Half term in Chelmsford is 26 to 30 October 2026: the free Witches of Chelmsford trail all week, ARU science shows, council camps and a Halloween ice disco.

October half term in Chelmsford is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, the week set by Essex County Council. It lands on top of the Chelmsford Science Festival this year, so several of the best things on are free.

Overview

  • Half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Schools go back on Monday 2 November.
  • Great Baddow High finishes a day early, on Thursday 22 October, because Friday 23 October is a staff training day there.
  • Free all week, no booking: The Witches of Chelmsford Tarot Trail and Essex Witch Museum pop-up, from Shire Hall, Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November.
  • Free and bookable now: Family Science Days at ARU on 24 and 25 October, then Groove on the Moon and Alien Oceans on Monday 26 October.

Updated 21 October: both booked Witches of Chelmsford workshops, the stop-motion workshop on 26 October and LUSH bath bomb making on 28 October, are sold out on Eventbrite. Every other family activity in the programme is drop-in.

Updated 20 October: the council’s leisure centres have published their half term camps, a Halloween ice disco at Riverside and a Halloween pool inflatable at South Woodham Ferrers. Details below.

Updated 13 October: the city centre’s Witches of Chelmsford programme is now published, with a free activity every day of half term. Hylands and the council’s leisure centres still list no half term programme.

The dates

Essex County Council’s calendar gives the autumn half term as Monday 26 to Friday 30 October (Essex County Council term dates 2026 to 2027). With the weekends either side, that is nine days off, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November.

Schools set their own staff training days, so check yours. Great Baddow High School lists Friday 23 October as one (Great Baddow High School term dates). The school-by-school differences are on our Chelmsford school term dates page.

The clocks go back an hour in the early morning of Sunday 25 October (GOV.UK), the first weekend of the break.

What’s on, day by day

Every entry below comes from the organiser’s own listing, checked on 28 September 2026, with the Witches of Chelmsford rows added on 13 October.

When What Where Price
Sat 24 and Sun 25 Oct, 10.30am to 4pm Family Science Days ARU Chelmsford campus Free, booking needed
Sun 25 Oct, 1pm and 3pm Alice in Wonderland, ballet Chelmsford Theatre Studio £13.50 to £17.50
Mon 26 Oct to Sun 1 Nov, 10am to 4pm Witches of Chelmsford Tarot Trail and Essex Witch Museum pop-up Starts at Shire Hall Free, no booking
Mon 26 Oct, four sessions from 9.30am Stop-Motion Workshop Patch Free, sold out on Eventbrite (21 Oct)
Mon 26 Oct, 11am to 2.30pm Groove on the Moon ARU Chelmsford campus Free
Mon 26 Oct, 2pm to 4pm Alien Oceans ARU Chelmsford campus Free
Mon 26 Oct, 6.30pm The Science of Harry Potter ARU Chelmsford campus £10 adults, £5 students, under 16s free
Mon 26 and Tue 27 Oct Zoolab animal encounters RHS Hyde Hall £7 a child, plus garden entry
Tue 27 Oct, 11.30am and 2pm My First Concert Chelmsford Theatre £19 to £25
Tue 27 to Thu 29 Oct, 10.30am and 1.30pm Museum Magical Makes Museum of Chelmsford £6, members £5
Wed 28 Oct, hourly 9.30am to 4.30pm Magic Bath Bomb Making with LUSH Meadows Shopping Centre Free, sold out on Eventbrite (21 Oct)
Wed 28 Oct, 11.30am and 2pm Brainiac Live Chelmsford Theatre £20 to £22
Thu 29 to Sat 31 Oct Dinosaur World Live Chelmsford Theatre £18
Mon 26 to Fri 30 Oct, and weekends to 1 Nov Halloween Festival Marsh Farm, South Woodham Ferrers £15.50 in advance, £18.50 on the door

The Witches of Chelmsford: a free trail all week

Chelmsford For You, the city centre business group, runs The Witches of Chelmsford from Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November. The trail opens at 10am on the Monday at Shire Hall, where you pick up a free spellbook (Chelmsford For You).

Two things run every day:

  • the Tarot Trail: find 10 numbered tarot cards round the city centre and put them in order to reveal a spell word, for free stickers. No booking
  • the Essex Witch Museum pop-up in Shire Hall, 10am to 4pm, on why Essex became known as “Witch County” and the witch trials. Free

On top of that there is one free family activity a day. Only two need booking, both through Eventbrite from the organiser’s page:

Day Activity Where Booking
Mon 26 Oct Stop-Motion Workshop, sessions 9.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm Patch Free, sold out (21 Oct)
Mon 26 to Wed 28 Oct, 10am to 4pm The Science Behind the Magic, street science Outside Barclays Drop in
Tue 27 Oct Drop-In Animation Studio, 15 places a session Patch Drop in, arrive early
Tue 27 Oct, 10am, 11.30am, 1pm, 2.30pm Wonderstruck Science Show Tindal Square Drop in
Wed 28 Oct, hourly 9.30am to 4.30pm Magic Bath Bomb Making with LUSH Meadows Shopping Centre, Central Atrium Free, sold out (21 Oct)
Thu 29 Oct Witchy Wearables, hats and badges High Chelmer Drop in
Fri 30 Oct, 10am to 4pm Face painting (queue closes 3.30pm) and a charm bracelet workshop High Chelmer; Artists in the Meadows Drop in
Sat 31 Oct Trick-or-treat bag crafts, scrap store crafts and a pop-up market in Market Square, 10am to 4pm John Lewis; the Meadows; Market Square Drop in
Sun 1 Nov Cauldron Slime Making Shire Hall Drop in

Three evening and weekend events are for adults, and two of those need booking. The Wednesday 28 October panel, Witches: Fact, Fiction and Fascination, is already sold out.

The free ones: Chelmsford Science Festival

The festival runs from 20 to 28 October and is organised by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU, Chelmsford Science Festival). The family events fall on the first weekend and the Monday.

  • Family Science Days, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, 10.30am to 4pm at the Chelmsford campus. Entry is free but you book a place. Saturday has four bookable shows, all free: an AI robotics theatre (ages 6 and over), Supersonic Farts with the author Helen Rose (3 and over), Impossible Questions with Isabel Thomas, and Bubble Science (ARU, Family Science Day).
  • SEN hours run from 9.30am to 10.30am on both days, quieter and with fewer people. A SEN hour ticket lets you stay for the rest of the day.
  • Groove on the Moon, Monday 26 October, 11am to 2.30pm: live jazz, funk and storytelling for children aged 3 to 7 (ARU).
  • Alien Oceans, Monday 26 October, 2pm to 4pm, recommended for ages 6 and over (ARU).

ARU warns that the campus is large and advises leaving time to move between buildings. The full programme, including the evening talks, is on our Chelmsford Science Festival page.

Chelmsford Theatre

Three family shows run in the main house that week, all on Fairfield Road.

  • My First Concert, Tuesday 27 October, 11.30am and 2pm, £19 to £25 (Chelmsford Theatre).
  • Brainiac Live, Wednesday 28 October, 11.30am and 2pm, 60 minutes, £20 to £22, recommended for ages 5 and over. It is part of the science festival but booked through the theatre (Chelmsford Theatre).
  • Dinosaur World Live, Thursday 29 October at 2pm, then 11am and 2pm on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October. It runs 65 minutes, costs £18 and is recommended for ages 3 and over (Chelmsford Theatre).

The theatre’s pantomime opens four weeks later. Dates and prices are on our Chelmsford pantomime page.

Museum of Chelmsford

Museum Magical Makes runs on 27, 28 and 29 October at 10.30am and 1.30pm. Children make a broomstick keychain, a pumpkin and a thaumatrope, a spinning picture toy. It is for ages 5 to 11 and costs £6, or £5 for members. One accompanying adult gets in free, and extra adults pay the £4 museum admission (Museum of Chelmsford).

The museum’s gold exhibition, Timeless Treasures, runs until 11 April 2027.

Marsh Farm, South Woodham Ferrers

The Halloween Festival runs on weekends from 3 October to 1 November and every day of half term, 26 to 30 October. The ticket includes the pumpkin village, a trick or treat trail, a silent disco, the funfair rides and the dinosaur park. Pumpkins cost extra.

Ticket Price per person
General, booked ahead £15.50
Booked within 48 hours £16.50
On the door £18.50

Source: Marsh Farm, Halloween Festival. The farm is card only. Its quieter Toddler Takeover week is 19 to 23 October, the week before half term, at £13.50 booked ahead and £5 for under twos (Marsh Farm).

RHS Hyde Hall, Rettendon

The garden’s half term programme runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4pm, with a spooky plants trail included in garden entry (RHS Hyde Hall, October half term).

  • Zoolab animal encounters, Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 October, four sessions a day from 10.30am, £7 a child.
  • Storytelling walks, Tuesday 27 October, five walks from 10.30am, included in entry.
  • Craft and planting workshop, Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October, £2.50 a child, recommended for ages 3 and over.

Children aged 5 to 16 pay £6 to get in and under fives are free. Winter hours, prices and the Glow light trail are on our RHS Hyde Hall in winter page.

Council leisure centres: camps, ice disco and a pool inflatable

Chelmsford City Council’s leisure centres have a full half term programme (Chelmsford City Council, holiday activities). You book everything with an ourChelmsford account.

City and Mini Camps run as Ofsted-registered day care for 4 to 12 year olds (Mini and City Camps):

Centre Days
Riverside Leisure Centre Monday 26 to Friday 30 October
Chelmsford Sport and Athletics Centre Tuesday 27 to Friday 30 October
South Woodham Ferrers Leisure Centre Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October

The early bird prices have ended. A whole day is now £39.50 and a half day or Mini Camp £20, with early drop-off or late pick-up at £3.30 a session. Booking two siblings at once takes £5 off a full day.

The Halloween one-offs:

  • Halloween ice disco at Riverside, Friday 30 October 2.15pm to 4.15pm and Saturday 31 October from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. £10.80 with skate hire, ages 5 to 17, online booking only, no tickets on the door (Halloween ice disco).
  • Halloween party at Dovedale, Friday 30 October 1.30pm to 3pm, £6, with bouncy castles, face painting and a costume contest (Halloween party at Dovedale).
  • Halloween pool inflatable at South Woodham Ferrers, Thursday 29 October 2pm to 3pm and Saturday 31 October 4.45pm to 5.45pm, £7.30. Children must be 8 or over and swim 25m unaided; they are tested first (Halloween and inflatable fun pool session).
  • Halloween family pool sessions at South Woodham Ferrers, Monday 26 October 1.45pm to 3.15pm and Saturday 31 October 3.15pm to 4.15pm.

The centres also run archery, athletics, football, Nerf, parkour, science and beginners’ skating courses that week.

On 20 October South Woodham Ferrers Leisure Centre’s website warned of connectivity problems: staff there could not use the phones, payments or booking system. Book online if you cannot get through.

Just after half term

Marsh Farm’s family fireworks night is Saturday 7 November. Details are on our Chelmsford fireworks page.

Getting about

City centre car park tariffs are on our parking in Chelmsford page. Chelmsford Theatre says its nearest car parks are Townfield Street, Coval Lane and Fairfield Road. Check our roadworks and travel page before a trip out to South Woodham Ferrers or Rettendon.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Hylands Estate still lists no children’s half term event for the week when we checked again on Saturday 24 October. The only daytime listing that week is a one-to-one millinery session for adults on Friday 30 October. Hylands Fear Fest runs in the evenings from 16 October to 1 November, and Go Ape’s Sundown Adventures from 16 October to 8 November. Its next Open Estate Day is Sunday 8 November (Hylands Estate events).
  • The council’s leisure centre programme is now published: see the section above.

Hylands has published nothing for children for half term week, so we have stopped checking.

Sources