Herts schools break 26 to 30 October 2026. Museum workshops from £6.50, a Roman emperor at Verulamium, Willows Pumpkin Festival from £20.95, Odyssey films.
October half term for Hertfordshire’s state schools is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. St Albans School and St Albans High School for Girls break a week earlier, from Sunday 18 October to Sunday 1 November. The week ends with Halloween on the Saturday, which is why the biggest local event, Willows Activity Farm’s Pumpkin Festival, runs right up to 31 October.
The quick answer
Updated 16 October: St Albans Museums has published its half-term programme, with workshops from £6.50 and free drop-in Roman visitors at Verulamium, and the Odyssey has listed its half-term films. Willows prices rechecked, unchanged.
- Half term is 26 to 30 October 2026 for Hertfordshire schools; the two big independents are off from 18 October to 1 November (Hertfordshire County Council term dates; school-by-school dates)
- Willows Pumpkin Festival runs on 10 and 11, 17 and 18, and 23 to 31 October; adults and children over 90cm pay £20.95 to £22.95 plus a 75p booking fee, and every paying child picks a free pumpkin (Willows Activity Farm; Willows tickets)
- Verulamium Museum is open 10am to 4pm every day and St Albans district residents pay £8 an adult, £4 a child, £18 a family, with an annual pass thrown in (Verulamium Museum)
- The museums run a workshop or a Roman visitor every weekday of half term, from a £6.50 mask-making session in town to a £15 mosaic workshop at Verulamium (St Albans Museums, October half term)
Willows Pumpkin Festival, to 31 October
Willows’ autumn event is the one most local families plan the week around. The farm lists the 2026 dates as “10th/ 11th, 17th/ 18th and 23rd to 31st October”, so it covers both the independent schools’ half term and the county one. The ticket includes pumpkin picking and a pumpkin hunt, arts and crafts, a Halloween maze, character shows, a disco, tractor rides, Peter Rabbit meet and greets, adventure golf and the farmyard and adventure play areas.
Prices on the farm’s booking site, rechecked 16 October and unchanged since 25 September:
- Adult (16 and over): £20.95 to £22.95 plus 75p booking fee, and adults must be with a child to visit
- Child 90cm and over: £20.95 to £22.95 plus 75p, with a free pumpkin from the patch
- Child under 90cm: free plus the 75p fee, or £2.95 plus the fee if they want to pick a pumpkin too
- Essential companion tickets are free with an Access Card
Members do not need to book; everyone else selects a date and time slot online. The lower price applies to quieter dates, so the booking calendar is worth a look before settling on a day.
Verulamium Museum and the free museum in town
Verulamium Museum is open Monday to Sunday, 10am to 4pm, last admission 3.30pm. Standard tickets are £10 an adult, £5 a child, £23 for a family and free under five; St Albans district residents pay £8, £4 and £18. Since 31 July 2026 every paid ticket includes an annual pass at no extra cost, so a half-term visit covers the year.
St Albans Museum + Gallery on the Market Place has free general admission (St Albans Museums what’s on), and the Clock Tower is the third of the trio. Verulamium Park around the museum is free: the lake, the Roman wall and the hypocaust.
Both museums have explorer trails, dressing up and giant jigsaws every day of the week. The museums’ half-term page lists the programme on top of that.
At Verulamium Museum (museum admission applies):
| Day | What | Times | Cost and ages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 26 Oct | A Visit from the Roman Emperor: meet “Emperor Trajan” | 10.30am to 3.30pm, drop in | Included with admission, all ages |
| Mon 26 Oct | Mosaic Making Workshop with a local artist | 10.15am, 11.15am, 12.15pm | £15 a participant, does not include admission, age 5+ |
| Tue 27 to Fri 30 Oct | Archaeology for Families: record genuine finds | 10.30am to 12.30pm, drop in | Included with admission, age 7+ |
| Thu 29 Oct | Marcus Servilius Seneca on life in the Roman army | 10.30am to 3.30pm, drop in | Included with admission, all ages |
A new exhibition, A Day in the Life of Verulamium, opens on 26 October and runs to 28 February, included with entry.
At St Albans Museum + Gallery (free entry; workshops booked):
| Day | Workshop | Times | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 27 Oct | Bag Decorating | 10.15am and 11.30am | £7.50 a participant |
| Wed 28 Oct | Still Life: draw your own composition | 10.15am and 11.30am | £6.50 a participant |
| Thu 29 Oct | Mask Making, for fun or for Halloween | 10.15am and 11.30am | £6.50 a participant |
All three town workshops are for ages 5 and up. Every child must come with an adult, and adults can book a place of their own. The Still Life session draws on Still Lives, the museum’s new exhibition, which opens on 23 October.
Theatre and the Arena
- Abbey Theatre: The 39 Steps in the Studio runs 16 to 24 October, inside the independents’ half term, and Stage Two 2026, new writing from the Company of Ten’s writers’ group, is on 29 and 30 October (Abbey Theatre what’s on)
- The Alban Arena: evening shows that week are Susan Calman on Sunday 25 October, Queenz: Battle of the Divas on Thursday 29 October, Thank You For the Music, an ABBA tribute, on Friday 30 October, and the Soulfish charity concert on Saturday 31 October, all at 7.30pm (The Alban Arena). The panto does not start until 4 December; details on our pantomime page
- The Odyssey has a Halloween run of older family favourites that week: Hocus Pocus from Monday 26 October, Ghostbusters from Tuesday 27 and The Addams Family from Wednesday 28. The new Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom starts on Thursday 29 October (Odyssey Pictures)
Harpenden that week
- Saturday 24 October, 11am to noon: Opening of the Field of Remembrance at the War Memorial on Church Green, the Royal British Legion’s ceremony that also launches the Poppy Appeal (Harpenden Town Council)
- Sunday 25 October, from 10am: Farmers’ Market in the town centre (Harpenden Town Council calendar)
St Albans Cathedral
The cathedral is open daily from 9am to 5pm, entrance through the Welcome Centre in Sumpter Yard (St Albans Cathedral, visit). Its events listing had no half-term family programme published when we checked; its Christmas season, starting with the Advent Procession on 29 November, is on our cathedral at Christmas page.
Getting there and parking
Verulamium’s car park is the cheapest for the museum and park. Our parking in St Albans page has every council tariff, and the roadworks page carries the A414 and M1 closures that can catch out a trip to Willows.
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