5 things to do in and around Harrogate this weekend, September 26–28Spooky castles, pumpkins and haunted houses: Halloween fun in the district

Halloween is creeping up, with the celebrations and events across the district becoming bigger, better and more ghoulish each year.

This year it falls just after October half-term, so there is plenty going on for little witches and wizards – and big ones too!

So whether you fancy some pumpkin picking on a farm, spooky trails, or haunted houses, we’ve put together a list of five places to enjoy some Halloween fun.

Birchfield Farm Pumpkin Festival – Summerbridge

Birchfield Farm’s Pumpkin Festival is a firm favourite amongst families in the Harrogate district. Is it even Halloween if you haven’t taken a selfie with a wheelbarrow full of pumpkins at the picturesque Summerbridge farm?

You don’t need to book for this one and there are plenty of pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colours to go around and you can visit everyday until October 31.

There are also lots of activities to do on the farm so you can make a morning or afternoon of it.

After you have picked your pumpkin from the patch – and there really is a huge selection of all shapes and sizes – you then have the option of visiting the farm for £5.95 per person. Then take your kids for a homemade ice cream at the farm’s café.

Activities include:

When: Everyday until October 31 from 10am until 4pm
Where: Birchfield Farm, Summerbridge, Harrogate, HG3 4JS
Price and booking: No booking is required for this event and the pumpkin patch is free to enter. Pumpkins are priced by size from £1 up to £12.The farmyard area is £5.95 per person, however this is optional. Under twos are free.

Creepy Castle: The Spooktastic Halloween Trail – Knaresborough

Soak up the spooky atmosphere at Knaresborough Castle – the setting of the new Creepy Castle Spooktastic Halloween trail.

Set in the grounds of the ancient monument, expect to see see wizard magic shows and spooky characters along the way. There will also be face painting, stories in the castle, cookie decorating and more scary surprises.

When: October 27 – 29
Where: Knaresborough Castle, Castle Yard, Knaresborough, HG5 8AS
Price and booking: Tickets are £3.75 for both children and adults (under 2s are free) with time slots available from 3pm – 7.20pm on Thursday, October 27 to Saturday October, 29. Book your trail tickets for a specific event day and time here.

Stockeld Park Halloween Adventure – Wetherby

Stockeld Park is another firm family favourite and the Halloween festivities are always magical.

This year The Enchanted Forest will be transformed into an explosion of colour for a Day of the Dead Fiesta. Interact with the enchanting ancestors as you venture round the forest and look out for friendly skeletons.

Little ones will love exploring the pumpkin patch and will be able to pick their very own pumpkin to take home. Every paying child will get to choose a free pumpkin.

The Playhive will be open to explore and you can salso ee the family-friendly Monster Mash show.

There’s something suitably scary for all ages.

When: October 22 – October 30 from 9.30am until 5.30pm
Where: Stockeld Park, Wetherby, LS22 4AN
Price and booking: Prices vary. Online pre-booking is essential – click here to book

Halloween Trail – Swinton Bivouac, Masham

Are you brave enough to follow the spooky Halloween trail?

Head up to Swinton Bivouac, part of the 20,000 acre Swinton Estate, and follow the ghoulish clues to help you find your way through the eerie woodland.

Dogs are welcome and fancy dress is encouraged!

When: October 22 – October 31
Where: Bivouac at Druid’s Temple, Masham, Ripon, HG4 4JZ
Price and booking: £5 per trail sheet with prize upon completion. Trail sheets are available from the Bivouac Café from 10am daily.

Stately Superstitions: Eerie Encounters at the Castle – Castle Howard, York

An experience for adults, venture a little further outside the Harrogate district and explore the uncanny on this behind-the-scenes tour of the house where not all is as it seems.

If you were to venture beyond the visitor route, below stairs, you’d encounter a labyrinth of dark cellars and never-ending corridors.

Long since servants walked the halls and a fire ripped through the now empty wings, these parts of Castle Howard have remained largely unchanged.

Those interested in the history of the house may revel at the chance to explore these quarters, but a stay longer than necessary provokes a sense of unnerving discomfort causing the imagination to try and make sense of the darkness.

Flickers of light, footsteps, and the unexpected sounds of a servant’s bell can pierce the silent eeriness of these spaces, making this grand house feel somewhat awry.

You are encouraged to stay close to your guide as they lead you through these ghostly cellars, dark passages, and fire-damaged rooms, revealing stories and surprises that will make those childhood beliefs you thought you’d grown out of suddenly seem very real…

Calm your fears with hotdogs and refreshments at the Fitzroy Café before your experience begins.

When: October 21 -23, 28-31.Tours will depart at 6pm, 6:45pm, 7:45pm and 8:30pm.
Where: Castle Howard, York, YO60 7DA
Price and booking: Adults from £20. Book tickets here. Unfortunately, this experience uses narrow staircases and so is unsuitable for wheelchair users.

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Creepy caves, pumpkins and witches: half-term fun in the district

This article is sponsored by Berwins

With Halloween falling during October half-term, there is a seriously spooky theme to this year’s family activities across the district.

And with last year’s Halloween celebrations being pretty much cancelled due to the pandemic this year’s spooky season is bigger and better than ever.

So whether you fancy a trip to some dark, scary caves, some pumpkin picking on a farm or some ghostly fun in Harrogate town centre, we’ve put together a list of five places to take your little witches and wizards for some Halloween fun.

Birchfield Farm Pumpkin Festival

Pick your own pumpkins at Birchfield Farm.

When Birchfield Farm launched its Pumpkin Festival on October 2, I think most of Harrogate visited. My social media feeds were jam-packed with pumpkins in wheelbarrows and smiling faces.

Fortunately there are plenty of pumpkins to go around and you can visit everyday until Halloween.

A firm favourite with families across the district, including my own, there are also lots of activities to do on the farm so you can make a morning or afternoon of it.

After you have picked your pumpkin from the patch – and there really is a huge selection of all shapes and sizes – you then have the option of visiting the farm for £5 per person. Then take your kids for a homemade ice cream at the farm’s café, which is currently serving takeout food and drinks.

Activities include:

When: Everyday until October 31 from 10am until 4pm
Where: Birchfield Farm, Summerbridge, Harrogate, HG3 4JS
Price and booking: No booking is required for this event and the pumpkin patch is free to enter. Pumpkins are priced by size from £1 up to £12.The farmyard area is £5 per person, however this is optional. Under twos are free.

HarroScream 2021

Photo of plastic pumpkins at Sainsbury's

Enter Harrogate town centre if you dare this half-term…

Harrogate BID is pulling out all the spooky stops in the town centre to ensure residents and visitors can enjoy lots of Halloween fun during half-term.
Activities include:
When: Trail and photobooth: October 25 – 31, street entertainment: October 29 and 30, radio show: October 29
Where: Harrogate town centre
Price and booking: Free

Mother Shipton’s The Witching Hour

Mother Shipton’s is hosting The Witching Hour over half-term.

You know you’re in for a treat – or trick – when England’s oldest visitor attraction hosts a Halloween event, it is after all the birthplace of the famous prophetess.

It’s the witching hour at Mother Shipton’s. Deep in the spooky forest where the world-famous prophetess was said to have been born during a terrifying thunderstorm, the spirits are flying high. You may hear the cackle of old souls wandering the ancient woodland or feel a shiver down your spine as you step into the Haunted Halloween Village.

Suitable for all ages, watch out for witches, ghosts, and creepy skeletons around every corner. There’s frightful fun to be had with photo opportunities and fancy dress competitions. Share your spooktacular photos and inventive costumes on social media using the hashtag #mothershiptons to be in with the chance of winning prizes and tickets.

See the incredible Petrifying Well as it turns items to stone as if by magic. Become spellbound as you make a wish in the wicked wishing well, warm-up with refreshments and hot drinks served from the vintage-style coffee kiosk.

The park has scenic picnic areas alongside the River Nidd, an adventure playground, and a museum, featuring petrified celebrity items. Access to the adventure playground is subject to weather conditions.

When: October 23 – October 31 from 9.30am to 5.30pm (last admission 4pm)
Where: Mother Shipton’s Cave, Prophecy Lodge, High Bridge, Knaresborough, HG5 8DD
Price and booking: Booking is essential – click here to book

Stump Cross Caverns Halloween Half-term

Go on a Halloween trail at Stump Cross Caverns.

Head over to the atmospheric Stump Cross Caverns for some spooky goings on, including an extra special Halloween trail and a chance to meet ‘The Cavewoman’ and a fancy dress competition.

Spooky family films, including Casper and Scooby Doo, will be shown in the cinema room daily, with food and drink served from the Time Café to your seat for the ultimate Halloween experience.

From 3pm to 6pm every day during half-term and on Thursday until 8pm, you can also experience the caves as you have never seen them before with a self-guided torchlit ultraviolet tour.

When: October 22 – October 31 from 10am
Where: Greenhow Hill, Pateley Bridge, HG3 5JL
Price and booking: Click here to book

Stockeld Park Halloween Adventure

Stockeld Park has a new skeleton trail this half-term.

Stockeld Park is another firm family favourite and the Halloween festivities are always great fun.

As always, there will be lots of spellbinding surprises in store in the Enchanted Forest, and little ones will love to exploring the pumpkin patch and will be able to pick their very own pumpkin to take home. Every paying child will get to choose a free pumpkin.

Spooky real live characters will be dotted around the park, providing photo opportunities and fun interactions for families.

New for this year, skeletons have taken over Stockeld with the skeleton trail. You can also try your luck with a spot of graveyard golf – the attraction’s brand new Halloween mini golf, which is undercover so you can play whatever the weather.

There’s something suitably scary for all ages.

When: October 23 – October 31 from 10am until 5.30pm
Where: Stockeld Park, Wetherby, LS22 4AN
Price and booking: Prices vary. Online pre-booking is essential – click here to book
Harrogate man’s mission to grow record-breaking jumbo pumpkins

Harrogate man Nick Bailey is on a mission to grow jumbo-sized pumpkins at his Bilton allotment.

The scaffolder, who is 59, has been visiting Pine Street Allotments in Bilton every night for almost 30 years tending to his fruit and vegetables.

It’s not just super-sized pumpkins he grows: he has previously cultivated a 2lb tomato and a two-and-a-half-stone marrow.

Mr Bailey said:

“I just love it. It’s peaceful on an evening with a glass of wine.”

He has a couple of promisingly large pumpkins that will be ready for harvesting in October. He hopes one of them will beat his personal record, which weighed 7st 6lbs.

“I’m trying to beat my record this year. I just like the size of them”.

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With the signs looking good for this year, Mr Bailey hopes to enter the competitive pumpkin circuit and try and win a prize for his efforts.

He is inspired by the United States, where giant fruit and vegetable competitions are big business.

In 2013, one pumpkin seed from the then world record pumpkin, which weighed close to a tonne, fetched $1,600 at auction.

Mr Bailey said it’s not possible to grow giant pumpkins organically but wouldn’t divulge his top-secret tricks when asked.

He said:

“I’m not telling you! It’s taken me years to do it!”

Pumpkins take over Pannal for Halloween

The 1st Pannal Scout Group is organising a pumpkin parade this Halloween instead of traditional trick or treat activities.

The parade is the scouts’ way of encouraging people to celebrate Halloween in a socially distanced manner.

The group is encouraging Pannal residents to carve, draw or paint pumpkins and then display them in windows or gardens. 

Pumpkin locations can then be shared on the scouts’ map, allowing families to follow the trail around the Pannal and Burn Bridge area every night of half term. 

Winners for the scariest and funniest pumpkins, and the best dressed Halloween garden, will be announced. To be in with a chance, share your creation on the Pannal Scouts Facebook page. 

The Scouts have shared some ideas to get your creative juices flowing below:

pumpkin

pumpkins

pumpkins

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