October half term in Sevenoaks runs 26 to 30 October 2026. The Kent term dates, what is already confirmed, and where to take children locally.

October half term in Sevenoaks falls from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October in 2026, with Kent schools breaking up after Friday 23 October and going back on Monday 2 November (Kent County Council). That gives you nine days including both weekends, and one of the more awkward weeks of the year to plan, because the clocks go back on Sunday 25 October and half the local attractions shut their season a few days later.

This is a practical guide rather than a list: the confirmed dates, what closes when, which places are free, and what to do when it rains. Every price and opening time here comes from the venue’s own website.

Kent school term dates for October 2026

Kent County Council’s determined dates for 2026-27 put Term 1 from Tuesday 1 September to Friday 23 October 2026, the holiday from Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October, and Term 2 starting Monday 2 November (Kent County Council).

Those dates bind local authority maintained schools. Academies and independent schools set their own, and in practice several Sevenoaks schools shift a day either side. Sevenoaks Primary School, for example, ends Term 1 on Thursday 22 October 2026 and takes Friday 23 October as a staff development day, so its children get an extra day (Sevenoaks Primary School). Check your own school’s calendar before booking anything that costs money.

Date strip for October half term 2026 in Sevenoaks: schools break up 23 October, clocks go back 25 October, half term 26 to 30 October, Halloween 31 October, garden seasons end 1 November and school returns 2 November
The half term week and the two catches either side of it: the clocks change the day before it starts, and the garden seasons end the day after it finishes.

What is on and what it costs

October half term options near Sevenoaks, with cost and opening, drawn from the sections below
PlaceCostOpen in half termBest for
Knole ParkFree on footDaily, dawn to duskDeer, running about, no planning
Sevenoaks Wildlife ReserveFree, parking £2.50 to £3.50Daily, dawn to duskPlay park, hides, cafe
Hever CastleFrom £19.95 adult onlineDaily to 1 NovA whole day, Halloween trail included
Riverhill Gardens£14 adult, £7.50 childWed to Sun onlyPumpkin festival, half a day
Godstone FarmTicketed, book onlineDaily, 10am to 4:45pmWet weather, under 8s
Bedgebury ForestFree entry, paid parkingDaily from 8amBikes, Go Ape, long walks

The single most useful thing to know is that Riverhill is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, which are exactly the days most families are looking for something to do (Riverhill Himalayan Gardens).

The free days out

Knole Park is the obvious one and still the best. Pedestrians walk into the 1,000-acre medieval deer park free of charge, without booking, dawn to dusk, and the fallow and sika herd roams loose across it (National Trust). You only pay to go inside the house or to use the car park, so walking up from the town centre costs nothing at all. If the weather turns, the showrooms open 11am to 4pm, with an outdoor and tower ticket at £6 for an adult and £3 for a child, or £19 and £9.50 for the ticket that includes the showrooms (National Trust).

Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve on Bradbourne Vale Road is free to enter, open daily dawn to dusk, and has bird hides, five lakes and a new play park following the £2.1 million refurbishment of the Jeffery Harrison Visitor Centre in March 2026. You pay only for parking, at £2.50 on weekdays and £3.50 at weekends, card only, and the visitor centre opens 10am to 4pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm at weekends (Kent Wildlife Trust).

Two Kent country parks are worth the short drive. Lullingstone Country Park at Eynsford, postcode DA4 0JF, has a Discovery Trail with a zip wire, over 300 veteran trees and a visitor centre with a cafe, and it runs activity trails during school holidays (Explore Kent). Trosley Country Park near Vigo, DA13 0SG, has three waymarked routes including a yellow easy-access trail suitable for buggies and wheelchairs, plus the Bluebell Cafe. Both open 9am to dusk (Explore Kent).

The bigger paid days out

Hever Castle is the strongest single option this half term because its Halloween Half Term Fun runs 17 October to 1 November 2026 and is included with normal admission (Hever Castle). Booked online for the 2 September to 19 November period, a Gardens Only ticket is £19.95 for an adult and £12.50 for a child aged 5 to 17, or £54.65 for a family of two adults and up to three children. Castle and Gardens costs £25.50, £14.05 and £66.60, and both cost more bought at the gate (Hever Castle). With 125 acres, a yew maze, water maze, playgrounds and the lake walk, it is one of the few places near Sevenoaks that genuinely fills a whole day with young children.

Leeds Castle runs its Halloween event from 24 October to 1 November 2026, also included with admission, though full details were still being finalised in early August (Leeds Castle). It is about forty minutes away on the M26 and M20.

Riverhill Himalayan Gardens, two miles from the town centre, holds its Pumpkin Festival as the season finale. In 2025 that ran 18 October to 2 November with a pumpkin hunt and a carving grotto, no booking needed (Riverhill Himalayan Gardens), and 2026 dates will appear on its events calendar. Admission is £14 for an adult, £7.50 for a child aged four and over and £39 for a family, open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, cashless (Riverhill Himalayan Gardens).

Lullingstone Castle at Eynsford closes its twenty-first season with Halloween Magic on Saturday 31 October, 11am to 6pm, with pumpkin carving, a pumpkin trail, torchlit garden tours and a live-animal session. Adults pay £13.50, under 16s go free, and there is no pre-booking (Lullingstone Castle). Our Halloween events guide has the full picture on all of these.

When it rains

It will, at some point in the week. Three answers.

Godstone Farm, about twenty-five minutes west on the A25, has over 500 animals, what it calls Surrey’s largest indoor soft play, an outdoor adventure playground and a dinosaur discovery trail. It opens 10am to 4:45pm with free parking, at Tilburstow Hill Road, Godstone, RH9 8LX, and tickets are cheapest booked online (Godstone Farm). For nearer options, see our guide to soft play near Sevenoaks.

The Stag on London Road is the town’s own answer: a not-for-profit community arts centre with two cinema screens, a 451-seat theatre and a studio, running current-release films alongside live shows (Ents24). Check the week’s listings for what is on, because the holiday programme goes up close to the date. It is a five-minute walk from the High Street.

Knole’s showrooms are the cheap indoor option if you are already walking in the park, at £19 for an adult including the outdoor and tower ticket (National Trust).

Two dates that catch people out

The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October 2026, the day before half term starts, so from the Monday onwards it is dark by about half past four and afternoon plans need to start earlier than you think.

Venues adjust accordingly. Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest at Goudhurst, TN17 2SJ, is open daily from 8am, but its closing time drops from 8pm to 5pm on 27 October 2026, right in the middle of the week. Go Ape runs 10am to 2pm and the cafe until 4pm on weekdays and 5pm at weekends (Forestry England).

Most garden seasons end around 1 November. Riverhill treats its Pumpkin Festival as the season finale, Hever’s Autumn Colour ends on 1 November and Lullingstone’s World Garden closes on 31 October (Hever Castle; Lullingstone Castle). Half term really is the last chance at these until spring.

If you want to build the week out further, the pumpkin picking guide covers the Kent farms and their booking rules, family walks near Sevenoaks has the routes that work with small legs, and things to do in Sevenoaks covers the rest of the year.

Frequently asked questions

When is October half term 2026 in Kent? Monday 26 October to Friday 30 October 2026. Kent schools finish Term 1 on Friday 23 October and return for Term 2 on Monday 2 November (Kent County Council). Academies and independent schools may differ by a day or two, so check your own school.

What can you do in Sevenoaks in half term for free? Walk into Knole Park, which is free on foot and open dawn to dusk with a wild deer herd (National Trust), or go to Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, which is free to enter with a new play park and only charges for parking (Kent Wildlife Trust). Lullingstone and Trosley country parks are also free to walk in.

What is open near Sevenoaks on the Monday and Tuesday of half term? Knole Park, Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, both country parks, Bedgebury and Godstone Farm all open daily, and Hever’s Halloween run covers 17 October to 1 November without a break. Riverhill Himalayan Gardens is the exception, closed Mondays and Tuesdays throughout its season (Riverhill Himalayan Gardens).

What is there to do with toddlers in October half term? Godstone Farm covers indoor soft play and animals in one ticket (Godstone Farm), and Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve has the play park, cafe and flat paths with no admission charge (Kent Wildlife Trust). Lullingstone Castle’s Halloween day on 31 October is free for under 16s (Lullingstone Castle).

Do I need to book half term activities in advance? Book online for Hever, Leeds Castle and Godstone Farm, all of which price online tickets below the gate price (Hever Castle; Leeds Castle). Riverhill and Lullingstone Castle take no bookings at all (Riverhill Himalayan Gardens; Lullingstone Castle), and the parks and reserves need nothing.

How much does a half term day out near Sevenoaks cost? Anywhere from nothing to about £55 for a family. Knole Park and the reserves cost only parking. Riverhill is £39 for a family ticket. Hever is £54.65 for a family Gardens Only ticket booked online, which buys the largest single site and includes the Halloween programme (Riverhill Himalayan Gardens; Hever Castle).

Sources

Dates, prices and opening times were checked against each venue’s own website in August 2026. Some October programmes are still to be announced, so confirm before you travel.