Half term is 26 to 30 October. Two children go free with each adult at Avoncroft, Artrix has three family shows, and Sanders Park's light trail is free.
October half term in Bromsgrove runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Schools close on Friday 23 October and reopen on Monday 2 November. The week ends with Halloween on the Saturday, and most of what is on locally leans into it.
The quick answer
- Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Bromsgrove School is the exception: its day pupils are off from 23 October until 9 November.
- Avoncroft Museum: two children free with every full-price adult, open 24, 25, 28 and 29 October and 1 November, 10am to 3pm.
- Sanders Park Halloween Light Trail: Saturday 31 October, 5pm to 10pm, free.
Updated 3 October: Artrix family show prices added, and Hanbury Hall’s £2 half-term trail.
Which schools are off when
Worcestershire’s council-run schools close on Friday 23 October and reopen on Monday 2 November. The district’s high schools we checked (North Bromsgrove, South Bromsgrove, Haybridge and Waseley Hills) all break for the same week. Waseley Hills has a staff training day on Friday 23 October, so its pupils are off a day early.
Full dates, training days and school-by-school differences are on our Bromsgrove school term dates page. Source: Worcestershire County Council, School term dates.
What is on, day by day
| Date | What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 24 Oct, 12.30pm | The Witch Who Couldn't Sleep, family sing-along musical | Artrix | £12, members £11, plus £1.25 |
| Sat 24 and Sun 25 Oct | Avoncroft Museum open, kids go free | Stoke Heath | Adult £15, two children free |
| Mon 26 Oct, 1.30pm | Trick and Treat Circus Live | Artrix | Adults £12, children £9.50, plus £1.25 |
| Tue 27 Oct, 11am | The Giant Bubble Show | Artrix | Adults £13, children £11, plus £1.25 |
| Wed 28 and Thu 29 Oct | Avoncroft Museum open, kids go free | Stoke Heath | Adult £15, two children free |
| Fri 30 and Sat 31 Oct, 3.30pm to 7pm | Family Trick or Treat evenings | Avoncroft | £10 each, under-2s free |
| Sat 31 Oct, 5pm to 10pm | Halloween Light Trail | Sanders Park | Free |
| Sat 24 Oct to Sun 1 Nov, daily | Charis and the Monsters of the Underworld garden trail | Hanbury Hall (NT) | £2 trail plus admission |
| Sun 1 Nov | Avoncroft Museum open, kids go free | Stoke Heath | Adult £15, two children free |
Avoncroft Museum: children go free, and trick or treat after dark
Avoncroft, the open-air museum of rescued historic buildings at Stoke Heath, runs a “Kids Go Free” offer across half term: two free child tickets with each full-price adult ticket. Adults are £15, extra children aged 5 to 17 are £7, students £12, and under-5s are free. Booking online saves 10% on the door price.
It is open 10am to 3pm on Saturday 24, Sunday 25, Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October and Sunday 1 November. Its opening-times page bills the week as “Horrid Histories at Avoncroft”. The museum is closed in the daytime on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October.
On those two evenings it runs Family Trick or Treat, from 3.30pm (last arrivals by 7pm, when it closes). Children follow a route map to the doors that will open, and there is a ghost train. It costs £10 a head for adults and children over two, is not part of the free-child offer, and is non-refundable. Bring a good torch: the site is dark, unlit and uneven underfoot.
Sources: Avoncroft Museum, October half term kids go free, Family Trick or Treat and museum opening times.
Artrix: three family shows
The arts centre on Slideslow Drive has three shows aimed at children in the first half of the week:
- The Witch Who Couldn’t Sleep, Saturday 24 October at 12.30pm, £12 (members £11): a “Story Time” sing-along musical mixing live action, music and animation, billed as “Perfect for ages 3-103”. Children are invited to come in pyjamas.
- Trick and Treat Circus Live, Monday 26 October at 1.30pm, adults £12, children £9.50: an hour-long family circus show written for half term.
- The Giant Bubble Show, Tuesday 27 October at 11am, with The Bubble Wizard. Adults £13, children £11.
Every Artrix price carries a £1.25 per ticket fee on top, from the theatre’s booking system.
For grown-ups, Cartwright and Coy’s Ghost Stories plays the same Saturday, and Now I’m Here, a Queen tribute, does a Halloween show on Saturday 31 October.
Source: Artrix, What’s on and The Witch Who Couldn’t Sleep.
Sanders Park Halloween Light Trail
Bromsgrove District Council’s Halloween Light Trail returns on Saturday 31 October, 5pm to 10pm, and it is free. The council promises “new themed zones for 2026” and says it draws thousands of visitors each year. It has not yet published the FAQs or the full plan. Details, parking and last year’s layout are on our Halloween Light Trail page.
Source: Bromsgrove District Council, Sanders Set for Spooky Saturday, 16 September 2026.
Hanbury Hall: a Greek myths trail and a ghost story night
Just outside the district, south of Bromsgrove, the National Trust’s Hanbury Hall runs “Charis and the Monsters of the Underworld”, a garden trail, every day from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4pm, last entry 3.30pm. The trail booklet costs £2, which includes a Medusa mask craft in the Long Gallery, on top of normal admission (adults £18, children 5 to 17 £9, family £45 without Gift Aid; members free). No booking is needed.
For adults, An Evening of Ghost Stories is a candlelit one-man show of Dickens’s The Signalman and Conan Doyle’s Lot No. 249 in the Great Hall on Friday 30 October at 7pm, £20, booking essential on 0344 249 1895. The Trust says it is not suitable for children.
Sources: National Trust, Charis and the Monsters of the Underworld, An Evening of Ghost Stories and Hanbury Hall prices.
Free, any day
The Lickey Hills, Waseley Hills and Clent Hills are all within the district or on its edge, and the Lickey Hills are free to park. Prices, parking and what is open are on our things to do in Bromsgrove page.
Practical notes for the week
- The tip switches to winter hours on Monday 26 October: 8am to 4pm daily at Quantry Lane, Romsley, with booking needed Saturday to Monday (Worcestershire County Council).
- Before driving in, check our roadworks and travel and parking in Bromsgrove pages.
Still to be confirmed
- The Light Trail’s themed zones and FAQs; the council says they follow.
This page will be checked again in mid October.
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