The weather for October so far has been incredibly mild. Lets hope it continues to stay dry throughout half term! Here is a list of activities and events in South Oxfordshire and beyond to enjoy with your family x
Saturday 21st October
- Make spoon puppets of characters from James and the Giant Peach at the Roald Dahl Museum. £3 per person plus admission. Booking essential.
- Autumn fair at Harcourt Arboretum from 11am-4pm. Woodland stories, traditional folk music, childrens craft activities including carving your own pencil and willow weaving, plus local produce on sale. Adults £5, children free. UPDATE – NOW CANCELLED
- Science Saturdays at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford exploring historical specimens. Free.
- Family arts takeover at The North Wall in Oxford with workshops, theatre tours and shows. £2 for adults, £1 for children for a Takeover Pass which includes all workshops. Check out the timetable at www.thenorthwall.com
- Illumination evenings at Fairytale Farm. Saturdays and Sundays 14th October – 17th December plus 20th-24th Dec. £6 per person 5-9pm enjoying the illuminations plus the price includes a bowl of soup with crusty roll or hotdog with a drink. Book tickets online for discounted price of £5.49pp.
- Halloween themed Xplorer orinenteering at Wantage Memorial park 10am-12pm. Spooky themed activities and optional fancy dress. Free event.
- Owl Service day at the Story Museum (Oxford) celebrating Alan Garner’s award winning book ‘The Owl Service’. Meet real owls and enjoy story telling sessions 10am-5pm. Activities included in normal entry fee.
Sunday 22nd October
- Bogtrotting baddies party celebrating Roald Dahl’s bad guys at the Roald Dahl Museum. £2 per person plus normal museum admission fee. Booking essential.
- Princess and pirates day at Leighton Buzzard Railway. Children in fancy dress travel free with an accompanying adult.
- Illumination evenings at Fairytale Farm. Saturdays and Sundays 14th October – 17th December plus 20th-24th Dec. £6 per person 5-9pm enjoying the illuminations plus the price includes a bowl of soup with crusty roll or hotdog with a drink. Book tickets online for discounted price of £5.49pp.
Monday 23rd October
- Celebrate Diwali at the River & Rowing Museum by making your own paper lanterns and Rangoli designs. Free with admission.
- Activities exploring creatures of the night, magic charms and mysteries at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford at 1pm. Free entry.
- Inflatable play centre at Didcot Leisure Centre £5.50 per child. Book here: The Bounce Department
Tuesday 24th October
- Michael De Souza, creator of CBeebies Rastamouse, will be at the Roald Dahl Museum for some fun family activities at 11am and 12:30pm. £3 per person plus museum entry. Booking essential.
- Mud pie mania from 10am at Earth Trust (Little Wittenham). Suggested donation £4 per child.
- Discover bizarre and brilliant beasties that live at the nature reserve. 10am at Sutton Courtenay Wildlife Reserve. £4 per child.
- Activities exploring creatures of the night, magic charms and mysteries at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford at 1pm. Free entry.
- Inflatable play centre at Didcot Leisure Centre £5.50 per child. Book here: The Bounce Department
- Eco day at Wantage Museum including upcycling crafts, ideas and activities. 10am-3pm. Free entry (donations welcome).
Wednesday 25th October
- Discover bizarre and brilliant beasties that live at the nature reserve. 10am at Sutton Courtenay Wildlife Reserve. £4 per child.
- Activities exploring creatures of the night, magic charms and mysteries at the Museum of Natural History in Oxford at 1pm. Free entry.
- Wildlife Wednesdays at Neptune Woods 2pm exploring the nature reserve. Suggested donation £2 per child.
- From 1pm create your own 17th century accessories at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Find out about civil war objects.
- Comic capers at Abingdon County Museum 10:30am-12:30pm and 1-3pm. Make Disney characters on spoons and superhero masks. Free activity, donations welcome.
- Haunted forest lantern trail at Bucklebury Farm from 4pm onwards. Are you brave enough to journey into the Haunted Forest at night? Suitable for 4-10 yrs, booking essential.
- Woodland adventure at Earth Trust (Little Wittenham)10-12pm for 5-8 year olds. Use detective skills to explore, build and play in the woods. Suggested donation £4 per child, adults free.
- Free vintage bus rides at Oxford bus museum 12:15 and 2:45pm.
Thursday 26th October
- Magical monsters storytelling, arts and crafts and monster trail through the galleries at the River & Rowing Museum 10:30-4pm. Free with admission.
- Make your own skeleton, try brass rubbing and handle medieval bones at the Musuem of Oxford 10:30-3:30pm
- Discover bizarre and brilliant beasties that live at the nature reserve. 10am at Sutton Courtenay Wildlife Reserve. £4 per child.
- From 1pm create your own 17th century accessories at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Find out about civil war objects.
- Haunted forest lantern trail at Bucklebury Farm from 4pm onwards. Are you brave enough to journey into the Haunted Forest at night? Suitable for 4-10 yrs, booking essential.
Friday 27th October
- Haunted forest lantern trail at Bucklebury Farm from 4pm onwards. Are you brave enough to journey into the Haunted Forest at night? Suitable for 4-10 yrs, booking essential.
- A night at the Museum 6pm at Wallingford Museum. A chance to see the current exhibitions and behind the scenes after closing hours. £2.50 for adults, children free.
- Founders Festival at the Ashmolean Museum celebrating Elias Ashmole’s 400th birthday. Free event, booking required for some activities.
- Halloween party and fancy dress disco at the Royal Oak (Didcot) 6-8pm. Tickets £4 each (must be bought in advance) and include a hot dog as well as crafts and games. 1-12 year olds.
Saturday 28th October
- Founders Festival at the Ashmolean Museum celebrating Elias Ashmole’s 400th birthday. Free event, booking required for some activities.
- Illumination evenings at Fairytale Farm. Saturdays and Sundays 14th October – 17th December plus 20th-24th Dec. £6 per person 5-9pm enjoying the illuminations plus the price includes a bowl of soup with crusty roll or hotdog with a drink. Book tickets online for discounted price of £5.49pp.
- Didcot Food Festival at Didcot Civic Hall starting at 10:30am. Chef demonstrations, skills areas, local produce, street food stalls, live music and more. More details and tickets here: http://www.didcotevents.co.uk/didcot_food_festival.html
Sunday 29th October
- Founders Festival at the Ashmolean Museum celebrating Elias Ashmole’s 400th birthday. Free event, booking required for some activities.
- Ride on the steam hauled Ghost Train at Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway with a bunch of spooks and ghouls. Children in fancy dress travel for £1 and receive a treat.
- Bring your pumpkins to take part in a competition for the heaviest home grown pumpkin and carving competitions from 2pm at Cogges Manor Farm.
- Freakish Family Fiesta at Boundary Park in Didcot. Spooky family fancy dress and Halloween fun 2-5pm. Disco, apple bobbing, glitter tattoos, facepainting and more. Free admission
- Inflatable play centre at Didcot Leisure Centre £5.50 per child. Book here: The Bounce Department
All Week
- Nocturnal nature trail at Upton House open from 11am every day. £2 per child. 21st-29th Oct.
- Giant pumpkin hunt and haunted house at Bucklebury Farm Park every day from 9:30am. Normal admission fees apply. 21st-30th Oct
- Find the pumpkins hidden around the gardens at Waterperry Gardens in their Great Pumpkin Hunt. £2 per child. 21st Oct-5th Nov.
- Borrow a Halloween backpack at the Museum of Oxford to discover spooky objects around the museum. 10am-5pm 23rd-27th October.
- Fairytale baddies and spooks at Fairytale Farm 21st – 29th October. Pumpkin carving, games and activities, face painting plus a treat when you come in fancy dress!
- Brick Wonders Lego exhibition at Banbury Museum. Sat 16th Sept – Sat 18th Nov. Entry is free of charge! (donations welcome).
- Woodland sprites halloween trail at Clivedon National Trust 21st – 29th October. £3 per child plus admission (admission is free if you are National Trust members which I highly recommend!)
- Half term fun at Cogges Manor Farm 23rd-27th October including junk modelling, making edible wands, stickman characters and more. Pumpkin trail open all week £2 per child and they can choose a gift from the Cogges shop up to £2 in value when they complete the trail. See Cogges website for more details http://www.cogges.org.uk/
