October half-term on a budget
As the nights draw in and the temperatures drop, enjoy a feast of hands-on fun and spooky activities to take part in this autumn in Coventry.
Venture into haunted venues, and brave bone-chilling attractions, dare to go on special Halloween tours and find tricks and treats with gripping family events. Plan your Halloween in Coventry with this round-up of gory ideas and horrifying activities.
This year, we have put together a list of FREE family fun activities as well as some budget-friendly events for you to enjoy this spooky season.
Free things to do in Coventry
Belgrade Family Fun Day – Wednesday 26 October 2022
Looking for things to do with the kids this October half term? The Belgrade Theatre is inviting you to join them for a free ‘Family Fun Day’ with a fantastic variety of Halloween-themed activities to keep your kids entertained. What’s more, there’s no booking required, just drop in!
Expect storytelling, a dressing-up station with real stage costumes from the theatre, and arts and crafts inspired by their upcoming family shows, including David Walliams’ Demon Dentist.
Coventry Cathedral Blitz Museum – Mon-Sat 10am – 4pm | Sun 12.30pm – 3pm
Explore what life was like in wartime Coventry…transport yourself back to 1940’s Coventry in the Coventry Cathedral Blitz Museum.
Located in the corner of the Cathedral Ruins, the Blitz Museum is a treasure trove of 1940’s memorabilia and artefacts. Learn more about the 1940 Coventry Blitz in the period school room and then travel through a typical house of the time and learn more about life in this era from one of the friendly and knowledgeable volunteers.
Young Explorers Trail
Pick up your free explorer’s trail from Coventry Visitor Information Centre (located adjacent to Coventry Railway Station) and discover the answers to 10 questions as your search some of the very special city centre attractions to win your exclusive Coventry Young Explorers Badge.
The trail is suitable for children of primary school age (4-11 years) and gives the perfect opportunity to explore Coventry city centre’s history. The trail should take approximately 60 minutes to complete, allowing for the walking time between venues, but you could easily spend a little extra time in each venue talking with local experts to find out more about Coventry, should you wish to. There is plenty to discover along the way – good luck explorers!
FarGo Village Halloween Makers’ Market – 29 – 30 October 2022
Find a selection of FarGo Village’s most monstrous makers and deadly designers for a Halloween special.
FarGo Village will be filling the Market Hall with some of their favourite creatives so you can celebrate Halloween in spooktacular style! From candles and needle-felted pumpkins to jewellery, sweets and much more.
Do Touch Monsters by Julia Snowdin – 30 October 2022
This playful installation asks the audience to take a tentacle, and stick them to the giant spikes to create their own monster. They can experiment with patterns and colours before admiring their creation, taking in its size and appearance.
The tentacles and spikes can be used in lots of different ways. You can tickle your mum, wear one as a hat or have a sword fight! Do Touch is to be played with.
West Orchards Half Term Activities – 26 October 2022
West Orchards are hosting free Lego Workshops this half term. Visit the shopping centre on your travels, shop til’ you drop picking up school supplies and take a break at one of the eatery’s on offer at the Level 2 Food Court, then drop into one of two Lego sessions throughout the day. Join the FREE Lego Workshop this half term.
Spend a little for a lot of fun!
The Wave Half-term sessions – 22 – 30 October 2022
Visit The Wave Waterpark this half term for some Halloween fun on the ultimate family day out this October!
Get ready to have a spooktacular time this October half-term with something for a thrill, spill and chill seekers. You’ll find six epic slides that are precision-engineered to fill the thrill seekers with excitement, boasting everything from the disappearing floor of The Torrent, plunging in the pool at the end of The Cascade to the high-speed rollercoaster ride on The Rapids’.
Younger spill seekers will enjoy The Reef; a large splash pad at the heart of the waterpark with jets, sprays and slides. The Wave Pool, churning 20 million litres of water every day, is a place for the chill seekers to ride the waves before going to Lazy River for a gentle wind around.
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum Halloween Activities 22 – 29 October 2022
Are you ready to create some marvellous makes?
Transform mason jars into enchanted forests, lighten up dark evenings with hand-crafted lantern luminaries and craft your own mischievous masks. There are lots on for little ones at The Herbert Art Gallery throughout half term.
Night of the Living Dead – 28 October 2022
A chilling classic film for Halloween in the atmospheric Anglican Chapel. Night of the Living Dead was a ground-breaking approach to the horror genre by director George A. Romero. Taking inspiration from the racial and political strife of 1960’s America, he removed the Gothic castles and wild forests of previous horror films and put the terror into the everyday.
GoApe Sundown Sessions – 21 October – 5 November
Swing, bounce and zoom from dusk and into the night this autumn with our Sundown Sessions. Thrill-seekers, from October, you are invited to become a creature of the forest with our night-time adventures.
Tackle mega-high platforms in the darkness or feel the speed of a zip wire as the sun goes down. With minimal lighting, these sense-heightening experiences do add a new level of excitement into the mix.
After all, everybody knows that when the sun goes down, the real fun begins…
St Mary’s Guildhall 22 – 30 October
A Halloween-themed ghost tour of St Mary’s Guildhall is available daily at 11am and 2.30pm. Where visitors will hear about the history of Halloween, stories of resident ghosts and other mysterious happenings at the Guildhall.
Visitors in the newly unveiled Medieval kitchen can discover weird and wonderful traditions and superstitions believed to keep spirits at bay including searching for witch marks, soul cakes, willow wand crafting and charm making.
A children’s Halloween-themed afternoon tea will also be available in Tales of Tea in the newly opened tearoom at St Mary’s Guildhall. (Advance reservations recommend)
St Mary’s Guildhall entry is from £2.50 per child for daytime entrance and from £10 for a family (2 adults and up to 3 children) for Coventry Residents with a valid Go CV card.
Ryton Pools Country Park – 29 October 2022
Bring the whole family to Ryton Pools for a spooky evening of Halloween fun and games with Old Warty the witch and friends! This evening event includes a ride on the ghost train, the Halloween Teddy Hospital and Old Warty the Witches Haunted Garden. You can also visit the Tunnel-web Spider Lair, Bat Cave, Clumsy Ranger trail and other areas during the evening! Don’t forget to bring your own carved, named pumpkin to put out in Old Warty’s Pumpkin Patch to be judged by the visitors! A prize will be awarded to the top pumpkin and winner announced on Facebook after the event!
We will be providing some great suggestions and will keep you ‘in the know’ about what’s available to you over the coming weeks. Keep an eye out on our social channels for content and feel free to follow us: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.