West Northants half term is 26 to 30 October, but three big Northampton schools are off from 19 October. The Gruffalo, Diwali, two fireworks nights and more.

West Northamptonshire Council’s October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Not every Northampton school keeps to it. Northampton School for Boys, Caroline Chisholm School and Northampton High School break up on Friday 16 October and do not return until Monday 2 November, so for those families the holiday is two weeks, 19 to 30 October. Northampton School for Girls and Northampton Academy follow the council’s week. The full school-by-school detail is on our term dates page. Below is what is actually on in and around the town in both weeks, from each organiser’s own listings, checked on 24 September.

The quick answer

  • Council half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Three of the five big secondaries we checked are off from Monday 19 October.
  • Halloween weekend is the busy one: Diwali on the Market Square and the Duston Mill fireworks on Saturday 31 October, the town council’s free Racecourse fireworks on Sunday 1 November.
  • Cheapest ticketed thing on: Preacher the Storyteller’s Scare Me A Crow at Delapré Abbey on Wednesday 28 October, £3 a person.
  • Free: Abington Park Museum, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne and its Halloween trail, and the parks.

Theatre: The Gruffalo, Elf and two half term clubs

Royal & Derngate has the fullest programme in town that week, all listed on its what’s on page.

  • Mini Monsters and Cryptic Creatures, Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October, in the Underground. Two activity strands for younger children, billed as “you’re never too cute to spook” and a “creepy coven” respectively.
  • Elf: The Musical, Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31 October, Derngate. Northampton Musical Theatre Company’s staging of the stage show.
  • The Gruffalo, Thursday 29 October to Sunday 1 November, Royal. Tall Stories’ musical adaptation of the picture book.
  • GamesWorld, Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, Underground: an interactive gaming session with 100 consoles.
  • The Magnificent Music Hall, Sunday 25 October, Royal, for the first weekend.

Prices are on each show’s page and vary by seat. Royal & Derngate’s holiday clubs for ages 4 to 13 also run through the autumn, 9am to 5pm.

Delapré Abbey: a £3 storyteller, outdoor cinema and a night in the house

Delapré Abbey’s what’s on page runs a Halloween week from 24 October to 1 November. The house itself opens on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and bank holiday Mondays, 11am to 4pm with last entry at 3pm, and the parkland is free at any time.

  • Halloween Harvest Afternoon Teas in the Orangery, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 12.30pm to 3pm, £32.95 for adults and £22.95 for children.
  • Preacher the Storyteller: Scare Me A Crow, Wednesday 28 October, sessions from 11.30am to 3.55pm, £3 a person.
  • Outdoor cinema, Wednesday 28 October: Hocus Pocus at 4pm and The Lost Boys at 7.15pm, £15 adults, £10 children, £35 for a family.
  • Delapré After Dark, Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October: an overnight indoor camp in the Georgian suites with a tour, a film in the wine cellars, a bonfire and breakfast, £80 a person or £120 with a two-course dinner, from the abbey’s announcement of 20 August.
  • For adults, ghost hunts on 10 and 24 October and two Don’t Go Into The Cellar theatre nights on 24 and 25 October, £25.

Halloween weekend: Diwali, then two fireworks nights

  • Diwali Festival of Lights, Saturday 31 October, Market Square. Stalls from 10am, the stage from 12pm to 8pm and the lantern parade with its giant puppets at 6pm, according to Northampton Town Council. It is the festival’s 26th year.
  • Duston Mill fireworks, Saturday 31 October, Gala Events’ paid display on the west of town.
  • Northampton’s free fireworks, Sunday 1 November, the Racecourse, entertainment from 4pm and the display at 6pm, with no on-site parking.

Times, prices, bus routes and the road closures for both displays are on our fireworks page.

Free and cheap days out

  • Abington Park Museum opens Tuesday to Sunday, 12pm to 4pm, during school holidays, and Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm and Sunday 12pm to 5pm, both free (Northampton Museums). The museum’s Mini Museum Explorers sessions for pre-schoolers run on Fridays until 23 October, 10.15am, which is the first week of the two-week break.
  • The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne is free to enter and runs a Halloween Trail from 24 to 31 October, 10am to 4pm, with a crepe paper flowers workshop on the 31st (Canal & River Trust events). Parking is £3 for four hours or £5 all day, and the trust warns the museum “has irregular hours”, so check before driving out.
  • Salcey Forest is open 8am to 9pm until the end of October and 8am to 5pm from November. Parking is £3.80 for an hour, £7 for two, £9 for four and £9.50 beyond, or £3.80 for up to three hours on a Saturday if you leave before 11am (Forestry England). A Forest School holiday club runs 26 to 29 October, 8.30am to 4.30pm, booked through the forest’s events page.
  • Lamport Hall has An Evening of Ghost Stories with Toby Burchell on Monday 26 October at 3.30pm and 7.30pm, and a Halloween special of its Let Us Read You a Story sessions on Thursdays 22 and 29 October at 11am (Lamport Hall events).
  • Silverstone Museum is open 10am to 4pm daily. Adult tickets are £24 online or £29 on the door, children aged 5 to 15 from £15, under-5s free, with a 50 per cent discount advertised for local residents (Silverstone Museum tickets). The sim suite is an extra from £15.

For the parks, the shoe museum and everything else that costs nothing, see things to do in Northampton.

Getting around

Check the roadworks and travel page before a drive across town. Town centre parking is on the parking page; the council car parks charge £3 for any stay on Saturdays and Sundays, which covers the whole of Diwali day. Both Northampton tips are open 10am to 4pm every day of the holiday and need a booked slot: see tip opening times.

Frequently asked questions

When is October half term 2026 in Northampton?

Monday 26 to Friday 30 October for schools on the council’s calendar. Northampton School for Boys, Caroline Chisholm and Northampton High are off for two weeks from Monday 19 October.

Is there anything free to do in Northampton in half term?

Abington Park Museum, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne and its Halloween trail, Diwali on the Market Square, the town council’s fireworks on 1 November, and all the parks.

What is on at Royal & Derngate in October half term?

Mini Monsters and Cryptic Creatures for younger children from 26 to 29 October, Elf: The Musical from 28 to 31 October, The Gruffalo from 29 October to 1 November, and GamesWorld from 30 October to 1 November.

Sources