It can be difficult to know how to occupy children in the school holidays. October is often such a rainy month, which makes it a bit harder still. They just end up bouncing off the walls when they’re inside for too long! To help you out, I’ve compiled a list of things going on in Medway and Gravesham over October 2021’s half term. At the time of writing, there are still spaces on all of these to my knowledge! I had to omit lots of activities, as they were already full. Therefore, if you’re interested in any of these I recommend getting in there quickly! 🙂
From small to extra extra large you can hunt for your perfect Halloween pumpkin in the field where they grew. We’ve been going here every year since 2015 and we love it! There is also a burger van and small gift shop.
Where: PYO Pumpkins, Beluncle Farm, outskirts of Hoo
When: All week (see booking form for available dates and times)
Cost: £7 for a vehicle with 7 seats or under, £8 for a vehicle with 8 seats or more. Pumpkins are an additional cost, with pricing clearly displayed around the farm.
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/book/sessions?eid=21320
Spot the ghosts to collect a prize and be in for the chance to win a £50 Smyths Toys voucher. On 31st October, there’s a party with spooky face painting, balloon artists and prizes for the best costume!
Where: Countryside Properties, Parkside Quarter, Rochester
When: 25th – 31st October (10am-5pm)
Cost: Free
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://fb.me/e/2Ae2Cv5aP
Halloween themed lunch box, unlimited squash, spooky temporary tattoos, arts and crafts and Halloween fun and games!
Where: KidZone, Rochester
When: 31st October, various times available
Cost: £9.99 per child. £2 for under 1s (no lunch box), £2 for adults.
Ages: Up to 10 years
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://fb.me/e/1nUyyBZpz
Fancy dress disco, food, games and soft play fun.
Where: Monkey Bizz, Strood
When: Sunday 31st October
Cost: £12.50 per child, siblings under 11 months free (but no lunch box)
Ages: Pre-schoolers and primary school children
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: bit.ly/3lqaAAa
Fun and games, disco and buffet
Where: Palmerston Working Mans Club, Chatham
When: Sunday 31st October, 4.30-7.30
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://fb.me/e/12hPgMEtd
Dancing, games, sweets and fun. Prizes for best dressed adult, child and table.
Where: Walderslade Working Mans Club
When: Saturday 30th October, 7.30pm-11pm
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: fb.me/e/1mvYXZdLk
2 hour session in the arena, especially transformed for Halloween. Free goody bag for those who come in fancy dress and a prize for the best dressed per session. Games, competitions and giveaways will take place throughout the day. Bring in your decorated pumpkins for the chance to win a birthday party for up to 10 guests.
Where: FlipOut, Chatham Dockside
When: Saturday 30th October, sessions at 10am, 12pm and 2pm
Cost: £18.50 per person, family deals available (see link)
Ages: Pre-schoolers and school children
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: bit.ly/3lNRfcc
30 minute sessions between 4 and 6pm, all ages and abilities from 3 years plus. Small class sizes and friendly qualified instructors.
Where: Hilltop Primary School, Frindsbury
When: Monday 25th – Thursday 28th October
Cost: ?
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: Email eastkent@angelasswimschool.co.uk
Monster messy play, taste safe tricks and treats, spooky sensory and creepy crafts. £3 Halloween painting decoration can be added when booking.
Where: Rochester Community Hub
When: Monday 25th and Wednesday 27th October, 9.30 or 10.45am sessions
Cost: £7 child & adult (discount for siblings – this is for ages 0-7)
Ages: 0-7
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: www.bubclub.uk
Pumpkin carving, best dresses competition, activity sheets and free goodie bags for all.
Where: The Rising Sun, Rochester
When: Sunday 31st October, 12pm-4pm
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://www.facebook.com/600687923640027/photos/a.600710680304418/1478569029185241/
Free entry to Eastgate House for up to three children with a paying adult and there is a spooky treasure hunt to take part in.
Where: Eastgate House, Rochester
When: Thursday 28th to Sunday 31st October, 10am to 5pm. Last admission 4.15pm.
Cost: 80p
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://www.visitmedway.org/attractions/eastgate-house-1805/
Come and join Long John McRon, Ship’s Cook, on a new discovery trail around The Historic Dockyard Chatham this October. Can you find his missing pirate crew? Pick up your special recipe booklet and treasure map on arrival, search for the motley pirate crew hidden around our 400-year-old site and complete the Pirate Stew ingredients list. If you can unscramble the anagram and work out what’s for dinner, you’ll receive a special prize. Join our Dockyard pirate onboard HMS Gannet and hear the irresistible, swashbuckling Pirate Stew rhyme come to life (select days throughout October, but daily from Saturday 23rd-Sunday 31st October).
Where: Historic Dockyard Chatham
When: Saturday 9th October – Sunday 31st October, the Historic Dockyard Chatham is open from 10am-5pm daily
Cost: Free with admission to the dockyard
Ages: all
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://thedockyard.co.uk/whats-on/pirate-stew-discovery-trail/
Where: Capstone Country Park
When: Meeting at the Orchard car park, Monday 25th October at 12:30pm
Cost: Free
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1000496633849923
Children’s craft event! It’s that time of year again, let your imagination run wild and create a spooky craft with one of our rangers to add to your Halloween decorations at home!
Where: Riverside Country Park
When: Thursday 28th October, sessions at 10am-12pm or 1pm – 3pm
Cost: £4 per child
Ages: 5+
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: Book on 01634 337432, https://www.facebook.com/events/431285634833866
Explore the pumpkin fields and choose some pumpkins to take home!
Where: Pumpkin Moon, Rainham
When: Sessions available all week
Cost: From £1.50to £2 per person, plus the cost of pumpkins. Under 2s go free.
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://mazemoon.digitickets.co.uk/category/34211?navItem=273049
Run by a DBS checked qualified teacher, your child will make their own Halloween slime, create dancing ghosts, puking pumpkins and much more.
Where: Borstal Village Hall
When: Monday 25th October, 3.30pm – 5.30pm
Cost: £16
Ages: 4-11
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://www.evctutoring.com/book-online-1
We will be featuring The Recall, a popular band who play all sort of 60’s music, with doors opening at 7pm for the music to start at 8pm-10pm. We will be serving food from 7pm-10pm with the bar open all evening! This event is free, so no ticket is required but fancy dress is encouraged but not optional! All kids welcome.
Where: Fenn Bell
When: Saturday 30th October, 7pm-10pm
Cost: Free
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://www.facebook.com/TheFennBellInn/photos/4627430517326758
Come to the zoo, take a ride on our spooky safari or see what our animals maybe getting up too…. you never know, they may be getting into the Halloween spirit too!!!
Where: Fenn Bell
When: Monday 25th October until ? Usual zoo opening hours (10am-5pm)
Cost: Adults £7, Children £6, Under 2s Free, Family ticket (2 adults, 2 children) £23
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://www.fbcukproject.co.uk/product/fbcuk-zoo-ticket/Â
Go on a not so spooky Halloween walk, visit the cyclo maze, go on a ghost hunt and see creatures such as tarantulas, millipedes, snakes, frogs and lizards. Fancy dress encouraged!
Where: Cyclopark, Gravesend
When: 25th – 31st October, 4-7pm
Cost: £3 per child (adults free)
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/d/united-kingdom–london/cyclopark/
Choose from painting a cobweb treat bowl, a hanging witch decoration, Frankenstein tealight, spider tealight or skull tealight. All pottery will be glazed and fired and available for collection before Halloween.
Where: Legend Sports Bar, Cascades, Gravesend
When: Saturday 23rd October, 12.30-1.30pm or 2pm-3pm
Cost: £9 per item
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info:Â https://fb.me/e/1kJG8NIWZ
Follow the Gruffalo Spotters trail at Jeskyns, spot the signs and see what creatures you can find! With the amazing new Gruffalo Spotter 2 app, fun trail activity pack, you’ll get to interact with all your favourite characters as you go in search of the Gruffalo in the deep dark wood.
Where: Jeskyns Country Park
When: Daily
Cost: £3.50
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://www.forestryengland.uk/jeskyns-community-woodland/gruffalo-spotters-trail
Meet and handle reptiles and rodents including Lizards, Tortoise and Cornsnakes, as well as learning about their origin and habitats.
Where: Shorne Woods Country Park
Dates: 25th and 26th October, 10.45 – 11.45am
Cost: £8
Ages: 4+
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: bookings.kentcountryparks.co.uk/events.html
Disco, dancing, games, snacks, juice and cake. There is also a prize for best fancy dress!
Where: The Viewpoint, Gravesend
Dates: 30th October
Cost: £4 for non-member’s children
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://fb.me/e/2erYlm3Ct
Let your children unleash their imagination this Halloween at ‘Spellbound Academy, our immersive potion making workshop. Our Professors of the Dark Arts and Herbology will help the apprentices follow ancient spells and solve clues to unlock the secrets of potion making. Although not everything in potion making is easy to collect, student will need to be brave while’s collecting fluid and eggs from some of our weird and wonderful magical creatures. Only the most patient and skilled witches and wizards will succeed in graduating from this spell class and will be rewarded with a photograph in our Hall of Fame. All this is set in the mystical old library in Nurstead Court, Meopham, Kent
Where: Nurstead Court, Meopham
When: 30th October, 10am-12.30pm and 1-2.30pm
Cost: £23
Ages: 7-13
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spellbound-academy-hogwarts-style-halloween-potion-making-tickets-59018704534
Forest fun, plus a late session with a spooky Halloween camp fire in the dark available on Thursday!
Where: Nurstead Woods, Meopham
When: Tuesday 26th (1am-1pm/1pm-4pm) and Thursday 28th October (12pm-3pm/3pm-6pm))
Cost: £15 per child, or £25 per child for both sessions
Ages: 4-12
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://www.facebook.com/WildatHeartLearningKent/photos/a.103053588209380/385269356654467/
30 minute sessions between 9.30 and 11am, all ages and abilities from 3 years plus. Small class sizes and friendly qualified instructors.
Where: Cobham Hall, Cobham
When: Monday 25th – Thursday 28th October
Cost: ?
Ages: 3 years+
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: Email eastkent@angelasswimschool.co.uk
Activities include Halloween themed dance, games, arts, crafts and cake decorating – depending on what session you choose (age dependent)
Where: The Gerald Miskin Memorial Hall, Gravesend
When: Friday 29th October
Cost: £9/£15
Ages: 18 months – 7 years, depending on session
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: www.tinytoesballet.co.uk/gravesend/classes (under tasters and special events)
Two day soccer school.
Where: St. George’s School, Gravesend
When: 25th and 26th October, 9am – 3pm
Cost: £20 per day
Ages: 5-11
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://form.jotform.com/FCAcademy/october-soccer-school
Football camp with football tournament, penalty shootout and more. FA qualified, DBS checked coaches, trophies/rewards and prizes to be won and a football presentation on the last day of the course.
Where: Holy Trinity Primary School, Gravesend
When: 25th – 28th October
Cost: £60, sibling discount available
Ages: 5-11
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://www.facebook.com/lcrsports/photos/a.1900175756912556/2950336405229814/
Self led trail, available to buy/collect from the visitor centre. Collect a pencil and follow the hour long trail around the park. A prize can be collected from the visitor centre upon completion!
Where: Shorne Woods Country Park
When: Saturday 23rd October – Sunday 7th November
Cost: £3
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://bookings.kentcountryparks.co.uk/events.html
Join us down in the woods for our Halloween spooktacular! Kouyou theatre return with “Hansel & Gretel” a spooky show for younger audiences. Will the twins ever escape the forest?
Where: Trosley Country Park, Trottiscliffe/Vigo
When: Friday 29th and Saturday 30th October, 11am-12pm or 1.30pm-2.30pm
Cost: Adults £10.50, Children £8.50 or £34 for a family ticket (2 adults, 2 children)
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://bookings.kentcountryparks.co.uk/events.html
Face painting, craft stalls, apple bobbing, biscuit/cupcake decorating and pumpkin painting. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate and freaky milkshakes available at No 3 Coffee Company
Where: Shorne Village Hall
When: Friday 29th October, 3.30pm-6pm
Cost: £5 per child (includes biscuit/cupcake decorating), adults free
Ages: All
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10165226037560018&set=gm.10158925905007659
Plenty of activities, a disco and a fancy dress competition award! Food and a drink is included within the price and a set menu is provided!
Where: The Goose, Gravesend
When: Sunday 31st October, 5pm onwards
Cost: £5 per person
Ages: All
Booking required: Yes (buy a ticket from the bar in advance)
Booking/more info: https://www.facebook.com/page/283284645087931/search/?q=halloween
Come and take part in one of our spooky craft sessions, all materials provided.
Where: The Snug, Gravesend Borough Market
When: Tuesday 26th October – 10-11am, 12-1pm or 2-3pm
Cost: £2 per booking
Booking required: Yes
Ages: 5+
Booking/more info: Booking essential – phone 01474 337 600 (Tue-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/gravesendboroughmarket.Kent/photos/pcb.4169100509885378/4169100423218720
Love chocolate? Learn all about where chocolate comes from, then make your own chocolate to take home.
Where: The Snug, Gravesend Borough Market
When: Wednesday 27th October – 10am, 1pm or 3pm
Cost: £2 per booking
Booking required: Yes
Ages: 6+
Booking/more info: Booking essential – phone 01474 337 600 (Tue-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/gravesendboroughmarket.Kent/photos/pcb.4169100509885378/4169100423218720
Meet our friendly reptiles, insects and tarantulas. Come and speak to the team at creepy claws and learn all about them.
Where: The Snug, Gravesend Borough Market
When: Thursday 28th October, 10am-3pm
Cost: Free?
Ages: None stated – probably 4 or 5 years old upwards
Booking required: No – drop in session, no need to book
Booking/more info: Booking essential – phone 01474 337 600 (Tue-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/gravesendboroughmarket.Kent/photos/pcb.4169100509885378/4169100423218720
Where: In front of the Queen Victoria statue in Gravesend Borough Market
When: Thursday 28th October, 11am-2pm
Cost: ?
Ages: 3+
Booking required: No
Booking/more info: Booking essential – phone 01474 337 600 (Tue-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/gravesendboroughmarket.Kent/photos/pcb.4169100509885378/4169100423218720
Come and learn how to make a spooky balloon creation.
Where: In front of the Queen Victoria statue in Gravesend Borough Market
When: Thursday 28th October, 10.30am-11.30am/12pm-1pm
Cost: £2 per booking
Ages: 7+
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: Booking essential – phone 01474 337 600 (Tue-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/gravesendboroughmarket.Kent/photos/pcb.4169100509885378/4169100423218720
Spooky slime and more…
Where: The Snug, Gravesend Borough Market
When: Friday 29th Octonber, 10-11am
Cost: £2 per booking
Ages: ?
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: Booking essential – phone 01474 337 600 (Tue-Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/gravesendboroughmarket.Kent/photos/pcb.4169100509885378/4169100423218720
Where: Ruckland House, Gravesend
When: Saturday 23rd October at 9.30am, 10.45am, 12pm and 1.15pm
Cost: £9 (plus £30 if you want a mini photo shoot)
Ages: 8 weeks – 2.5 years
Booking required: Yes
Booking/more info: https://tots-play-gravesend.class4kids.co.uk/
Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash
What are you looking forward to this half term? Do you know of anything else going on? Let me know!
Cover image photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash
