Mother Shipton’s Cave to open late for HalloweenMother Shipton’s Cave is set to open late for the first time as part of Halloween celebrations.
The Knaresborough attraction is hosting a Hocus Pocus themed event, which includes wicked witches, a wacky wizard and a spooky woodland.
To conclude the Halloween celebrations, Mother Shipton’s will be open until 8.30pm tonight.
The last admission will be at 7pm.
A spokesperson for Mother Shipton’s Cave said:
“The team at Mother Shipton’s have decided to conclude their event with a late night opening on Halloween – visitors will have the chance to see the spooky woodland lit up after dark and cast spells with the witches and wizard on All Hallows’ Eve itself.
“So if you’re looking for a safe and family-friendly alternative to ‘Trick or Treating’ tomorrow, this Halloween adventure could be the perfect way to celebrate.”
Tickets for the Halloween event can be booked online here at the Mother Shipton’s website.
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Hairdresser’s spooktacular display wins Knaresborough Halloween contestThe spooktacular display at Claro Hair Stylists in Knaresborough has been crowned the winner of the town’s Halloween window competition.
The impressive window on the High Street includes potion bottles, cauldrons and spell books, which have been created by owner Sue Orr.
The competition, organised by Knaresborough Business Collective, is being run alongside the Halloween scarecrow trail.
Annie Wilkinson-Gill, from The Crystal Buddha, who launched the not-for-profit business group with Natalie Horner, from Sid Horner and Son said:
“Sue was thrilled to have won.
“This is our third window competition through the business collective and the turnout has been great. Lots of businesses decorated their windows in the run up to Halloween. It really creates a buzz in town and people love looking at all the displays.
They all looked spectacular, especially alongside the scarecrow trail, which has done so well and brought a lot of people into Knaresborough. We’ve sold hundreds of maps for the trail. We did have some vandalism on the first night, but since then it’s more than made up for it.”
The Halloween scarecrow trail runs until Sunday.
Spooky castles, pumpkins and haunted houses: Halloween fun in the districtHalloween 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:
- A huge carving barn where you can create your pumpkin masterpieces
- Bouncy castles
- Play equipment
- A 6-acre maize maze
- A spooky woodland walk
- Animals
- A giant bale mountain
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.
Knaresborough gets into the spirit of Halloween with spooky window displays and scarecrow trailKnaresborough businesses are gearing up for Halloween with a spooky-themed scarecrow trail and window decoration competition.
Scary displays are already starting to appear in shop windows in the historic market town, including Sid Horner and Son and Claro Hairstyles.
The competition, organised by the Knaresborough Business Collective, is being run alongside the Halloween scarecrow trail, which starts on October 21.
Natalie Horner, from Sid Horner and Son, who launched the not-for-profit business group with Annie Wilkinson-Gill, from The Crystal Buddha, said:
“We are running the competition following the huge success of our spring and jubilee window competitions.
“It is aimed at making the town look amazing for our exciting scarecrow trail. The trail will feature 28 scarecrows around Knaresborough, which people can find on a map.
“They are all sponsored and made by businesses and they will all be themed based on what would suit their business. For example, we have a hairdresser doing an Edward Scissorhands scarecrow.”
The entrance to Sid Horner and Son, which has an impressive spooky Halloween window display.
Ms Horner and her team have been working on a Halloween window at Sid Horner and Son for the last few weeks and is inviting people to have a look.
She said:
“We are a bit tucked away on Finkle Keep. It is made from old printer parts and has lots of little surprises.”
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Author on the hunt for Harrogate ghost storiesThe man behind Harrogate’s first ghost walk is writing a book about spooky tales in the town — and he needs your help finding stories to include.
Paul Forster launched his ghost walk last year, offering an evening excursion around Harrogate’s most haunted locations.
The one-hour trail takes in The Alexandra pub, The Crown Hotel and Hales Bar, among other places.
One of his favourite stories is the time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author behind the Sherlock Holmes novels, held a seance at The Harrogate Club on Victoria Avenue.
Mr Forster has now found a publisher for a book of Harrogate ghost stories and he wants people to submit their tales from the other side.
Since starting his ghost walk, Mr Forster said he’s encountered several unexplained phenomena, including what he believes was an apparition taunting him at the Turkish Baths.
He said:
“I saw a woman’s body peeking out from a cubicle, I went to the cubicle, but nobody was there. The door shut on its own then I heard a woman’s voice that went ‘ha!’ really loud. It freaked me out.
“There was a young member of staff there who said she had heard the same ‘ha!'”
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Mr Forster is particularly interested in ghost stories about Windsor House, a large building that overlooks Valley Gardens. It used to be the Grand Hotel during Harrogate’s Victorian heyday.
He said:
“At Windsor House there was a woman who stepped into a lift but it wasn’t there, so she fell to her death in the lift shaft. She’s been seen lots of times. There is also ghost children running down the corridors there and unusual orbs of light. There must be more stories.”
Mr Forster said Harrogate is a hotbed of ghostly activity due to its Victorian past.
He added:
“People kept saying to me there are no ghosts in Harrogate, you need to go to York, but a lot of the ghosts came here from the Victorian era and World War One. Tourists from all over the world left an imprint behind with both fond or bad memories.
“There’s the ghost of a Victorian gent in the Pump Room museum. He’s dressed like a tourist in bowler hat and can be seen disappearing through the wall.”
Do you have any ghost stories? Email Paul Forster here or message him on Facebook.
