Trick or treat? Here's a selection of fun and spooky things to do in Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth this Halloween

Leamington

A spooktacular Halloween treasure hunt is set to return to Leamington town centre with lots of fabulous prizes valued at over £1,000 to be won!

BID Leamington’s annual ‘Pumpkin Path’ will see participants hunt for clues in the windows of shops, cafes, and restaurants across the town centre between Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, November 1 for the chance to win a host of prizes generously donated by Leamington businesses.

This year’s frightfully fun family event will feature three trails, with participants tasked with finding an orange pumpkin in each shop window containing a letter clue. Once the trail is completed, the letters will reveal the location of the ‘Giant Pumpkin Stack’, where entry forms can be posted.

Alison Shaw, Project Manager at BID Leamington, said: “The Pumpkin Path is now in its eleventh year and remains a fantastic annual event enjoyed by hundreds of families.

"It’s a wonderful opportunity to get into the Halloween spirit while rediscovering town centre’s businesses, or even finding some new favourites.

"The event is always very well supported by our local businesses, and we are thrilled to be offering some incredible prizes valued at over £1,000.

"We hope everyone has fun taking part in this year’s event, gathering the clues to find the location of our Pumpkin Stack post box.”

The competition will close on Sunday, November 1 at 4.30pm.

Entries can also be posted to BID Leamington, 35c Park Court, Park Street, Leamington, CV32 4QN, with the closing date for postal entries being Wednesday, November 4.

For adults, things will be getting very freaky at Bongo’s Bingo in Leamington this Halloween.

There’s a spectral-tacular taking place at The Assembly on Friday October 30 with thrills, magic and mayhem - all part of Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun event.

Jonny Bongo, Bongo’s Bingo’s co-founder, says: “Halloween is one of our favourite themes and we always love how creative everyone gets with their outfits.

“We will be packing our shows all over the UK with our relentless bingo energy and some spine-tingling terror for good measure.

"These shows are always absolutely amazing fun and we can’t wait to get stuck into the action for Halloween.”

Tickets are available here: https://bongosbingo.co.uk/locations/leamington-spa

Warwick

Pumpkins will be popping up across Warwick this October half term as part of a programme of Halloween-themed events featuring everything from haunted houses and ghost stories to crafts, trails, markets and family activities.

The town is once again running a week of Halloween activities from Monday October 26 to Saturday October 31.

This year’s theme is pumpkins, with the town centre getting into the spirit with a pumpkin trail and Halloween window displays, alongside a free pumpkin giveaway in the market square on Tuesday October 27, a pumpkin carriage, spooky cars, a ‘terrifying town crier’, a ‘monstrous mayor’ and plenty of interactive games and activities.

One of the key events of the week will be a Twilight Halloween Market in the market square the Friday, featuring a magic show, family disco, Spin the Wheel, singers, stilt walkers, fire breathers and more from 3pm to 8pm.

Attendees are also being encouraged to wear Halloween costumes, with prizes up for grabs.

Here’s what else is happening across Warwick

A free Family Craft Day at Warwick’s Visitor Information Centre on the Monday will offer the chance to make Halloween and autumn wreaths, trick-or-treat bags and spooky monsters, while Chase Meadow Crafting Group will host free family crafting on Wednesday.

Warwick Town Council has also created a free town centre pumpkin trail with maps available from the Visitor Information Centre, which will run from Monday October 26 to October 31 – giving people the chance to explore all the hidden corners of Warwick and take in all of its Halloween-themed shop fronts.

At Hill Close Gardens, younger visitors can take part in a Ghost Trail on Monday October 26, complete with dressing up, spooky dancing, a ghost hunt and biscuit decorating, while older children aged 10 to 14 can get creative at a pebble-painting workshop the following day.

On Thursday October 29, the gardens will mark Hedgehog Day with trails, crafts and story time for younger children.

Over at St John’s House, the Jacobean Mansion’s Haunted House will offer an immersive family adventure featuring potions, slime, messy play, crafts and storytelling on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

On Thursday, Lush will also be at the Visitor Information Centre making free bath bombs (limited to one per child) and selling their Halloween range.

For adults, there will also be two paid-for events on offer at the Visitor Information Centre – a pumpkin floral arrangement workshop on Wednesday evening and a seasonal alchemy gin tasting event on Friday.

And throughout the week, visitors can hunt for Halloween books at Warwick Books, take on a haunted trail at the Market Hall Museum and explore the darker side of Warwick on a Weird Walks of Warwick Halloween ghost tour.

At the historic Lord Leycester, kids go free over half-term, which will also include free crafting sessions.

A Halloween Art Cart session is also on offer from 10.30am to 3pm on Tuesday and the spooky tours also return in October.

Kelly Scott, Warwick town centre manager, said: “With its hidden corners and rich history, Warwick is an atmospheric place at this time of year anyway, so it’s the perfect place for people at Halloween.

“This year pumpkins are taking over the town, with literally something for everyone regardless of their age.

“There are free activities, crafts and trails for younger children, some slightly spookier experiences for older families, evening events for adults and, of course, our Twilight Halloween Market.

“We want people to come into Warwick, explore the town and make a day of it.

“They can follow the pumpkin trail, join in with an activity, visit one of our brilliant attractions, stop for something to eat and discover some of the independent shops and businesses along the way.

“You certainly don’t have to wait until Halloween itself - there is something happening every day this October half-term.”

The Halloween programme runs across Warwick from Monday October 26 to Saturday October 31, with a mixture of free and ticketed events.

Advanced booking is required for some activities.

For more details, times and booking information, go to: https://www.visitwarwick.co.uk/events/category/warwick-wide-events

Warwick Castle will be hosting a number of Halloween-themed events and attractions during the half-term including a scarecrow disco, the Haunted Hollows trail and live family shows at the Dead Centre Stage.

To find out more and for tickets visit https://www.warwick-castle.com/explore/events/the-haunted-castle/

Hatton Adventure World will also again be hosting events and attractions for Halloween including pumpkin picking and spooky shows.

To find out more about Hatton’s Halloween Spooktacular visit https://adventure.hattonworld.com/whats-on/halloween-spooktacular-hatton-adventure-world/

Kenilworth

Kenilworth Books is teaming up with an award-winning local horror author for a series of spooky events this Halloween, and you’re invited to come along…if you dare!

The Talisman Square-based book shop will host a series of talks, events and a special Saturday signing session during the week leading up to Halloween, which also happens to be October half term.

This special, seasonal, takeover is a collaboration between the book shop and Kenilworth horror author and YouTuber Dave Musson, who was named the Bookstagram Awards author of the year in 2024 and sets many of his own stories in a fictional version of Kenilworth.

First, on Tuesday 27 October, Dr Jen Baker from the University of Warwick will be in store to discuss the history of horror fiction.

An Associate Professor in Warwick’s English department, Jen specialises in gothic literature.

She will walk people through the history of the genre, distill what a gothic story really is, and take questions from the audience.

Jen’s talk will run from 6-7pm - it will be free to attend but you will need to order a ticket from the book shop’s website.

The spooky fun continues on Wednesday 28 October, when the book shop’s monthly Book Club also leans into the season.

October’s book is Welsh author Liam Higginson’s debut novel The Hill in the Dark Grove - a haunting folk novel set in the mountains of North Wales.

Liam will join the book club remotely to talk about the inspiration behind the novel and answer questions.

There will also be plenty of family Halloween fun on offer in the shop throughout the week.

Specifically, there will be spooky crafting on Monday 26 October from 1-2pm, storytime with Debs on Wednesday 28 October from 2-3pm, a ghostly Pokemon swap on Thursday 29 October from noon-1pm, and calming colouring on Friday 30 October from 10-11am.

All of these events are free, and there is no need to book - just drop in.

Finally, on Halloween itself - Saturday 31 October - the haunted week will draw to a close with a special Saturday signing with Dave Musson, who will be selling and signing copies of A Nice Place to Live - a special book that gathers his four novellas about his fictional version of Kenilworth into an exclusive, numbered edition that will only be available in Kenilworth Books. He will also be signing copies of his award-winning short story collection Once More Round the Sun from 2024, which is also set in his version of Kenilworth.

Speaking about the collaboration, Dave Musson said: “I’m so excited to team up with Kenilworth Books for what will be a fantastic celebration of horror fiction and all things spooky as we head towards Halloween.

"As a horror junkie, this is obviously my favourite time of year, so I’m truly grateful that my favourite book shop was happy to let me curate this programme with them.

"I can’t wait to hear all of the talks and look forward to meeting plenty of people during my book signing too.”

Charlotte Jennings from Kenilworth Books added: “We are super excited to partner up with Dave, a long time customer of ours and horror expert for our ‘Spooky Takeover Week’.

"We haven’t done anything like this in the shop before but we can’t wait to get stuck in and we hope people enjoy it.”

For more details about the Kenilworth Books Halloween season of events and to book tickets for any of them, head to https://www.kenilworthbooks.co.uk/events/.

Kenilworth Castle will be hosting The Great Pumpkin Party from Saturday (October 24) to Sunday November 1.

Gather your little monsters for a ghoulishly good day out.

Join the Great Pumpkin Party as Kenilworth Castle celebrates the season with family activities and entertainment.

There will be interactive storytelling and spooky games, as well as a themed trail and a seasonal selfie spot.

And it would not be Halloween without costumes, so don't forget to come dressed for the occasion.

Join in the daily fancy dress competition and you might just win a prize.

For more information about this event and other autumn days out at the castle visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/whats-on/autumn-days-out/

Ryton Pools

From spooky campfire cooking and wildlife workshops to magical crafts and family-friendly trails, there are lots of opportunities for children to learn new skills, get creative and enjoy the great outdoors at Ryton Pools Country Park during the school holidays.

To find out more and to book places visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/october-half-term-warwickshire-country-parks-1192599/