Our top picks: Bamburgh Castle's Gory Stories, Belsay's Halloween trail (24 October to 1 November), the Scarycrow Trail at Ford and Etal with the last Heatherslaw trains, a seal cruise from Seahouses (pups from late October) and a teatime stargazing session at Battlesteads. Pumpkin picking at Brocksbushes near Corbridge runs to 31 October.
Only until 20 or 22 October 2026: its Plan Your Visit page says the season runs until 20 October and its FAQ says it closes on 22 October. Either way it's shut for Northumberland's October half term, apart from an evening book talk on 27 October.
No. The 2026 season ends in October and the castle hadn't published a 2027 opening date when we checked. The Alnwick Garden next door is open Thursday to Sunday, 10am to 3pm, in early November.
October is pumpkins, Halloween and the start of seal pup season. The Alnwick Garden's Pumpkin Garden runs 10 October to 1 November, Seaton Delaval Hall's Tales from the Shadows runs 24 October to 1 November, and Blyth has free Halloween fireworks on 31 October at 6pm and 7.30pm.
Woodhorn Museum in Ashington is open daily in the school holidays and free for under 18s, and Hexham Old Gaol does a skull trail with children free. Whitehouse Farm Centre near Morpeth has an indoor pumpkin patch and soft play, and Bamburgh Castle's State Rooms are indoors.
Facts checked against 71 pages on Tuesday 29 September 2026. Opening times and prices change, so confirm with the venue.