Halloween Events Sevenoaks 2026: 12 Confirmed, Dates Inside

Halloween events in Sevenoaks follow a pattern. The big estates run a daytime trail that is free once you have paid to get in, and one or two places do something later in the day. Within half an hour of the town you have Hever, Penshurst, Knole, Chartwell, Emmetts, Ightham Mote and Lullingstone, and most of them put something on for the October week.

By late August nine events had published 2026 dates. Penshurst Place added three more in early September, and Leeds Castle has now named and published its programme, so twelve are confirmed and one gap is left: Ightham Mote still lists nothing for Halloween or half term. Every date and price on this page was checked against the venue’s own website, most recently on 13 September 2026.

What is confirmed for Halloween 2026

The pattern is worth understanding before you spend anything. At the estates the Halloween programme is bundled into the standard ticket rather than sold separately. The real decision is whether the day out is worth the admission price, not whether the trail is worth a few pounds. Emmetts is the exception: its trail and fairground are charged on top.

Chartwell: a ghost hunt for under 8s from 3 October

Chartwell near Westerham, about fifteen minutes from Sevenoaks, has the earliest start. Its October Half Term Halloween Trail, We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt, runs from 3 October to 1 November 2026 (National Trust). The Trust describes it as designed for under 8s.

What the trail involves, from the event page:

• a route through the garden and into the woodland
• eight stops with games and challenges
• ghosts to find along the way
• a sticker reward at the shop when you finish

It is free with normal admission and needs no booking. The trail runs 10am to 4pm until 25 October, then 10am to 3pm from 26 October to 1 November. Our Chartwell visiting guide has the admission prices, the £6 car park and the house ticket rules.

What it means for you: this is the one to do on a quiet weekday in early October, before half term crowds arrive. If you are a National Trust member it costs nothing beyond parking.

Emmetts Garden: trail, fairground and Halloween workshops

Emmetts Garden at Ide Hill, about fifteen minutes from Sevenoaks, has the fullest programme of any National Trust site nearby. Its Autumn Festival runs 9 October to 1 November 2026 (National Trust). Unlike Chartwell, the family parts are charged on top of admission.

• Outdoor family activity trail, 9 October to 1 November. Fun-Gus saves the forest: children complete outdoor challenges to find a code that saves the wood’s underground network. £3 per trail booklet from Visitor Reception, no booking. 10am to 4:30pm until 25 October, 10am to 3:30pm from 26 October (National Trust).
• Children’s fairground, 23 October to 1 November. A carousel, swing boats and a teacup ride on the meadow, run by local operator Lee Sherwood. Rides suit ages 2 to 8, last ride 3:30pm. £10 per wristband per day, or £12 combined with the trail booklet, bought on the day from the Visitor Centre. Accompanying adults do not need a wristband (National Trust).
• Halloween spiderweb weaving, 29 October to 1 November. A drop-in session under a marquee on the meadow, 10:30am to 12:15pm and 1pm to 3pm. Free with admission, ages 2 and up (National Trust).
• Halloween spooky woodcraft, 29 October to 1 November. Whittle a wooden mushroom keyring in a 45-minute session. £8 per child, ages 8 and up, eight places per session, booking essential on 0344 249 1895 (National Trust).

What it means for you: the meadow may be muddy, and the Trust says so. Wellies for the fairground.

Knole: the Gruffalo, not ghosts

Knole has no Halloween event listed for 2026. What it has instead is The Gruffalo Art Adventure, 29 August to 1 November 2026, 10am to 5pm: twelve giant painted sculptures across the parkland and into the Orangery, made with Wild in Art and Magic Light Pictures (National Trust). The Trust says an Outdoor and Tower ticket is the minimum admission and that booking is essential. Our Gruffalo trail at Knole Park guide has what a family pays, the names of all twelve sculptures and the buggy, dog and access rules.

For older children there is Deer Keeping: Autumn Rut on 16 and 17 October, 5:30pm to 7:30pm, with the park and deer keeper. It costs £10, is not suitable for under 7s, and needs booking on 0344 249 1895 (National Trust). Bring a torch.

The deer park itself is free to walk into on foot whatever happens. Our Knole Park guide has the parking cost and the walking routes.

Hever Castle: the biggest programme, from 17 October

Hever, about twenty minutes from Sevenoaks near Edenbridge, has confirmed Halloween Half Term Fun for 17 October to 1 November 2026, included with admission (Hever Castle). That is sixteen days covering both weekends either side of Kent’s half term.

The 2026 theme is science. Included with admission:

• Hever’s Mad Scientists Trail through the grounds, daily, trail closes 4pm
• a Mad Scientist goggles craft activity, 11am to 4pm
• a Halloween timed show at the Think Tank, at 11:30, 12:30, 2pm and 3pm

Face painting costs £6 per child, noon to 4pm, on 17 and 18, 22 to 25 and 29 to 31 October only (Hever Castle).

Running underneath it is Autumn Colour, from 28 September to 1 November, also included with admission (Hever Castle).

Admission for 2 September to 19 November 2026, booked online (Hever Castle):

• Castle and Gardens: adult £25.50, child (5 to 17) £14.05, family £66.60
• Gardens only: adult £19.95, child £12.50, family £54.65
• Under 5s: free
• On the gate, an adult Castle and Gardens ticket is £28.40

What it means for you: book online. If the children only care about the trail, the maze and the playgrounds, the Gardens Only ticket saves £5.55 per adult and still includes the Halloween activities. Our Hever Castle day out guide covers the rest.

Leeds Castle: Horrible Histories, and now with a programme

The gap on this page has closed. When we checked on 5 September Leeds Castle had its dates but said only that plans were being finalised. It has since published the lot: Horrible Histories Halloween, subtitled Silly Ghosts and Ghastly History, from Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November 2026, included with the admission ticket (Leeds Castle).

It is a fact-finding trail round the grounds with six challenges and a finale, and the history is real rather than generic spooky dressing:

• Eleanor of Castile: A Royal Ghost. Which everyday objects medieval people trusted to stop a ghost taking their soul, among them candles, salt, iron, a broom and silver.
• Joan of Navarre: Witch or Not? Joan was accused of witchcraft by her own stepson and imprisoned at Leeds Castle itself. Children spin a Wheel of Ghostly Fate for their own verdict.
• Catherine of Aragon: The Forgotten Queen. Henry VIII held a joust when Catherine died and was knocked off his horse doing it. Take a shield and try to out-shoot him.
• Witches Zone: Potion Panic, a potion-making class, and Get That Ghost, a relay race.
• Spooktacular Stories, where children write their own.
• Ghostly Gala, the finale at the Maze, with performers, music and dancing. Fancy dress is expected here and costume competitions run twice a day.

Finish all six and the child is an official Ghost Getter. The castle describes the tone as intriguing rather than frightening, which matches the daytime trails at Hever and Penshurst rather than anything for teenagers.

One catch worth knowing before you go: the trail itself is included, but the trail booklet is charged separately, at what Leeds Castle calls a small additional cost with a gold coin prize inside each one. It does not publish that price, so budget for it and ask at the gate. The Birds of Prey Centre displays and the autumn garden walks are included as normal.

Admission for 2026, booked online (Leeds Castle):

• Explorer: adult £34.50, child aged 3 to 15 £24.50, under 3s free
• One adult and up to three children: £87
• Two adults and up to three children: £115
• On the gate those become £38.50, £28, £97 and £128.50
• An adult with a disability and a free carer is £30 online, a child and carer £22

The castle is open 10.30am to 5pm and the grounds 10am to 6pm, with last entry at 3pm.

What it means for you: it is the furthest of the confirmed events, about forty minutes on the M26 and M20, and the most expensive per head. Read the family price carefully, because £87 buys one adult and three children, not two adults and two, which is £115. The ticket converts to a year’s free entry, so the maths only works if you will go back, and the Fireworks Spectacular on 7 and 8 November is one reason people do. Put a costume in the car: the Gala runs its competitions twice daily and a child without one will notice.

Lullingstone Castle: one day, 31 October

The most local of the confirmed events and the most different in character. Lullingstone Castle and the World Garden at Eynsford, about fifteen minutes north of Sevenoaks, runs Halloween Magic on 31 October 2026 from 11am to 6pm, closing its twenty-first season (Lullingstone Castle).

On the day:

• pumpkin carving and a pumpkin trail
• garden tours with Tom Hart Dyke at 1pm and a dusk tour at 5pm
• Zoolab in the church, 3pm to 4pm, with live snails, insects, spiders and corn snakes
• the Manor House open 11am to 4pm, last entry 3:30pm

Admission is £13.50 for an adult with under 16s free. Pumpkin carving asks a £5 donation, cash only. No pre-booking, and fancy dress is welcome (Lullingstone Castle).

What it means for you: for a family with two or three children this is comfortably the cheapest, because children go free. The dusk tour is what makes it feel like Halloween rather than a daytime trail.

Penshurst Place: a trail, crafts and storytelling from 24 October

Penshurst Place, about twenty-five minutes south of Sevenoaks, had nothing Halloween on its October calendar in late August beyond a ticketed murder mystery dinner. It has since published the lot, and after Hever and Emmetts it is now the fullest programme in reach of the town (Penshurst Place).

• Beware the Bad Apple! Halloween Trail, 24 October to 1 November, daily, 10am to 5pm. Fergus Fang and Frightful Fred are identical twins with opposite tempers. Fred swaps his brother’s shampoo for green hair dye, Fergus answers with a poison apple potion, and children search the grounds for the ingredients and work out the side effect of each one.
• Halloween crafts, 24 October to 1 November, 11am to 3.30pm in The Old Coach House. Drop-in making, taken home to decorate before the day itself.
• Halloween storytelling, 26 to 31 October, in the Garden Room, with performances at 11.15am, noon, 12.45pm, 2pm and 2.45pm. Penshurst calls it panto-style with optional audience participation, and says it is a deliberately “not too scary” take on Halloween.

None of the three carries a ticket price or a booking link, unlike the two October events Penshurst sells separately: the £72 Revenge of the Scarecrow murder mystery dinner on 10 October, and the £49 Autumn Amble walk and lunch on 18 October. Penshurst describes its year as “a bumper collection of activities included in the cost of your admission” (Penshurst Place).

Admission in 2026 is £17 for an adult and £9.50 for a child aged 5 to 15, or £48 for two adults and two children, covering the house, gardens and grounds. Gardens and grounds only is £15, £9 and £45. Two under 5s go free per paying adult (Penshurst Place). Everything is open daily until Sunday 1 November: gardens and grounds 10am to 5pm, the house and the toy museum 11.30am to 4pm with last entry at 3.30pm (Penshurst Place).

What it means for you: the trail opens on Saturday 24 October, the first day of the school holiday, so unlike Chartwell and Emmetts there is no quiet run at it beforehand. Penshurst’s Apple Weekend, on 17 and 18 October and also included with admission, is a separate trip the weekend before.

Riverhill, and the one still to come

Riverhill Himalayan Gardens, two miles from the town centre, closes its season with a Pumpkin Festival from Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4pm. There is a pumpkin hunt round the gardens and a grotto for carving. No pre-booking and no charge on top of normal admission (Riverhill Himalayan Gardens). Riverhill is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, which catches people out in half term. Our Riverhill guide has the prices.

One gap is left. Ightham Mote still listed nothing at all for Halloween or half term on 13 September (National Trust), though it has run a ghostly garden trail in past years (KentOnline). What it has published for the autumn is a walled garden tour on 14 October and Christmas at Ightham Mote from 21 November. It is the one to check again in early October. Leeds Castle, the other gap in early September, has now published its programme, and it is in the section above.

Planning the week around it

Kent’s October half term in 2026 runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, with schools breaking up after Friday 23 October (Kent County Council). Halloween falls on the Saturday immediately after, so the busiest day of the whole period will be Saturday 31 October.

Monday to Thursday will be the quietest at Hever and Leeds Castle. Chartwell’s trail is open for three weeks before half term starts, and the Emmetts trail for two, so both can be done in advance; Penshurst’s opens on 24 October and cannot. If you want the whole autumn set, pumpkin picking sits on the weekend before and the fireworks displays pick up the weekend after.

For the rest of the week, including wet-weather and free options, see our October half term guide. The year-round list of things to do in Sevenoaks covers what is open outside the school holidays.

Frequently asked questions

What Halloween events are confirmed near Sevenoaks for 2026? Twelve, as of 13 September. Chartwell’s ghost hunt trail from 3 October, the Emmetts Garden Autumn Festival trail from 9 October and fairground from 23 October, Hever’s Halloween Half Term Fun, Leeds Castle’s Horrible Histories Halloween and Riverhill’s Pumpkin Festival from 17 October, Penshurst’s Bad Apple trail and Halloween crafts from 24 October and its storytelling from 26 to 31 October, the Gruffalo Art Adventure at Knole, Hever’s Autumn Colour, and Lullingstone’s Halloween Magic on 31 October. All but the storytelling run to 1 November.

Is there anything at Knole for Halloween? No Halloween event is listed for 2026. Knole’s autumn draw is the Gruffalo Art Adventure, twelve giant sculptures across the park until 1 November, with an Outdoor and Tower ticket (National Trust). The deer park is free to walk into on foot.

Which Halloween event near Sevenoaks is best value for a family? Lullingstone Castle, where under 16s go free and adults pay £13.50, so two adults and three children cost £27 plus a £5 cash donation for carving (Lullingstone Castle). For National Trust members, Chartwell’s trail costs nothing beyond parking. Of the paid houses, Penshurst is the cheapest at £45 for a family of four, gardens and grounds only (Penshurst Place); Hever is £54.65 for the equivalent online, but you get sixteen possible days (Hever Castle).

Do I need to book Halloween events in advance? Book admission online for Hever and Leeds Castle, which charge more at the gate. Knole says booking is essential for the Gruffalo trail. Chartwell’s trail, the Emmetts trail and fairground, all three at Penshurst, Lullingstone and Riverhill are walk-up. Only the Emmetts woodcraft workshop and Knole’s deer rut walk need a phone booking.

When will the rest of the 2026 Halloween events be announced? Penshurst published its trail, crafts and storytelling in early September and Leeds Castle published its Horrible Histories programme shortly after, which leaves one. Ightham Mote had still listed nothing for Halloween or half term on 13 September (National Trust). Early October is the point to check it again.

Are these events too scary for young children? No. Chartwell’s trail is written for under 8s, the Emmetts fairground suits ages 2 to 8, Hever’s is science-themed, Penshurst calls its storytelling “not too scary”, Leeds Castle calls its Horrible Histories trail intriguing rather than frightening, and Lullingstone’s is built around pumpkin carving and live animals. For something genuinely frightening for teenagers, look for separately ticketed evening events rather than the daytime trails.

Sources

• Chartwell We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt trail: National Trust
• Emmetts Garden Autumn Festival trail, fairground, spiderweb weaving and woodcraft
• Knole Gruffalo Art Adventure and Deer Keeping: Autumn Rut
• Hever Castle Halloween Half Term Fun, Autumn Colour and prices
• Leeds Castle Horrible Histories Halloween 2026 dates, trail stations and booklet charge: Leeds Castle; admission prices, carer rates and opening times: Leeds Castle
• Lullingstone Castle Halloween Magic 2026: Lullingstone Castle
• Riverhill Pumpkin Festival 2026: Riverhill Himalayan Gardens
• Penshurst Place October 2026 calendar, 2026 admission prices and opening times
• National Trust Kent Halloween trails in past years: KentOnline
• Kent October half term 2026 dates: Kent County Council

Every date and price was checked against the venue’s own website, most recently on 13 September 2026. Leeds Castle does not publish the price of its trail booklet, and Ightham Mote has still announced nothing for Halloween, so confirm with the venue before you travel.