Chester's October half term is 26 to 30 October 2026: Halloween at Chester Zoo, a £12 children's ghost walk, Horrible Histories at Storyhouse and the fireworks.
Half term in Cheshire West and Chester runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, and the two independent schools in the city, The King’s School and The Queen’s School, break up a week earlier on 19 October. For once the local programme is ready early: Chester Zoo, BeWILDerwood, Ness Botanic Gardens and Storyhouse have all published their 2026 half term dates, and every event below comes from the organiser’s own listing, checked on 24 September 2026.
Updated 3 October: the museums have now listed the Children’s Ghost Walk (Thursday 29 October, £12), and the racecourse has published fireworks times and early bird prices: gates 4.30pm, main display 7.30pm, from £10. All the Halloween events are on our Chester Halloween page.
The quick answer
- Dates: council-calendar schools are off Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. See our term dates page for the schools that differ.
- Biggest free-with-entry event: Halloween at Chester Zoo, Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4.30pm, included in a zoo ticket.
- The week ends with fireworks: the Lord Mayor’s display at Chester Racecourse is on Saturday 31 October; see our fireworks page.
Eleven things on over half term
| What | Where | When | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween at Chester Zoo | Chester Zoo, Upton | 17 Oct to 1 Nov, 10am to 4.30pm | Included with zoo entry |
| Halloween at BeWILDerwood | BeWILDerwood Cheshire, Cuddington | 24 Oct to 1 Nov, 11am to 6pm | Halloween ticket, advance discounts |
| Halloween Family Trail | Ness Botanic Gardens | 24 Oct to 2 Nov, 10.30am to 3.30pm | Included with garden admission |
| Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians | Storyhouse | 22 to 25 Oct | From £24 child, £28 adult |
| Horrible Hunt | Storyhouse | 24 and 25 Oct | Free, drop in |
| Romeo and Juliet (For Kids) | Storyhouse, Garret Theatre | 24 to 30 Oct | £9.50 child, £11.50 adult |
| Aardman In Concert | Storyhouse | Mon 26 Oct, 1.30pm | £19 to £31.50 child |
| Farshore Funny Fest | Storyhouse | Tue 27 Oct, 10am | Pay what you can, £3, £5 or £7 |
| Doodle Day | Storyhouse | Wed 28 Oct, 10.30am | Free |
| Children's Ghost Walk | From Chester Town Hall | Thu 29 Oct, 5.30pm | £12 adult, two children free, cash |
| Lord Mayor's Spooktacular Fireworks | Chester Racecourse | Sat 31 Oct, gates 4.30pm | Early bird £10, under 5s free |
Chester Zoo: Halloween, 17 October to 1 November
The zoo’s Halloween page sets the 2026 event at Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4.30pm, so it covers both the independent schools’ fortnight and the council’s week. This year’s centrepiece is a Top Trumps trail called Zoo vs You around the Islands zone: pick up a map, compare your own “stats” with the giant animal cards, and collect an exclusive card at the end. There are pumpkin sculptures too. The trail and the pumpkins are included with zoo entry and free for members; face painting costs extra.
One warning. The zoo’s older autumn page still advertises Halloween as “Saturday 18 October to Sunday 2 November” with £10 children’s tickets. Those are last year’s dates (18 October 2026 is a Sunday), so book from the event page, not that one. For adults, the zoo also lists a Sip and Paint evening on Saturday 24 October on its upcoming events page.
BeWILDerwood Cheshire: the light trail, 24 October to 1 November
BeWILDerwood’s woodland adventure park near Cuddington runs Halloween at BeWILDerwood every day from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 11am to 6pm, after three earlier October weekends. Children are encouraged to come dressed up; the day includes “Twig or Treating” with the park’s characters, face stencils and a spooky disco, and the Glowing Light Trail as the sun sets. The park says a limited number of tickets on each date are 25% off and every advance booking gets 12.5% off, applied at checkout.
Ness Botanic Gardens: Halloween Family Trail, 24 October to 2 November
Near Neston, the University of Liverpool’s gardens run a Halloween Family Trail from Saturday 24 October to Monday 2 November, 10.30am to 3.30pm. This year it is a book trail for the National Year of Reading, built around the question “Which book has the Witch not read?” It takes about 40 minutes and is aimed at 5 to 12 year olds. The trail sheet is free with garden admission; bring a pen.
The gardens’ half term page also lists a Halloween family workshop, biscuit decorating, an autumn workshop on Tuesday 27 October and a bird ringing demonstration on Monday 26 October.
Storyhouse: a full week for children
Storyhouse on Hunter Street has the busiest programme in the city. Its children’s listings for half term include:
- Horrible Histories live, Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October: Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians, with 3D effects. Tickets are £28 adult and £24 child, or £96 for a family of four; members pay less.
- Horrible Hunt, 24 and 25 October: a free, drop-in Horrible Histories quest around the building.
- Romeo and Juliet (For Kids), 24 to 30 October in the Garret Theatre: a 50-minute abridged Shakespeare for young audiences, £11.50 adult and £9.50 child.
- Aardman In Concert, Monday 26 October at 1.30pm: the Wallace and Gromit studio’s film music live, £24 to £36.50 adult and £19 to £31.50 child. Aardman Claystations runs the same morning at 10.45am.
- Farshore Funny Fest, Tuesday 27 October from 10am: a Beano-themed day for children aged 6 and over, pay what you can at £3, £5 or £7, with a free comic for every child.
- Doodle Day, Wednesday 28 October at 10.30am, free; The World of Oliver Jeffers the same day at 11am; author events with Andy Darcy Theo on 29 October and Emma Carroll (Dracula and Daughters) on 30 October.
- Free storytimes on 24 and 27 October, and the Disney Junior Cinema Club from 24 to 26 October.
Grosvenor Museum and the rest
The council-run West Cheshire Museums calendar is quieter. At the Grosvenor Museum in Chester there is a free artist talk, “Art with ADHD”, on Tuesday 27 October at 2.30pm, Café Crafts on Thursday 29 October at 2.30pm (£3), and a film night showing The Red Shoes at 7pm the same evening (£6). The “Worst Record Covers in the World” exhibition, which opens on 26 September, runs through half term. Lion Salt Works in Marston had no half term event listed when we checked.
The museums have now listed the Half Term Children’s Ghost Walk for Thursday 29 October, 5.30pm to 7pm: meet at 5.20pm at the flagpole in front of the Town Hall, book through the Grosvenor Museum on 01244 972197, and bring cash, £12 per adult with two children free (West Cheshire Museums). There are steps on the route.
Saturday 31 October: fireworks at the racecourse
The Lord Mayor’s Spooktacular Fireworks are on Saturday 31 October 2026, a Halloween-themed night rather than the usual bonfire weekend. The racecourse gives gates 4.30pm, a junior display at 6.45pm and the main display at 7.30pm; early bird general admission is £10 and under 5s go free. There is no parking at the racecourse. Everything else is on our fireworks page.
Still to be confirmed
- Whether Lion Salt Works adds its usual Halloween event (nothing listed on 3 October).
- Road closures for the fireworks night, which the racecourse says will be announced.
We will update this page in the second week of October. Getting around that week: parking in Chester and Chester roadworks and travel.
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