Top Picks
Cornwall 365’s October Half Term Top Picks
Hello half term! With the air getting crisper and the leaves getting crunchier, this is the perfect time to get out and enjoy Cornwall with the family - and there are all kinds of things to keep the gang entertained!
Read on to discover our half term Top Picks, with everything from steam trains and stargazing to crafty activities and spooktacular Halloween parties. You can explore a Tudor house after dark by torchlight, join a Halloween party in a jail or take a magical journey into the woods for a Dead of Night Dance… we’ll see you out there!
1. Autumn Pumpkin Trail at Wheal Martyn
Tuesday 17th – Sunday 29th October
Gather up your family and friends and come and explore the woods at Wheal Martyn by following their Autumn Pumpkin Trail. Find the 10 hidden pumpkins as you explore the woods and clay works – with prizes to be won! After crunching through the woods, come into the cafe for pottery decorating and something warming.
2. Roald Dahl's Halloweden
Saturday 21st – Sunday 29th October
Take on The Witches, Mr and Mrs Twit, Miss Trunchbull and some more of Roald Dahl’s most terrible villains at Eden this October half term. Keep your wits about you as you encounter themes from five of the author’s best-selling books in this special week that will delight children and grown-ups alike.
3. Shriek Week at Newquay Zoo
Saturday 21st – Sunday 29th October
Newquay Zoo have a full week of spooky Halloween fun, including a Shriek Week trail, daily Creepy Crawlies talks, face painting and more! Come to one of their talks in your best fancy dress to win a prize!
4. Rogue Theatre - Dead of Night Dance
Saturday 21st – Tuesday 31st October
Rogue Theatre return to Tehidy Woods with their annual Halloween celebration. This year they have brand new stories that will thrill, chill and tickle your ribs – all with their signature magical style! Fancy dress, fangs and pumpkins are encouraged, and there will be free face painting for those not already transformed. Bring a blanket, a torch, something warm and waterproof, and shoes for a woodland adventure!
5. Trick or Treasure at Pirate's Quest
Saturday 21st – Sunday 29th October
Calling all the bravest buccaneers! Enjoy some fiendish family-friendly fun at Pirate’s Quest this half term. Be transported back almost 300 years to a Pirate Hunter’s Ship full of tricks, treasures and real-life Pirate guides. You will meet the infamous Jack O’Lantern, King of the Piskies, and plenty of other spooktacular villains – and if you’re feeling brave enough, you can even enter The Locker of Davy Jones!
6. Allantide Half Term Fun at Helston Museum
Saturday 21st – Tuesday 31st October
Celebrate the traditional Cornish festival of Allantide at Helston Museum where you can design your own turnip Jack-O-Lantern, play Allantide apple games, and receive an Allan Apple as a symbol of good luck!
7. Torchlight Terrors at Tintagel Post Office
Saturday 21st – Sunday 29th October
Use a UV torch to uncover spooky symbols hidden in the darkest places of Tintagel Post Office – solve the puzzle to win yourself a bag of ghastly goodies!
8. Creepy Cornwall at The National Maritime Museum
Saturday 21st – Sunday 29th October
There’s plenty going on at the National Maritime Museum to keep the whole family entertained! Expect storytelling, make and takes, dressing up, Viking combat, a play zone, live performance and lots more!
9. Haunted Half-Term at Pendennis Castle
Monday 23rd – Friday 27th October
Shiver me timbers! Pendennis Castle have some frightfully good fun lined up for this Halloween half-term. Join them as you embark on a bone-chilling quest to find the buccaneer’s ill-gotten gains and discover terrifying tales of Pendennis’ piratical past.
10. Keeper of the Castle Keys at Tintagel Castle
Monday 23rd – Friday 27th October
Join Florence Nightingale Richards and her multi-talented cousin on a story-telling journey through the history of Tintagel Castle. Florence, the eccentric Victorian Keeper of the Castle Keys, will take you back to Victorian times with colourful characters and just a spot of audience participation!
11. A Jolly Good Fright! Miracle Theatre Workshop
Wednesday 25th October
Miracle Theatre are inviting people aged 11-18 to join them at AMATA, Penryn for A Jolly Good Fright Theatre Workshop, which promises to be be jam packed full of Halloween themed theatre activities!
12. Me and My Favourite Toy at Liskeard Museum
Thursday 26th – Saturday 28th October
Part of the museum’s Tin Toys and Tales exhibition, this is your chance to tell people the story behind your toy and help build the museum’s archive of local history. Bring your favourite toy along to the museum and have your photograph taken with them. Open to young and old to get involved.
13. Stargazing at Trerice
Friday 27th October
Kernow Astronomers will be at National Trust Trerice with their telescopes to guide you through our amazing Cornish skies with displays and talks (if it’s clear!). Dress for a cold Cornish night!
14. Children's Halloween Party at Bodmin Jail
Saturday 28th October
Part of Bodmin Jail’s week of nerve-jangling, heart-racing, spooky goings-on, this will be an afternoon of frightening fun. Come in fancy dress or get your face painted, meet creepy crawlies, reptiles and owls, go on a Horrible History tour of the jail and watch Goosebumps and Horrible Histories in the cinema room. There will also be apple-bobbing, toffee apples and a hog roast!
15. Fright Night in Cotehele House
Saturday 28th October
Experience the spooky side of Cotehele in this family-oriented event where you can wander around the atmospheric mansion by torchlight. You’ll need to bring your own torch to this as there will no lights in the house and you’ll be exploring in the dark!
16. Half Price & Kids Go Free Weekend at Bodmin & Wenford Railway
Saturday 28th – Sunday 29th October
This is Bodmin & Wenford Railway’s traditional event to end the main season and a great opportunity to save on a family day out. All travel is half price for adults and kids go free – plus you just need to pay once and you can travel on the wonderful steam railway all day.
17. Halloween at Healeys Cyder Farm
Saturday 28th – Tuesday 31st October
Come and hunt down the giant trick or treat sweets hidden around Healeys Cornish Cyder Farm at this free family event. Use the map provided to find the letter on each sweet to make a scary word, which if guessed correctly, will win you a treat!
Crafters can also enjoy a spot of free apple carving, where kids and grown-up can get competitive to win a Healeys goodie bag of treats. The farm will be full of spooky themed activities too – take a tractor ride through the haunted orchards, or a candle lit tour down into our old cellars to discover the history of Cornish cyder making.
