It’s nearly time to get your spook on! If you love all the fun and excitement of Halloween then you’ll delight at all the activities on offer here in the New Forest this year. You’ll find a variety of events taking place, not only on Halloween itself but in the lead up to it too. Take a look at some of the ghoulish activities you can join in with…

Book your tickets for Paultons Park’s Happy Halloween

Returning again this Halloween, Paultons Park’s ghostly family event, Happy Halloween, is bigger and better than ever with the amazing rides and attractions of Tornado Springs and Peppa Pig World included in the spooky fun for 2022. This year, the Halloween fun will run from 13-31 October.

The Park will have a spooky make-over, including thousands of colourful pumpkins and straw hay bales.


Image - Happy Halloween at Paultons Park

Peppa Pig World will be transformed for the occasion with Grandpa Pig's 'World's Biggest Pumpkin' growing in its greenhouse and of course, Mr Skinny Legs the spider! Guests can also meet and greet Peppa in her friendly witch's outfit and George in his bright cheeky pumpkin costume. Great fun for the younger visitors!

Look out for special late-night openings and spooktacular Halloween shows on selected dates.

Are you brave enough to enter the haunted barn at Longdown Activity Farm?

It’s frightfully fun at Longdown Activity Farm this Halloween, enter the Haunted Barn at your peril from 22-30 October. Look out for the grimacing ghouls, scary skeletons, and wicked witches who dwell among the cobweb-strewn haybales and blackened timbers.


Image - It's Frightfully Fun at Longdown Activity Farm

On Sunday 30 October, there’s the chance to meet a real-life barn owl with The Creature Teachers along with some creepy creatures like spiders, millipedes, and cockroaches.

After all the scary stuff, calm down with the friendly farm animals. Join in when you want to with a full schedule of farm activities lasting all day, which includes bottle-feeding kid goats and calves, small animal handling in the Animal Encounter Barn, and feeding the ducks.

Tickets must be pre-booked in advance.

A Creepy Crawly Creep Around Lepe

For a spooky twist on a fun walk, check out the Creepy, Crawly Creep around Lepe.

For £3 per child, the fun-filled trail will send shivers of delight down your spine! Perfect for kids and grown-ups of all ages, explore Lepe’s local nature and have some Halloween fun all month long!

Search for creepy critters lurking amongst the trees and undergrowth. Will you be able to find them all? Activities and fun facts are included in your trail booklet, so you can carry on the spooky Halloween theme when you get home! Let’s hope the creepy crawlies aren’t too scary for you… woohoooooo!

Why not come dressed up for Halloween too?

22–30 October 2022, 10am – 3pm daily. £3.00 per child, usual parking charges apply. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Purchase your trail packs at the Visitor Services desk or online.


Image - A Creepy Crawly Creep around Lepe

Pumpkin carving and crafts

Unleash your creative talent and carve some terrifyingly BOOtiful designs with Pumpkin carving and crafts at Lepe Country Park. Once you have finished carving your pumpkin, enjoy some spooky Halloween themed crafts… if you dare!

Thursday 27th October, Friday 28th October and Saturday 29th October, 10.30am or 2pm.  £5 per child, includes a pumpkin and tea light. Carving tools provided.

Children to be accompanied by an adult. Usual parking charges apply.


Image - Pumpkin Carving & Crafts at Lepe Country Park

Check out two of our spooky castles

Have a frighteningly good time at Halloween at Hurst Castle over the October half term. There’s lots to keep you entertained with arts and crafts, a ‘Trick or Treat’ maze, and a Wicked Treasure Trail. Plus, there are plenty of dark spaces for the kids to explore – so pop along for a spooky day out for all! 


Image - Halloween at Hurst Castle

Over the weekend of 29-30 October, Calshot Castle will be opening its doors for their spooky Halloween event. Enjoy 90-minutes of spooktacular fun in pre-bookable sessions. Follow the pumpkin trail, try out the Halloween games and feast on Halloween snacks to get you into the spooky spirit! Listen to scary stories at the castle’s Witch School or creep it real and dance to the monster tunes at the Halloween Disco.

Dare you hop aboard the Halloween Ghost Train?

Experience spooky Halloween fun at Exbury Gardens this October half term. Ride the Halloween Ghost Train, enjoy the slapstick antics of ghouls and beasties, wander the Gruesome Trail, make a Spooky Garden or take home your own carved pumpkin.


Image - Halloween Ghost Train at Exbury Gardens

Take part in some outdoor fun

Get out and about and make the most of the fresh, New Forest air.

New Forest Activities are experts at delivering Halloween in the outdoors! Will your rapscallions find Red Beard’s hidden treasure on the Beaulieu River on their Canoe Halloween Treasure Hunts? Or can you take on the zombies using infra-red technology guns at Battlezone: Apocalypse? These high-adrenalin adventures are sure to book up quickly so be sure to book your places soon. You can also practice your aim with their Halloween archery sessions at Hartford Woods, near Beaulieu.


Image - Battlezone : Apocalypse at New Forest Activities

On Sunday 30 October, Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Centre will be opening its doors to their Halloween Activity Trail. Come and take part in some spook-tacular activities from archery to climbing. Costing just £8 per child (parents go free) you can book onto your chosen time slot and enjoy a range of activities with their skilled instructors - plus there are self-guided activities on site for you all to enjoy.

Fancy a Halloween cycling adventure in the New Forest? Why not hire bikes for the day from the Cyclexperience bike hire in Brockenhurst and experience the forest in all its autumn colours. The big question is, will you be brave enough to collect your bikes from the hire centre which will be kitted out with all things spooky inside and out?!


Image - Cyclexperience

Take on a Halloween Wildlife Adventure! On 29-30 October, Wild New Forest will be leading walks through ancient woodland to an eerie dead forest. Along the way, you will look at spooky fungus and ancient trees while exploring various myths and Forest folklore. Returning as darkness falls, listen for the sounds of the night including hooting owls, barking foxes and the roars and growls of the deer. You’ll also have the opportunity to listen for bats on the bat detector and try to spot animals on the thermal imaging camera.

Places to pick your pumpkins

If you love nothing better than carving a pumpkin then head to some of the places which grow these giant gourds in the lead up to Halloween.

Pick your own pumpkins at:
- Pumpkin Time @ Sunnyfields Farm, near Totton (do check out their late-night openings too where you can see the pumpkins amongst twinkling fairy lights).
- Pumpkin Picking Patch at Bickton Manor Farm, near Fordingbridge. As well as pumpkin picking, there’s also a spooky maize maze to conquer.


Image - Pumpkin Picking Patch at Bickton Manor Farm

Want to know more?

This is just a selection of the events that we have taking place this Halloween here in the New Forest. Do keep an eye on our Halloween page for more events, as an when they are added.

We strongly recommend pre-booking tickets for these events and activities to avoid disappointment.

Have a great time, and don’t forget to tag us in your spooky fun!