The Best Halloween Days out with kids in Essex 2024

Barleylands Farm Park are running Halloween Fest every day from 26th October – 3rd November 2024. A scaretastic line up of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy this October half term:

• Skittleman spooky magic shows
• Halloween maze
• Witch and Cat dance parties
• Pumpkin decorating

Pumpkin paddock – EACH CHILD GETS A FREE PUMPKIN TO TAKE HOME PLUS all of the daily timetable of activities

• Barrell rides
• Indoor soft play & Outdoor play areas
• Bouncy pillow
• Meet the goats
• Feed the pigs
• Bird of prey talks
• Serval breakfast
• Shooting cannon zone
• Indoor sandpit
• Wallaby talks
• Tractor rides

Tickets are £14.45 for adults and children and under 2’s are £2.55.

Spooky evenings are running 26th, 27th, 30th & 31st October, 5:30-9pm! Ticket includes:

• Unlimited family friendly fairground rides
• Safe trick or treating around The Village
• Spooky Halloween disco with Skittleman
• Halloween spooky maze
• Freaky friends critter show
• Indoor & outdoor play areas
• Visit our animals
• Halloween themed characters
• Large outdoor screen TV playing spooky music
• Halloween light displays

Tickets must be pre booked online. See our review from a previous visit to Barleylands Spooky Nights. Tickets from £17 per person. Under 2’s are £3.

Location: Barleylands Farm Park & The Village, Barleylands Road, Billericay, Essex, CM11 2UD.

Audley End Miniature Railway in Saffron Walden Essex. Train ride through the woods to visit the witches and their monster friends, a gift for every child,, make a potion pouch with the witches, Magical Magician stage show, Adventure Play Area. See our full review of Audley End Halloween Train here.

Running from 26th October – 3rd November. Must Book online.

Location: Audley End Miniature Railway, Audley End Road, Audley End, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11 4JB.

Essex Waterways are hosting a creepy cruise on the river from Blackwater Dawn at Heybridge Basin on 26th to 31st October at 6-7pm and 7:30-8:30pm.

£10.95 per person. Park at Daisy Meadow Car Park.

Location: Blackwater Dawn, 5 Basin Road, Maldon, CM9 4RQ

Book online or call 01245 226245.

Daisy May’s Farm are hosting Halloween at the Farm. Ideal for families with small children looking for a not so scary option! Ride the ghost train, get your face painted, enjoy marshmallows around the fire, meet & feed the animals, have lots of messy art & craft fun, pick your own pumpkin and much more.

Tickets are £10 per child and £5 per adult, they include: Animal food, Themed arts & crafts, Marshmallows for the fire, Fancy dress competition, Witch’s Hunt, Pumpkin Ball Pit, Monstor Mash Dance – Along.

Running 10-4pm each day 21st October – 29th 2023. Book tickets online.

Location: Daisy mays Farm, Hall Road, Elsenham, Essex, CM226DN.

Epping Ongar Railway, Ongar Fright Week, 5 spooky ghost train events 26th October – 3rd November.

Dress up in your scariest outfit and join the full size ghost train for some Hallowe’en fun with the living dead!

Dress up in your spookiest costumes to win prizes.Tickets must be prebooked. Refreshments available and toilet facilities.

Steam hauled train journey from North Weird – but beware the living dead aren’t just lurking outside the windows! Find the ghosts haunting the eerie gruesome graveyard and meet the manic magician and watch his mysterious show.

Location: North Weald Station CM16 6BT.

North Weald & District Miniature Railway are running Halloween Spooky Specials on 26th, 27th October & 1st November, 4-7pm.

Before it’s dark is suitable for all ages and after darkness it gets spookier, with special effects, smoke machines and spooky characters! Children also each receive a bag of sweets. Tickets must be booked online and are £4 each.

Location: Harlow Garden Centre, Canes Lane Hastingwood CM17 9LD

Discover Brentwood Connected are holding Super FREE spoooooktacular activities which are taking place in Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone for Halloween this month, including:

FREE Halloween fun from Brentwood Connected:

On SATURDAY 26 OCTOBER (3-6pm), the Festival of Frights arrives in Brentwood, with exciting locations for you to take part in frightfully fun activities and collect tasty treats on our Halloween trail. There will also be a Mini Disco at The Baytree Shopping Centre and a spectacular Grand Finale fire performance in Crown Street, Brentwood to end the event. The creepy vibes will be in Crown Street from 3-6pm too, with a ‘Spooky Room’, candy floss, face painting and Halloween games organised by Chicken & Frog Bookshop and Ridgewell & Boreham. Please dress up on Saturday 26 October and get into the Halloween spirit with us! The team at Sophisticated Entertainment will be arranging the activities at the Festival of Frights, and we’re super excited to reveal these soon!

THURSDAY 31 OCTOBER (3-6pm) is the Shenfield Spooktacular in Hutton Road with an interactive trail experience for the whole family to enjoy. Dress up, collect some treats and enjoy the spooky entertainment and games.

All day on FRIDAY 1 NOVEMBER (10am-5pm) there will be a Trick or Treat Trail in Ingatestone High Street with Halloween characters to meet, spooky places to visit and treats to collect. Halloween costumes are encouraged.

The monsters are coming to Southend Pier & Railway this half term with a frightfully fun Monster hunt on Southend Pier!

From Saturday 26 October – Sunday 3 November to take part in the frightfully fun Monster Hunt! Explore the pier head to discover our fun monster characters!

Simply collect your activity sheet, priced at just £2 per child (plus usual pier admission prices) when you arrive at the pier. Once you have completed your activity sheet, head over to the Royal Pavilion to collect your prize!

Event times: 10:15am – 4pm (prizes must be collected by 5pm). No need to book.

Location: Western Esplanade, Southend on Sea, SS1 1EE.

Pumpkin Week runs at Hasty’s Adventure Farm runs from October 23rd to 3rd November 2024. Prices include entrance to the Farm with play equipment, Ghost trail, Spooky Mini Games and Pumpkin Selfie Stations. Prices start from £9.95 per adult/child and £5.95 for toddlers.

Location: Hastys Adventure Farm, West Rd, Clacton-on-Sea CO15 1AG.

OCTOBER HALF TERM Children’s Events at Thurrock Garden Centre.

• Halloween Party with Ash-Lee Entertainment on Monday 28th October.
• Spooktacular Buscuit Decorating with The wallace kitchen on Wednesday 30th October.
• Frightfully Exciting Party with Party Monsters Children’s Entertainer on Thursday 31st October.

Visit Thurrock Garden Centre website to book.

Location: Thurrock Garden Centre, South Road, South Ockendon, Essex, RM15 6DU.

Cursed Twilight is at Crouch Valley Showground in Rayleigh. Cursed is a Halloween treat like no other in Essex, as you enter CURSED VILLAGE, will you make it out? On Tue 29 Oct 2024, 5:00PM – 8:30PM, is their family night. Created for the under 16’s and those too scared to experience the main event. Cursed Twilight offers a unique experience for those that are looking for fun but not too much fright.

Please note this will be a theatrical performance not scare event.

Tickets are £20 per person.

Location: Crouch Valley Showground, A1245 Rayleigh, Essex.

Eden Oasis Animal Discovery Halloween Experience running Monday 28th October to Friday 1st November.

Meet some of the wonderful ‘Spooky’ family members for a full 60 minute animal interaction, animals will include insects, snakes, lizards, rats and the amazing armadillo Dolly!

To finish, try the ‘buckets of fear’ challenge! Which level are you brave enough to complete to win your prize? Adults and Children will be included in this task. Recommended attendee age 4+ 

It is just £9.99 for adults and children! Only 18 spaces per session. Everyone in attendance will require a ticket. Book online. Parent and toddler specials running – 21st to 25th October which are just £12.50 per child (plus free adult).

Location – Howe Green, Chelmsford, CM2 7TB.

All Things Alpaca in Chelmsford are offering a Halloween experience. Get up close to our mini beasts, rodents, and the new member of the family, Ludo the Barn Owl! You will be offered the chance to hold the mini beasts and rodents and meet Ludo.

Priced at £10 per child (aged 3-15), £15 per adult (16+). Like usual, each child participant will include x1 free accompanying adult, and children under 3 are free with a paying participant (1 per paying participant). This is a 30 minute experience.

There will be a maximum of 4 participants per slot. If you have a larger party you would like to book as a private slot, simply get in touch!

Location: Lathcoats Farm, Beehive Lane, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 8LX.

The Ramblers Riding Club in Leigh on Sea is hosting a Spooky Fun Day on Friday 1st November. 4:30-5:30pm SEN families only, 6:30-7:30pm kid friendly, 8-9pm prepare to scare. Take a walk through the haunted trail. Booking is required, £5 per person.

Rambler Spooky Fun Day and Halloween Activity Days with Pony Ride and grooming, small animal petting, halloween arts and crafts, cupcake decorating and scavenger hunt. 28th, 29th 30th October. from £25, booking required.

Location: The Ramblers RC, SS9 5DE.

Call of the Wild Zoo in South Woodham Ferrers are running their Halloween Scare School. Visit this spooktacular season, for scaring and crafting sessions, aimed for little ones and families to enjoy. A week of Halloween fun during half term. Tickets can be booked online via their website.

Location: Call of the Wild Zoo , Wickford Road, Woodham Ferrers CM3 5QZ.

Haunted Halloween Festival. Visit Hopefield Animal Sanctuary this half term… 26th Oct to 3rd Nov. Get ready to be spooked around the Trick or Treat Trail, get creative with Halloween arts & crafts, meet the creepy crawlies, encounter the spooky character walking about, and pick up your FREE pumpkin from the haunted barn! £8 adult, £12 children.

Here’s what’s included:
– Pumpkin for ALL paying children
– Trick or Treat Trail
– Haunted Pumpkin Barn
– Meet our creepy crawlies
– Spooky character walkaround
– Goodie bag
– Halloween Arts & Crafts
– General admission to the sanctuary

Book tickets online on the Hopefield website.

Location: Sawyer’s Hall Farm, Sawyers Hall Lane, Brentwood, CM15 9BZ.

Halloween at the Museum of Power in Langford, near Maldon, running from Wednesday 30th October to Sunday 3rd November 2024.

• Halloween Activities and Arts and Crafts.
• Crafty Cabin Workshops running (book separately).
• Thursday 31st October ONLY: Professor Dean the Steampunk Scientist and Magician will be there as well as Royal Society of Chemists & Let’s Get Crafty Walk in activities. Miniature Railway Running & ‘Astaria’ Model Village OPEN.
• Miniature Railway OPEN Thursday 31st October and Sunday 3rd November ONLY

Note that the Museum is closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays. Normal Museum entry prices apply: Adults £8.00, Concessions £7.00, Children (5 to 15) £5 and Children under 5 £1.

Location: Museum of Power, Langford, Essex CM9 6QA.

Explore the Moon at Halloween at Southend Planetarium. A Halloween themed Space Day at Southend Central Museum and Planetarium! Blast off in the spooky shows, perfect for aspiring astronauts and alien investigators and get your helmets on for spaceman story telling and object handing sessions. Shows are running 30th October.

The show lasts approximately 50 minutes. Tickets are £9.38 each and all children must be aged 7 or above.

Call us at Central Museum on 01702 212345 to book tickets!

Location: Central Museum, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6EW.

Prittlewell Priory are hosting the following events:

Prittlewell Pumpkin Patch

For one weekend only, Prittlewell Priory’s lawn will be transformed into a pumpkin patch on 26th & 27th October! Choose a pumpkin to take home with you, and enjoy other family friendly seasonal activities including face painting, crafting, a children’s trail and ‘medieval melodies’, our drop in interactive music and storytelling sessions. Adults £8.30 and Child £6.66.

Location: Priory Park, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6NB.

Chelmsford Museum are hosting a hauntingly fun half term activity Spooky Shadows and Frightening Familiars. Where you learn more about witchcraft with some spooky puppet making!

There are activities for all ages in a two-hour craft making workshops. Kids can enjoy:

– Colouring in paper finger puppets (suitable for ages 2+)
– Creating shadow puppets and playing with our shadow puppet theatre to test them out! (suitable for ages 4+)
– Making cardboard tube puppets inspired by witch’s familiars (suitable for ages 6+).

There are also opportunities for dressing up, anyone already dressed in a frightening costume are welcome!

Everyone attending the session will need to book a free place, and all children must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets can be booked on their facebook page.

Location: Oaklands Park, Moulsham Street, Chelmsford CM2 9AQ.

Essex Fire Museum in Grays are holding two spooky themed Halloween open days on Sunday 27th and Tuesday 29th October. Open from 10:30am – 4pm.

Check out their facebook page for more information. Pre-booking required.

Location: Essex Fire Museum, Grays Fire Station, Hogg Lane, Grays, RM17 5QS.

At Scotts of Southend Pumpkin Picking Barn this Halloween season you can enjoy picking your pumpkins in style and away from the cold and mud in their new poly tunnel! They also have a Halloween VR Ride.

Booking online required, £5 entry includes a pumpkin (under 2’s are free). Pumpkin Pass available for unlimited visits for £10. Plenty of free parking.

Open 1st-31st October, 9am to 5pm.  Indoors, weather proof & flat floor surface.  Pick your own pumpkins and gift area. Access to toilets and restaurant. 

They also offer Halloween Afternoon Tea packages for you to choose from and After Dark evenings for 8 years and over, running 25th, 26th, 30th & 31st October from 6pm to 9pm. See our review of the Pumpkin Barn at Scotts of Southend.

Location: Inside Scott’s of Southend Garden Centre SS4 1LQ.

Cammas Hall Farm at Hatfield Broad Oak, you can pick your own pumpkin, walk their Wicked Walkways and Terror Tunnel, get lost in their Maize Maze, Interact with their fabulous Halloween characters and grab a tonne of fun spooky photos. They also have a Halloween Show which is fun. Don’t forget to stop off for a Halloween treat in their Tea Barn. Their Wicked Walkways are great fun! You can read a review of our previous visit to Halloween at Cammas Hall Farm here.

Pumpkin Patch & Halloween Experience runs from 5th to 31st October. First entry 9am and last entry 4pm and booking required. Pumpkin entry is £5. Children under 2 enter free without a ticket.

Ticket price is for admission only and includes the following:
🎃 Entrance to the pumpkin patch yet with over 40 varieties of pumpkin and squash to choose from.
🧙 Interaction with our fabulous Halloween characters.
😈 Wicked Walkway with haunting props and surprises (slightly spooky and super scary options to cater for all ages and sensibilities!).
📷 Lots of photo opportunities! Some amazing backdrops and scenes set.
🌾 15% discount on entry to the Halloween themed Maize Maze and 10% discount Halloween Show.

Tickets need to be prebooked in advance. Free car parking, catering and toilet facilities available.

They also have spooky night sessions, with music performances from their ‘dead legends’ at 6pm until 9pm:

• Friday 18^th October – Freddie Mercury
• Saturday 19^th October – George Michael
• Wednesday 23^rd October – Prince
• Friday 25^th October – Amy Winehouse and swing tribute
• Saturday 26^th October – Whitney Houston
• Wednesday 30^th October – Meatloaf
• Thursday 31^st October – Michael Jackson

Foxes Farm The Pumpkin Patch at Basildon, SS15 4ER and Colchester, CO6 3PR. At The Pumpkin Patch in Essex you can expect over 30 different pumpkins and squash varieties. Activities include:

• Pick your own pumpkin patch.
• Football goals 
• Mini tractors 
• Hula hoops 
• Sack racing 
• Bale Mountain
• Throwing games
• Scavenger Hunt
• Fun farm obstacles and more!

There is also catering and toilet facilities, hand sanitiser stations and car parking available on site. Event village with food stalls, face painting, and more photo opportunities including Fergie tractor and swing.

Opens 5th October 2024 -Weekends 9am-5pm with last entry at 4pm, Weekdays 10am- 4pm with last entry at 3pm. For full dates check their website. They also offer Pumpkin Patch Night tickets.

ENTRY BY PREBOOKED TICKET ONLY – tickets are from £4.50-£6.50 per person or family tickets £16-£22 for four tickets. Under 1’s go free.

Location: Basildon, SS15 4ER or Colchester, CO6 3PR.

At The Green Barn Farm Shop the Pumpkin Field opens on the 28th September. With 15 acres of home grown pumpkins, they also have a Spooky Cow Maize Maze. Prices start from £5pp which includes entry, a pumpkin and a ride on the pumpkin express (vintage land rover). They also have cafe and shop on site with free parking.

The spooky maize maze opens in september, £8 pp or £25 for a family. This includes a trick or treat themed mini maze and then the main maze, helping wendy the witch find all her ingredients for her magical potion! The boards are brilliant with lots of great photo opportunities.

Location: The Green Barn Farm Shop, North Benfleet Hall Fishery, Benfleet SS12 9JR. The POSTCODE will take you to the farm office NOT the shop. The shop does not have a postcode. From A13 – Go past Sadler’s Farm Roundabout and take the first lay-by on the left hand side. 

Hurley’s Pumpkin Forest is a pumpkin farm and patch. It is based at Battlesbridge, Essex and is located just off the Rettendon Turnpike on Woodham Road (the old Woodham to Wickford road). Running Running are open for the weekends of Oct 5,6,12,13,19,20th Oct, plus 25th to 31st Oct daily..

Entry to the pumpkin farm and pumpkin patch needs to be pre-booked. Bookings can be made on their website,Early Bird Tickets are £3 per person or £12 per Family of four ticket OFF-PEAK, and £4 per person or £12 per Family of four ticket PEAK. Under 12 months go free. At the farm you only pay for the pumpkins that you want to buy and any special additional activities you may want to purchase on the day. Pumpkin Crafts & Maize Maze additional costs. They also offer twilight tickets.

Location: Hurleys Pumpkin Forest & Christmas tree farm, Woodham Road (Old Road), Battlesbridge, Wickford, Essex, SS11 7QL.

The Pumpkin Village & Halloween shopping experience is next door to Marsh Farm in South Woodham Ferrers, Essex. Open 27th Sept to 31st October.

With a pick your own pumpkin experience and plenty of photo opportunities. There is a Halloween shop for spooky treats, along with catering and toilet facilities available. Entry is £2.99 to £5.99 per person and tickets must be prebooked. Free parking and timed entry slots. Pumpkin Village Nights are available 12^th, 19^th, 26^th, 27^th, 28^th, 30^th, 31^stOctober. They also have SEN and Dog friendly dates.

Location: Marsh Farm Rd, Chelmsford CM3 5WP.

Sky Lark at Prettyfields Vineyard in Ardleigh, Essex have a Pumpkin Patch & Spooky Vineyard Trail. Running Friday 25th October to Sunday 3rd November. 9am to 5pm daily (last entry is at 4pm).

Pop along to Skylark this Halloween season to pick your favourite pumpkin from the patch in the spookyard. They have pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colours to carve, cook, or decorate with! Take part in the spooky vineyard trail, then enjoy some food and refreshments on the terrace, including Halloween themed treats and wood-fired pizza.

Tickets are £5 per person (3yrs+), under 3yrs entry is free. There’ll be plenty of free parking and dogs on leads are welcome.

Tickets include:

• Access to pick your own pumpkin patch
• Spooky Vineyard Trail (and a halloween spider cookie if all questions are answered correctly!)
• Halloween trail games
• Scavenger hunt
• Bouncy castle use
• Use of wheelbarrows
• Free parking
• Toilet and baby change facilities

Pick your own Pumpkins at Cobbs Farm in Goldhanger, Maldon CM9 8BQ. No booking required. Open Fri 18th – Sun 20th Oct & Thurs 24th – Thurs 31st Oct – 10am-4pm. Free entry, no booking required and free parking.

Family friendly event to pick you own pumpkin this half term. A real working farm that open’s its gates for a few days every year for a fun chance to search the vast pumpkin patch to pick perfect pumpkins. They have a large range of edible squashes to try.

Location: Cobbs Farm, Maldon Road, Goldhanger, Maldon, Essex, CM9 8BQ.

Otto’s Pumpkin Patch in Braintree has Pick Your Own Perfect Pumpkin. Choose from a variety of pumpkins and squashes of all shapes and sizes. Booking is a must!

• Decorated faraway forest with a fun quiz
• Games area
• Giant Art Board
• The Pumpkin House
• Otto’s Den
• The Pumpkin Tree
• Hot and cold refreshments available, picnics are also welcome
• Lots and lots of stunning photo opportunities.

Opening Times: Opening Times: Sunday 29th September, Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th October, Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th October, Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th October, Friday 25th – Sunday to Thursday 31th October (Half Term) 09:30am to 5pm. 09:30am to 5pm.

Located at Otto’s Pumpkin Patch, Long Green, Cressing, Braintree, Essex, CM77 8DL.

Lathcoats Farm Beehive Lane, Galleywood, CM2 8LX. Their Pumpkin Festival runs 12th Oct to 2nd Nov. The pumpkin patch (from £2) has photo ops, outdoor games and plenty of pumpkins! Or take a wander down the spooky Halloween trail from £4.50 where you will find games and photo ops galore whilst completing your Lathcoats Halloween Passport – find all the stamps and claim your delicious festive prize!. They also have a farm shop and and The Bee Shed Cafe on site.

Location: Beehive Lane, Galleywood CM2 8LX

Fobbing Farm Shop in Fobbing, Stanford-le-Hope have a pumpkin patch and halloween activities to enjoy. Adventure around their pumpkin picking patch whilst enjoying lots of photo opportunities with our scary Fobbing Ghosts, Ghouls and witches. Have fun with the singing Pumpkins and look around the Halloween shop.

£3 per child (ADULTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BOOK). *Pumpkin is not included in the fee.

Dates open:

• Friday 25th October 4pm – 8pm
• Saturday 26th October 10am – 6pm
• Sunday 27th October 10am – 4pm
• Monday 28th October 10am – 6pm
• Tuesday 29th October 10am – 6pm
• Wednesday 30th October 10am – 6pm
• Thursday 31st October 10am – 6pm
• Friday 1st November 10am – 6pm

£3 per child (ADULTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO BOOK). *Pumpkin is not included in the fee.

Location: Fobbing Farm Shop – Gables Farm, SS17 9HT.

The PYO Pumpkin Patch at Sarah Green’s Organics family farm is a free event pumpkin patch opening 30th September. They have so many stunning varieties of Pumpkins & Squash, games and refreshments. Opening every weekend in October 10am-3pm and October half term.

Address: Mark farm, Tillingham, Essex, CM0 7SP.

At Farmer Scotts, their pumpkins are grown in a 35 acre field during the summer months and harvested ready for you to pick throughout October and ready for Halloween. Open 25th-31st October 2024

Explore the pumpkin patch whilst you try to find your perfect pumpkins with the rolling Essex countryside as your backdrop. There are a range of pumpkins for you to pick, big oranges ones, medium white ones or even small ugly ones! Take full advantage of the fun photo stations and farming props to get that essential Instagram pic.

Take a well-earned rest in the refreshment area where you will find food and drink to refuel. Why not browse the gift shop to take home a souvenir that you visited Farmer Scott’s Pumpkin Patch. Plenty of free parking. £5 entry includes a a standard size pumpkin.

Location: Chequers Rd, Brentwood CM14 5RB.

Calcott Hall in Brentwood have Spooky Halloween Pumpkin Picking and Carving from Tuesday 25th to Thursday 27th October. There will be Face-painting and creepy cupcakes. You can also go Sweetcorn picking in the Spooky Corn patch.

No need to book Just turn up. Small extra charge for Carving £3.00 but saves you all the mess!