Bluebell's Ghost Train runs 22 October to 1 November from £21 a child, Blackberry Farm's pumpkins are £6.75, and Hever's trail is free with entry. Full dates.

Halloween falls on Saturday 31 October this year, the last weekend of the East Sussex half term (24 October to 1 November). Crowborough itself has no council Halloween event: the town council’s 2026 events programme has nothing between now and its fireworks on 5 November. So the choice is out of town, and most of it is within a half-hour drive.

Everything below was read from each organiser’s own website on 3 October 2026.

The quick answer

  • Most talked about: the Bluebell Railway’s Ghost Train, 22 October to 1 November from Sheffield Park, adults from £42 and children from £21. The railway warns it will sell out
  • Cheapest pumpkin patch nearby: Blackberry Farm at Whitesmith, £6.75 a pumpkin, 24 October to 1 November
  • Biggest pumpkin fields: Tulleys at Turners Hill, open daily from 15 October, pumpkins £1 to £25 by size
  • Free with entry: Hever Castle’s Mad Scientists trail, 17 October to 1 November
  • In Crowborough itself: the miniature railway’s after-dark Halloween running, date not yet posted by the railway

At a glance

Dates What Where Price
Selected days to 31 Oct Pumpkin festival, pick your own Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Pumpkins £1 to £25
26 nights from 2 Oct Shocktober Fest scare park Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill From £42.95
17 Oct to 1 Nov Halloween Half Term Fun Hever Castle Included with admission
22 Oct to 1 Nov The Ghost Train Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park Adults from £42, children from £21
24 Oct to 1 Nov Spook-tacular Halloween, pumpkin patch Blackberry Farm, Whitesmith Pumpkins £6.75
24 Oct to 1 Nov Shriek Week Drusillas, Alfriston See Drusillas
24 Oct to 1 Nov “What Scares You?” trail Wilderness Wood, Hadlow Down No need to book
From 24 Oct Half Term Horrors Knockhatch, Hailsham See Knockhatch
Fri 30 Oct Halloween Slice Wilderness Wood See listing
Fri 30 Oct Isfield and Little Horsted bonfire Isfield Free

The Ghost Train, Bluebell Railway

The Ghost Train returns after what the railway calls “a sell-out first year”, with a new story and a longer run: 22 October to 1 November. It starts and ends at Sheffield Park station (TN22 3QL), where parking is free.

How the evening runs, in the railway’s own timings:

  • the station opens from 4.30pm, with food and drink on sale; arrive no later than 6pm
  • at 6.15pm everyone gathers on Platform One for the opening scene
  • the train leaves Sheffield Park at 6.30pm and reaches Horsted Keynes at about 6.55pm, where you roam the station as the story plays out
  • it leaves Horsted Keynes at 8.10pm and is back at Sheffield Park at about 8.25pm

Tickets are adults from £42 and children from £21. The railway rates it PG: “not a jump-scare attraction, but it is spooky and can be frightening in places”, designed for families with older children and adults. Under 16s must be with a parent or guardian. There are loud noises, pyrotechnics and flashing lights, no prams, no babies in arms, and no dogs other than guide dogs. Much of it is on open platforms, so dress for the weather. The railway says it cannot refund anyone who misses the departure.

Pumpkin picking

Blackberry Farm, Whitesmith

Blackberry Farm Park (BN8 6JD, off the A22 between Uckfield and Hailsham) runs its “Spook-tacular” Halloween from 24 October to 1 November:

  • pick your own pumpkin patch, £6.75 a pumpkin; wellies recommended
  • pumpkin carving, £10.75, including the pumpkin, booked on the day
  • children aged 2 to 16 get half-price entry in fancy dress, which must be worn on arrival
  • a scarecrow trail tractor ride, a Halloween barrel ride (over 3s), a Mystery Maze that the farm says younger children may find scary, and face painting (price to be confirmed)

Tulleys Pumpkin Festival, Turners Hill

Tulleys (RH10 4PD) claims 1.5 million pumpkins and has a new Pumpkin Valley this year. Its 2026 calendar shows the daytime festival open on 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 October, then every day from 15 to 31 October. Hours are 9.30am to 5.30pm until 24 October and 9.30am to 5pm from 25 October. 15 October is a dog day. On Sunday 1 November the season ends with a Pumpkin Nights evening, 4pm to 11pm, with fireworks at 7.15pm.

Tickets are timed and booked online. Pumpkins are priced by size ring, £1 to £25, and you get a wheelbarrow to move them. Dogs on leads are welcome; under 16s must be with an adult (Tulleys FAQs).

Half term days out with a Halloween theme

Wilderness Wood, Hadlow Down

The nearest of the lot, on the A272. Wilderness Wood (TN22 4HJ) is open every day of half term, 10am to 4pm, with a special “What Scares You?” trail: build a giant spider’s web, find the woods’ night-time animals “and celebrate not being dead”. No need to book. Bookable extras:

  • Monster Mayhem crafting afternoon, Thursday 29 October, 1.30pm to 3.30pm, £12.50 a child, £10 for each extra child
  • Halloween Slice, Friday 30 October, 10am to 4pm, wood-fired pizza and spooky activities (more details to come), with a free-ticket mud-kitchen disco for little ones at 10.30am
  • a Members’ Halloween Party, Friday 30 October, 4.30pm to 6.30pm, with a fright hike into the dark woods, £5 a head, for members and their guests

Hever Castle

Hever Castle runs Spooktacular Science from 17 October to 1 November, all included with admission: a Mad Scientists trail through the grounds (trail closes 4pm) with sweets for solving the puzzle, a goggles craft in the Garden Exhibition from 11am to 4pm, and Dr Frankenstein’s Science Adventure Show at 11.30am, 12.30pm, 2pm and 3pm. Face painting is on selected dates.

Drusillas, Alfriston

Shriek Week runs 24 October to 1 November. The event page gives the dates only; the show times are on our October half term page.

Knockhatch, Hailsham

Half Term Horrors at Knockhatch Adventure Park (BN27 3GD) has two scare mazes rated 12A, Charlie Shaw’s Revenge and Biometrix (11am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm), a Hansel and Gretel big top circus show at 12.30pm, 2pm and 4pm, a spooky owl show at 1pm, and Halloween crafts. On Tuesday 27 October Sussex Police and the fire service bring vehicles and uniforms to try on. Knockhatch knocks money off for booking online at least 24 hours ahead.

Check the end date before you go: the event page says 24 to 31 October, while Knockhatch’s own events list says 24 to 30 October.

Shocktober Fest: for teenagers and adults

Tulleys’ night-time Shocktober Fest is a scare park, not a family pumpkin day. It opened on 2 October for 26 nights, including Halloween night itself. The park opens at 4.30pm and the haunts run 5.30pm to 11.30pm. Passes start at £42.95, and fast-track bundles cost more; parking is free.

Is there anything in Crowborough itself?

Two things, neither a council event:

  • Crowborough Miniature Railway at Goldsmiths Recreation Ground (Eridge Road) says on its own site that its programme “includes our popular Halloween running after dark”. It has not posted a 2026 date yet. Event listing sites give Saturday 31 October, but until the Crowborough Locomotive Society confirms it, treat that as unconfirmed. Normal Saturday rides are £1, or £4 for a day rover, and run until Bonfire Night.
  • The Isfield and Little Horsted bonfire on Friday 30 October is free and the only bonfire society night in half term. Every local bonfire date is on our fireworks page.

What is still to be confirmed

  • the Crowborough Miniature Railway’s Halloween date and times
  • prices for Drusillas Shriek Week and Knockhatch, both sold through booking systems, and Blackberry Farm’s face painting
  • Knockhatch’s last day, 30 or 31 October
  • the detail of Wilderness Wood’s Halloween Slice, “more info to follow”

We will update this page as organisers publish.

Getting there

Most of these are a drive, and half term traffic around the A22 and A26 is heavy at weekends. Check our Crowborough roadworks and travel page before you set off, and parking in Crowborough if you are staying in town.

Also on Crowborough Today

Sources