Looking for fun things to do in Manchester this October half term 2026? Whether you’re a local wondering how to fill a week of autumn holidays or you’re heading into the city from further afield, there is SO much on this year.
With Halloween landing on the final Saturday of half term, the whole week has a spooky edge to it, from giant monsters on the rooftops and pumpkin patches lit up after dark, to free museum fun and golden autumn walks. I’ve rounded up 28 of the best things to do in Manchester this October half term with dates, prices and booking info so you can plan your week!
All details were correct at the time of writing (October 2026). Events do change at short notice, so always check the venue’s own website before you set off.
🎃 HALLOWEEN EVENTS IN MANCHESTER OCTOBER HALF TERM
With Halloween on Saturday 31st, this half term is basically one big spooky season finale. Here are the Halloween and autumn events worth booking first.
1. Pumpkin Picking
🗓️ Most patches open until Saturday 31st October 2026
You can’t do October half term without a trip to the pumpkin patch, and this is the week the farms really go all out. Expect fancy dress competitions, lantern lit evenings and the best autumn colours of the season. My full guide to pumpkin patches in and around Manchester has 18 farms with prices and booking info, but these are the half term highlights and the ones I’ll be heading to with the kids:
- Brookheys Farm is a working farm offering a tractor ride to and from the patch, lots of photo opportunities and food.
- Smithills Open Farm in Bolton is open daily from 24th to 31st October with a spooky sweet hunt, staff in costume and a children’s fancy dress competition.
- Cockfields Farm opens after dark from 23rd to 31st October with festoon lights, live music, a spooky disco and a free pumpkin with every ticket.
- Reddish Vale Farm runs its glowing Moonlit Pumpkin Evenings on 24th and 25th October, 5pm to 8pm.
- Dunham Massey Farm Ice Cream is still our go to, and at £6 per car it’s brilliant value for bigger families.
The big farms sell out their half term slots fast, so book now if you haven’t already!
See a list of the best 18 Manchester pumpkin patches here!
2. Halloween in the City Weekender
🗓️ Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th October 2026
Kick off half term in the city centre with a completely free family Halloween festival. Manchester turns properly spooky for the weekend, with buildings lit up green, thousands of pumpkin lanterns hanging in the trees and Walk the Plank’s famous Monster Party Procession winding through the streets.
There’s also The Rave Yard, a Monster Fashion Week, a Monster Sticker Hunt and storytelling at the Monster Library inside Manchester Arndale. Dress the kids up in their costumes, because fancy dress is very much encouraged!
3. MCR Monsters Trail
🗓️ Saturday 24th to Saturday 31st October 2026
The giant inflatable MCR Monsters are back on the rooftops, and this year they’re celebrating their 10th birthday with the longest trail they’ve ever done. It’s free, it gets the kids walking without complaining, and spotting a huge monster clinging to the side of a building never really gets old.
Make a day of it by combining the trail with a free visit to the Science and Industry Museum (number 8), where a giant slimy monster scientist is lurking in the Upper Yard all week.
4. Gandeys Halloween Spooktacular, Trafford Centre
🗓️ 10th October to 1st November 2026
This is a family fun event rather than a scary one and is bound to impress your little ones with the epic and daring stunts, dance routines and a funny clown! I took my 2 year old and 10 year old when it opened and we had a great time! The kids I saw aged 4-7 years really loved it so I recommend it for those ages!
There are family tickets available to get a better deal and you can use VIP5 to get £5 off grandstand, ringside and premium ringside seating. I would recommend booking ahead and it is one of the fun things to do in October half term with kids!
5. Halloween Ghost Trains, East Lancashire Railway
🗓️ 29th to 31st October 2026
For train loving kids who love this time of year, the Halloween Ghost Trains at the East Lancashire Railway are a real treat. Every journey starts and finishes at Bury Bolton Street Station and lasts around an hour and a half, with Zombie Bob and his monster squad roaming the carriages as a spooky story plays out on the way.
Before you board, you walk through a haunted Halloween walkthrough which does include a few jump scares, so it’s better suited to slightly older children.
6. Brick or Treat at LEGOLAND Discovery Centre
🗓️ Until 1st November 2026
Over at the Trafford Centre, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre is running its Brick or Treat Halloween season. Expect new spooky build challenges and workshops, and the popular Great Monster Chase 4D film is back on screen.
All the seasonal activities are included with standard admission. If you’re planning a Trafford Centre day, you could easily pair this with the Gandeys show for a full day of indoor Halloween fun when the weather turns.
7. Halloween at Tatton Park
🗓️ 24th October to 1st November 2026
Tatton Park always does Halloween brilliantly. The Skellies and Wellies trail is back in the gardens, with 8 funny skeleton scenes hidden across 50 acres of autumn colour. It runs every day except Monday and is included with standard garden and parkland entry.
Recommended for kids aged 7 to 11, is the Myth, Magic and Mystery workshop at the Old Hall which runs from 29th to 31st October. Children brew a potion and learn about the gruesome ingredients used in old medicines, all in a building said to be one of the most haunted in England. There’s also an outdoor screening of Hocus Pocus & The Lost Boys on 27th October.
🎨 FREE THINGS TO DO IN MANCHESTER OCTOBER HALF TERM
A week off school adds up quickly, so here are some brilliant ways to keep the kids entertained and the cost down with free entry things to do in Manchester half term.
8. Halloween Half Term at the Science and Industry Museum
🗓️ 24th October to 1st November 2026
The aliens have landed in Castlefield! The Science and Industry Museum’s free half term programme is inspired by its Horrible Science: Cosmic Chaos exhibition, and there’s loads to fill a morning or afternoon.
Kids can design their own alien species, build a spaceship with a giant rocket kit, go on a galactic treasure hunt and play classic space arcade games on the big screen each afternoon. Children aged 7 and over can storyboard an alien adventure and bring it to life in a stop motion animation session, though spaces are limited. If little legs need a rest, there are family friendly sci fi screenings at 10.30, 11.30 and 12.30 every morning.
Entry is free but you do need to book your free admission tickets online. Visiting on Saturday 31st? Go in costume!
9. Wild Things at Lowry
🗓️ Until 1st November 2026
This is your last chance to see Wild Things, a free interactive exhibition at Lowry in Salford Quays. It brings the animals from some of the best loved children’s books to life with colourful displays and hands on activities, and it’s perfect for younger children who love a story.
It pairs nicely with The Very Hungry Caterpillar show (number 13) if you’ve booked tickets, or with a wander along the Quays afterwards.
10. Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum on Oxford Road is free all year round, and it’s one of those places that works for every age, from dinosaur obsessed toddlers to teenagers. During the school holidays they usually add free drop in family workshops, so check their events page for half term sessions before you go.
11. Wythenshawe Park and Community Farm
Wythenshawe Park is one of the best free days out in south Manchester and a park I love to visit with my toddler. Parking is free, the playground is free, the bike track is free and the little community farm next to the play area is free too, open from around 11.30am to 3.30pm each day.
In late October the park’s big old trees are at their most colourful, so pack the wellies and make a proper autumn leaf kicking walk of it.
12. Quarry Bank and Styal Woods
Quarry Bank is a National Trust site, but here’s the best bit: the main car park is free and you can explore a good chunk of the grounds without paying a thing. Head straight on from the entrance and you’ll reach Styal village and the woods, where the riverside paths are covered in golden leaves this time of year.
🎭 FAMILY SHOWS & EXPERIENCES THIS OCTOBER HALF TERM
Perfect for a rainy afternoon (and let’s be honest, it’s Manchester in October), these shows and experiences are only on for a few days, so they’re worth booking early.
13. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show at Lowry
🗓️ Monday 26th October to Sunday 1st November 2026
If you’ve got little ones, this is the show to book this half term, I’ve just booked tickets for my toddler’s first show! The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show brings four Eric Carle stories to the stage using more than 75 puppets, including the famously greedy caterpillar himself. It runs for about an hour, which is just right for small attention spans.
14. Not Now, Bernard at Waterside, Sale
🗓️ Sunday 25th October 2026
David McKee’s classic picture book gets a gloriously chaotic stage adaptation at Waterside in Sale, packed with music, mischief and one very large purple monster. It’s recommended for ages 3 and over, and it’s a lovely way to ease into the half term week without travelling into the city making it one of the good things to do in Manchester October school holiday.
15. Dennis the Menace’s Year of Mischief at Z-arts
🗓️ Wednesday 28th October 2026
This one’s for the comic fan kids. The Beano’s Mike Stirling and Craig Graham are hosting an interactive session at Z-arts in Hulme, revealing the secrets behind creating laugh out loud comic characters. With a 60 minute running time it gives value without being too long and for £10.00 it’s a great unique experience.
Also be sure to check out the other events Z-arts are running this October half term in Manchester like their family escape rooms and Monster Disco on Halloween.
🌳 DAYS OUT IN MANCHESTER OCTOBER HALF TERM
When the sun does make an appearance, these are the places to soak up the autumn colours and spend a good half day or full day outdoors.
16. Dunham Massey
🗓️ Half term activities 24th October to 1st November 2026, 10am to 4pm
Late October is when Dunham Massey is at its prettiest, with the deer park and gardens glowing orange and red. This half term the National Trust has a family trail and self guided walks to pick up, so kids have something to hunt for while you enjoy the crunchy leaves.
It’s also your last chance to see inside the house before it closes for the winter on 1st November. Grab a Pineapple Passport and follow Speechly the Pineapple’s tour around the rooms, or help him deliver the Pineapple Post around the estate. A Park & Garden family ticket (2 adults and up to 3 children) is £30.30 with Gift Aid, and the Dunham Massey pumpkin patch is just down the road if you want to double up.
If you visit National Trust places around Manchester regularly (Dunham Massey, Quarry Bank, Lyme and more), it’s worth looking at National Trust membership, which gets you free entry and parking at every National Trust site in the country for a year.
17. Spooky Plants at RHS Garden Bridgewater
🗓️ 24th October to 1st November 2026
If your kids are more into creepy crawlies than costumes, head to RHS Garden Bridgewater in Worsley. This half term’s theme is the strange, magical and slightly spooky world of plants, with an interactive garden trail to follow and the chance to meet real creepy crawlies with Zoolab.
The gardens are a lovely mix of woodland, lakes and play areas, and the autumn planting looks fantastic at this time of year and one of the spots I’ll be heading to with my toddler this October half term.
18. Halloween Potion Hunt at Go Ape Delamere & Blackburn
🗓️ From Saturday 24th October 2026
A bit out of the city but well worth the day trip for a fun activity for the kids and adults. Go Ape is adding a Halloween Potion Hunt to its Treetop Adventure courses at Go Ape Delamere Forest and Go Ape Blackburn. As you climb, balance and zip wire your way through the trees, you’ll be hunting for the ingredients the Woodland Wizard needs for his secret potion, with a magical prize for solving the puzzle at the end.
It’s £5 extra to add this onto your booking and half term slots go quickly so get them booked.
19. Into the Wild Bushcraft, Hale
Into the Wild is tucked away in the woods on the edge of Hale, and it’s one of my favourite places to take the kids, especially in Autumn. There’s a 50m zip line, tree nets, climbing frames, a mud kitchen and so much more for a range of ages.
You can arrive when it suits you and stay all day, and the wood fired pizza and hot drinks make it a cosy autumn day out even when it’s a bit chilly. Wrap up warm and expect to come home muddy!
20. Zip World Manchester, Heaton Park
Over in north Manchester, Zip World inside Heaton Park opened up Forest Tubing a few months ago and it’s the UK’s longest outdoor tubing slide, with two slides twisting through the woodland so it’s a great activity to do in October before winter sets in.
There are treetop nets for little ones and a full treetop adventure course for the braver members of the family, plus Heaton Park itself is huge, so you can tag on a long autumn walk afterwards and a trip to one of their cafes.
21. Quarry Bank Scarecrow Festival
🗓️ Saturday 3rd October to Sunday 1st November 2026 (half term extras 24th October to 1st November)
Quarry Bank in Styal has been taken over by scarecrows this autumn! The Scarecrow Festival sends you off on a trail around the estate to spot as many as you can, from tiny to towering and friendly to slightly creepy, which is a brilliant way to keep little legs walking through the golden autumn woods.
Over half term, the festival steps up a gear. There are daily drop in activities on the Scarecrow Field with no need to book, and the top floor of the Mill becomes an autumn themed indoor play space with soft play, crafts, storytelling, puppet shows and giant board games, a lifesaver if the heavens open.
22. BeWILDerwood Cheshire
🗓️ Daily 24th October to 1st November 2026, 11am to 6pm
BeWILDerwood is one of the Cheshire family days out I recommend. It is a bit of a drive, it’s an hour’s drive from me in South Manchester but I went recently and had such a good time, I had to add it to this list for what to do in Manchester during October half term, especially as they have Halloween themed trails in October! During the day kids can clamber, climb and zip their way around the treehouses and slides of the wild woods, and over Halloween there are face stencils, a spooky disco and plenty more on top.
The highlight is Twig or Treating with the BeWILDerwood characters. Kids find out who has left twigs and who has left treats, and completing the trail sheet wins them a prize. As the sun starts to set, follow the Glowing Light Trail through the woods for a magical end to the day, all the Halloween atmosphere without a late bedtime! Fancy dress is encouraged, so pack the costumes.
For even more ideas of days out in and around Manchester and Cheshire see my posts:
30 BEST Family Days Out in CHESHIRE: Outdoor, Indoor & Free Activities
🛝 RAINY DAY ACTIVITIES IN MANCHESTER OCTOBER HALF TERM
To finish, here are some year round favourites that are open all half term, ideal for when the forecast turns grim and you need a plan B.
23. Quarry Bank National Trust Indoor Play Space
In addition to their scarecrow festival mentioned above, you might not think of Quarry Bank as a rainy day activity but until 1st November they have their indoor play space open inside the Mill. I went in the summer and my toddler loved it. There’s a train track, a soft play area and lots of costumes for dressing up. Plus, they have regular story times read by the staff.
This area is aimed at the younger ones, probably 6 and under and especially great for toddlers. It’s a good choice if the weather looks unsure so you can have a walk around the grounds and have this as a wet weather option.
24. Bean and Brush Art Cafe, Sale
I used to love taking my stepsons to Bean and Brush when they were younger. You can paint cups, plates, dinosaurs, and so much more, and during October half term they have Halloween themed painting like painting a pumpkin, a ghost or a little black cat. Be sure to book in advance for the half term to get a table.
See more of my rainy day activities in Manchester here!
25. Inflata Nation
For one of the indoor activities in Manchester that suits a range of ages and adults too, check out Inflata Nation with its giant inflatables, enormous ball pits and slides.
26. Total Ninja
Another one of the activity parks we love is Total Ninja which is the UK’s largest indoor ninja obstacle course along with an air park which is a fun challenge for older kids, teens, and grown ups!
27. Treetop Golf at Printworks
If you are looking for indoor things to do in Manchester City Centre in the October half term, how about a round of mini golf at Treetop Golf in the Printworks where you can choose 2 different courses. From experience, this works well as an activity before a meal out in town, and you can pair it with hunting for MCR Monsters.
28. The Snow Centre
Whether you need some practice for an upcoming ski trip or you want to jump into winter early, lessons, taster sessions and the Snow Park at The Snow Centre in Trafford Park are a fun way to try skiing or snowboarding before winter properly arrives. I took my stepsons and nieces here last October and they had a lot of fun at the Snow Park which is free play on a range of donuts and sledges.
Manchester October Half Term FAQs
When is October half term 2026 in Manchester?
For schools following Manchester City Council’s calendar, October half term runs from Monday 26th to Friday 30th October 2026, with children breaking up on Friday 23rd October and going back on Monday 2nd November.
What free Halloween events are on in Manchester this half term?
The biggest is Halloween in the City, with a free family festival in the city centre on 24th and 25th October and the MCR Monsters trail running until 31st October. The Science and Industry Museum has a free holiday programme all week with a Halloween theme.
What can I do in Manchester on Halloween, Saturday 31st October?
Halloween falls on the last Saturday of half term this year. Pumpkin patches like Cockfields (after dark), Smithills and Reddish Vale are open, the East Lancashire Railway Ghost Trains are running, Tatton Park has its Myth, Magic and Mystery workshop, and the Science and Industry Museum is inviting everyone to visit in costume.
What can we do in Manchester half term if it rains?
Gandeys at the Trafford Centre, LEGOLAND Discovery Centre, the museums and The Very Hungry Caterpillar at Lowry are all indoors. Pottery painting, Inflata Nation, Total Ninja, Bounce, Soft Play and indoor mini golf are great for burning off energy too.
I hope this helps you plan what to do in the October half term in Manchester!
For more of my Manchester and area guides see:
- 18 BEST Pumpkin Patches In and Around Manchester 2026!
- 22 FUN & Unique Day Trips From Manchester!
- 25 Family Days Out NEAR Manchester TRIED & TESTED!
- 23 Family Days Out IN Manchester! TRIED & TESTED!
- 22+ TOP Indoor Activities in Manchester For Everyone to Enjoy!
- 30 BEST Family Days Out in CHESHIRE: Outdoor, Indoor & Free Activities
- 15+ Ways To Have a Peak District Day Trip!