October Half Term in Keswick 2024
Keswick Museum
Super Scary Tealight Holders
29th and 31st October
Using clay, you will learn how to make and decorate a hauntingly delightful Halloween masterpiece. (One battery powered tealight included)
£6.50 per crafter
Wordsworth Grasmere
Twilight Tales in Dove Cottage
Listen to spooky stories and have fun with Halloween crafts.
Multiple Dates over Half Term
One Ticker Per Family - £18
Lakeland Hauntings
Keswick Ghost Walks
Delving into the county’s past has been intriguing and more than a little disturbing at times with revelations of the imaginative, foolhardy, grotesque and downright stupid ways people in this county have found to bump themselves, and each other, off over the years.
Calvert Stables
Autumn Kids Club
13th & 29th October
- Each session is 2 hours long.
- As well as having a ride you will learn about taking care of your pony’s needs
- £38.50 PP
Rheged Centre
Making Space
Open daily, session time 10am & 1pm
Visit our Making Space to create your own décopatch model, using glue, patterned papers and imagination. Booking essential.
Indoor Play
Open daily, 10am-4pm
The play area is suitable for those up to eight-years-old, or 4ft 6ins in height. Entry costs £5 for 1-8 years & £2.50 for under 1s per session.
Opening hours are from 10am - 1pm and 1:30pm - 4pm. Entry is permitted anytime within the sessions. During half term and school holidays, 1 hour play slots will be available, booking is advised.
Keswick Climbing Wall
Indoor Rock Climbing & Bouldering
The Wall caters for both novices and experienced climbers. With qualified and experienced staff. Moreover, the expertise of the staff ensure that visitors’ safety is always the top priority. The Climbing Wall offers something for everyone, regardless of the weather or your age.
Free all-day parking and a cafe on-site
Lake District Wildlife Park
Halloween Event
Children in fancy dress get free entry into the Park for Halloween! Follow the pumpkin trail around the Park to see our animals enjoying a pumpkin of their own. If you dare enter the scary skeleton circle and have a peek in the witches cauldron. Come and meet the witch and she may share some of her favourite spells. A fun day out for all.
Lake District Wildlife Park
Cumbria Wildlife Week
28th Oct - 3rd Nov
A week of fun to celebrate Cumbria’s native wildlife. Join us and various other conservation organisations to learn all about nature friendly farming, rewilding, habitat restoration and wildlife conservation. Fun activities include planting acorns, making leaf people and animal masks. Interactive games include: Whose Poo, Whose Feather, Which Tree and Whose Footprint.
Cafe HNW
Halloween Park Trail
26th Oct - 2nd Nov
Find the clues in Upper Fitz Park to spell a spooky word and win a prize.
Tickets £3
Rheged Centre
The Royal Opera
Wolf Witch Giant Fairy
27th October 2pm
Rating - 12A
Join Red Riding Hood on her quest to deliver bread to her Grandmother, but who will she meet along the way?
Rheged Centre
English National Ballet
Swan Lake
2nd November - 1:30pm
Rating - PG
Filmed live on stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and featuring Tchaikovsky’s glorious score performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic, this epic in-the-round staging of Swan Lake is perfect for both dedicated fans and first-time ballet goers.
Rheged Centre
Live Show
Cartoon Circus
28th October - 11am & 2pm
The one hour family show features some of Britain's funniest clowns, traditional slapstick comedy, magic, illusions, the amazing girl in the spinning bottle, cartoon characters, plate spinning, an acrobatic human slinky, puppets, prizes and surprises.
Mirehouse & Gardens
Open until Sunday 3rd November
Gardens open every day - Adventure play on Squirrel Island, The Steeplechase and Forest Castle and The Forest Hazard Course
House open Wednesday & Thursday Afternoons - take on the Owl Trail or Family Quiz in the house
Or go for a walk through the grounds down to Bassenthwaite Lake
Under 4's go free
Wordsworth House & Gardens
Ghoulish ghouls or beastly boggarts
26th Oct - 3rd Nov
After exploring the house and getting into the spirit of a Georgian all Hallows eve, get creative by making yourself something scary to wear or decorate the house!
Booking not required
Spooky Cumbrian Stories by the fire
30th October
Honister Slate Mine
Kids go FREE with any paying adult on the Mine Tours
Explore England's only working slate mine and take on an adventure of your own on one of their many activities.
A great rainy day activity with the whole family is the Mine Tours
Rocqua Adventures
Take on the ultimate rock and water adventures this half term!
Local Rocqua guides, will get you climbing, abseiling, ghyll scrambling, paddle boarding and canyoning your way through the beautiful Lake District, come rain or shine! We cater for various group sizes, whether you’re looking for a family day out with the kids, a couple’s weekend away, a daring stag or hen party, or just an exhilarating day out with your mates. It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 or 80 years old, we’ve got the activity for you!
Keswick Park Hotel
Halloween Costume Contest
Monsters, skeletons, witches, ghouls, at the Keswick Park, we'd love to see it all
Prize available for the spookiest costume in town!!
To enter simply send us a photo of yourself in costume visiting our hotel
Rules:
- Photo must be taken either outside or inside of our hotel, we are on the corner of Station Road next to the pedestrian crossing.
- No age restriction, both young and old encouraged!
Email your photo and details to [email protected]
Winner will be selected and notified by the 5th November.
Theatre by the Lake
Saturday 2nd November 7:30pm
| This seven-piece swing band have become renowned worldwide for their high-energy live show and appeared in over 40 countries including the USA |
Tickets are £25 from the box office at Theatre By the Lake or buy them online
Head to the Park
We've a choice of outdoor play areas around Keswick. Fitz Park, close to the town centre, has a fantastic children's playground, outdoor gym, a multi use games area and BMX track as well as a large open recreational area. There are also grass tennis courts and a putting green. At the other end of town, close to the lake, Hope Park has crazy golf, putting, a pitch and putt course and remote controlled boats. Whinlatter Forest Park, just outside Keswick, has a wonderful adventure playground laid out as a trail through the forest where children can explore the natural environment. It includes an archimedes screw, secret doors in trees and a series of pulleys to move millions of little pebbles. Nearby at Mirehouse Historic House the grounds are home to four woodland adventure playgrounds and a heather path maze in the Bee Garden.
Go for a Walk
Take a look at our Family Walks page where you'll find a selection of routes from buggy friendly walks for young families to more challenging routes for those with older children.
The multi-user railway trail between Keswick and Threlkeld allows families of all ages to get out together as you can use the path on foot, bike, scooter, buggy and wheelchair. There are lots of information panels along the way where you find out more about local nature and wildlife as well as the history of the railway.
Head up to Whinlatter Forest, England’s only true mountain forest, where you'll find walking trails of varying lengths to suit all abilities
Take a Walk on the Wildside
Take a walk with an alpaca, a unique chance to bond with one of the Alpacas as you lead them, feed them and even take them for a dip in the lake. Alpaca Meet and Greets are great for all the family, lasting around half an hour and allowing you to get up close.
Or spend the day at the Lake District Wildlife Park - see over 100 species of wild and domestic animals in 24 acres of parkland set amongst breath-taking scenery. There are birds of prey and a rare breed farm animal collection. Play areas, picnic sites and a café make it a fun day out for all the family.
Indoor Fun
Head to Puzzling Place, a world of optical Illusions. Be amazed by interactive illusion exhibits, artwork and sculptures and see balls roll uphill in the anti-gravity room.
At the Derwent Pencil Museum discover the history of pencil making and see the world's largest pencil. Visit Keswick Museum where you'll find digital activities and engaging exhibitions.
Click here for more details of our local attractions.
Outdoor Adventures
There are a wide range of family activities around Keswick. Whinlatter Forest is home to Go Ape, a fantastic treetop adventure where you can swing through the trees or if you’d rather stay down on the ground, you can enjoy the all-terrain Segways to explore Whinlatter forest from a thrilling new perspective.
From Ghyll Scrambling to Indoor Climbing, Rookery Woods to Canoeing, there are lots of exciting adventures waiting for you at Keswick Climbing Wall & Outdoor Activity Centre.
Find out more about water based activities here including sailing, paddle-boarding, kayaking and canoeing. To find out more about outdoor activities around Keswick click here.
Get on Your Bike
Cycling is a fun way to explore the area and, if you haven't brought your bike with you, you can hire one from Cyclewise in Whinlatter Forest where you'll find a choice of mountain bike trails.
The pump track in Fitz Park is a very popular destination for riders from beginners through to advanced. For younger riders, just learning to ride a bike or not yet confident to go on the road, the perimeter path, which runs all way around the park, makes a great circuit.
The Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Trail is a 10km out and back off-road route with gentle gradients. Being a multi-user trail it is great for the whole family with cyclists, runners, push-chairs, walkers and mobility scooters all sharing the space.
Read Our Blogs
For more inspiration about what to see and do in the Keswick area read our blogs.
What's On
From Family Fun to Festivals and Shows, check out what's on in Keswick
