Halloween in Harrogate: Lightwater Valley now has fireworks on 24 and 31 October. Free potion trail 24 Oct to 1 Nov, Frightwater from £18, pumpkins open.
Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday, at the end of half term, and the Harrogate district has more on than in most years. Three farms and gardens have pumpkins to pick, Lightwater Valley near Ripon runs its Frightwater Valley event, and Lightwater has** two firework displays: Saturday 24 October at 5.45pm and Halloween itself at 5pm**. This page lists each event with the dates, times and prices its organiser has published, all checked on 3 October 2026. Where a price only appears inside a booking system, we say so.
The quick answer
- Pumpkin picking: open now. Birchfield Farm at Summerbridge is open now, free to enter the patch, with pumpkins at**£2.50 to £15**. Stockeld Park’s patch opens with its Halloween event on** Saturday 3 October**. Ripon Walled Garden’s free charity patch runs from** 17 to 31 October**.
- The big family event: Frightwater Valley at Lightwater Valley, on10 and 17 October, then daily 24 to 31 October, 10.30am to 5pm. Early bird tickets are**£18** with the code FRIGHT18.
- Fireworks: two Saturdays. Lightwater Valley has added a display onSaturday 24 October at 5.45pm(rides until 5.30pm) to its** Halloween night finale on Saturday 31 October at 5pm**. Both are over Swan Lake, included with the day ticket, weather permitting.
- Half term is 26 to 30 October for council schools. Mother Shipton’s, Harlow Carr and Stockeld all run daily from24 October to 1 November.
- Free in town: the Harrogate Halloween Potion Trail,** Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November**. Pick up a trail sheet at The Crown Hotel, find the ingredient at 10 shops and venues, and take it back for a prize.
Updated 20 October: Lightwater Valley has added a second Halloween firework display, on Saturday 24 October at 5.45pm, with rides running until 5.30pm that day. The 31 October finale stays at 5pm.
Updated 19 October: Harrogate BID has published its 2026 Halloween trail, a free potion trail from 24 October to 1 November. Details below.
Updated 12 October: Birchfield has published its opening days to 1 November (closed Mondays; daily from 24 October). Harrogate BID has still announced no Halloween trail.
Updated 6 October: Birchfield is open Wednesday 7 to Sunday 11 October (10am to 4pm weekdays, 10am to 5pm at the weekend). Harrogate BID has still announced no Halloween trail; its 2 October release covers Christmas only.
| Event | Where | Dates | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birchfield Pumpkin Festival | Summerbridge, HG3 4JS | Open now, to 31 October | Patch free; pumpkins £2.50 to £15 |
| Halloween at Stockeld Park | Near Wetherby, LS22 4AN | October weekends; daily 24 October to 1 November | £12.75 to £29.50 |
| Frightwater Valley | Lightwater Valley, HG4 3HT | 10, 17 and 24 to 31 October | Early bird £18 |
| Ripon Walled Garden pumpkin patch | Palace Road, Ripon, HG4 3HN | 17 to 31 October | Free entry |
| Hocus Pocus Halloween | Mother Shipton’s, Knaresborough | 24 October to 1 November | Booking system only |
| Spooky plant trail | RHS Harlow Carr, HG3 1QB | 24 October to 1 November | Garden admission |
| Fountains by Floodlight | Fountains Abbey, HG4 3DY | Eight evenings, 9 to 30 October | Adults £12, children £6 |
| Ghost hunting | Workhouse Museum, Ripon | Thursday 29 October | £2 a child |
| Fireworks | Lightwater Valley | Saturday 24 October, 5.45pm; Saturday 31 October, 5pm | With Frightwater ticket |
Pumpkin picking
Birchfield Pumpkin Festival, Summerbridge
Birchfield Farm in Nidderdale grows its own pumpkins, more than 40 varieties, and you pick them straight from the field. The patch is free to enter; pumpkins cost**£2.50 to £15** depending on size, and there are wheelbarrows to carry them and a barrel ride round the field. General farm admission, which the farm lists separately from the free patch, is**£8.95 for adults and children aged 2 to 16**, with under-2s free and free parking.
The farm has now published its opening days to the end of the festival. It is closed on Mondays. It opens** 10am to 4pm from Tuesday 13 to Friday 16 Octoberand Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 October**,** 10am to 5pm on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October**, and** 10am to 4pm every day from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November**. Check the opening hours before you set off. Wear wellies: the farm says “mud isn’t optional”. Address: Birchfield Farm, Summerbridge, HG3 4JS (contact page).
Halloween at Stockeld Park, near Wetherby
Stockeld Park is open for Halloween on 3 to 4, 10 to 11 and 17 to 18 October, then every day from 24 October to 1 November, from 9.30am to 5.30pm. A tractor and trailer takes you to its pumpkin patch, which this year is grown on the estate. Pumpkins cost extra: the park says “a small charge” and does not publish the price. The ticket also covers a witches’ trail through the Enchanted Forest and the Mummy Maze.
Its prices page lists Halloween tickets from £12.75 to £29.50 per person, with Zombie Laser Tag an extra**£5.50**. Face painting is**£6**, and there is a costume competition on the forecourt at** 4.45pm every day**. The prices page gives daily opening “from 19 Oct”; the event page says 24 October. If you plan a weekday visit between 19 and 23 October, check before you go.
Pumpkin Nights, new this year, are evenings at the patch on** Saturday 17 and Saturday 24 October, 5.30pm to 9pm**, with live music, food stalls and games. Tickets are**£15**, or half price with a day ticket.
Ripon Walled Garden pumpkin patch
Ripon Community Link runs a pumpkin patch at the walled garden on Palace Road, Ripon, HG4 3HN, from Saturday 17 to Saturday 31 October.** Entry is free**, you can carve your pumpkin there, and costumes are welcome. The café serves hot chocolate and Halloween cake. All the money raised goes to the charity’s work with adults with learning disabilities. The garden’s opening times are** 9.30am to 4pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 3pm on Sundays**.
Frightwater Valley, Lightwater Valley
Lightwater Valley, at North Stainley just north of Ripon (HG4 3HT), runs Frightwater Valley: Movie Mayhem from 10.30am to 5pm. The park’s opening calendar shows it open on Saturday 10 October, Saturday 17 October, and every day from Saturday 24 to Saturday 31 October. It is closed on the other October days. One line on the event page says the daily run starts on the 23rd, but the calendar and the booking dates both start on the 24th.
The theme this year is films. There is an “Icon Avenue” of movie characters to meet, soft play with Halloween lighting, and a ten-stop trick or treat trail, which costs extra. There is also a live scare maze that the park calls “not for the faint-hearted”, a Dead Pirate Show, and a dance party with DJ Scream to finish. The park publishes only its early bird price: £18 a person with the code FRIGHT18. Parking is free, with blue badge bays near the entrance. Tickets are not refunded for bad weather, according to the park’s FAQs.
Fireworks: Saturday 24 and Saturday 31 October
Lightwater Valley has added an extra display “to kick off October half term with a bang”. On Saturday 24 October the rides run until 5.30pm and the fireworks start at 5.45pm. On 31 October the rides stop at 4.45pm for the 5pm finale. Both displays are included in the Frightwater Valley day ticket, and both depend on the weather.
The one Halloween-night display we can find is Lightwater Valley’s End of Season Firework Finale. It is a 10-minute display over Swan Lake, set to Halloween music,** starting at 5pm**. It is included with a Frightwater Valley ticket, and the park says it depends on the weather. Birchfield’s and Ripon Walled Garden’s patches close for the year that day. Stockeld, Mother Shipton’s and Harlow Carr stay open until Sunday 1 November.
The district’s bonfire displays come the following weekend: Ripon on Friday 6 November and the Stray onSaturday 7 November. See our fireworks page.
Hocus Pocus Halloween at Mother Shipton’s, Knaresborough
Mother Shipton’s runs Halloween from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, with a Hocus Pocus theme. Expect witches’ displays and cauldrons, a “witchy sister trio” to meet, marshmallow toasting round the fire, and the mile-long walk beside the River Nidd.** Booking is essential.Tickets are for timed slots, with a£1.50 booking fee per order**. Dogs on leads are allowed everywhere except the adventure playground and the shop.
Ticket prices appear only inside the booking system, not on the event page. There are two kinds: a car ticket with parking, and a cheaper pedestrian ticket without. Pedestrians use the nearest car park, Conyngham Hall, which the attraction says is a two-minute walk. The only entrance and exit is on High Bridge, and tickets cannot be refunded or transferred.
Spooky plants at RHS Harlow Carr
RHS Harlow Carr, on Crag Lane, runs a Halloween trail from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 9.30am to 4pm daily. It covers “scary-looking species”, plants with legendary healing powers and poisonous plants, with rubbings to collect and a spooky plant to design. It is included in garden admission, which is free for RHS members and under-5s.
ZooLab potion sessions with snakes, snails and spiders run daily from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, at 11am, 12 noon, 1.15pm and 2.15pm. They cost**£2.50 per child or adult** and are booked online. OnWednesday 28 October there is a free drop-in session, 11am to 3pm, for planting seeds in a monster pot.
Ghost hunting at Ripon Workhouse Museum
On Thursday 29 October, Ripon Museums runs family ghost hunts round the Workhouse Museum (HG4 1LE). Sessions run from** 11am to 12 noon and 1.30pm to 2.30pm**, with ghost goo to make, a spooky story and ghouls to find. There is** no need to book**. It costs**£2 a child** on the day, or nothing with an annual pass. Children must come with an adult, and the museum suggests ages 5 and up. The same week, on Tuesday 27 to Thursday 29 October, the Workhouse kitchen bakes spooky shortbread, 10.30am to 3pm.
For grown-ups: Fountains by Floodlight
Fountains Abbey is not a Halloween event, but the National Trust’s Fountains by Floodlight runs through October. The dates are Friday 9 and Saturday 10, Friday 16 and Saturday 17, Friday 23 and Saturday 24, and Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October. Entry is from 5pm, last entry 8pm, in half-hour slots. Tickets are**£12 for adults and £6 for children aged 5 to 17**. Members go free but must still book. Parking and entry are at the visitor centre.
Harrogate town centre: free Halloween Potion Trail
Harrogate BID’s free Halloween Potion Trail runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, sponsored by The Crown Hotel. The BID’s page sets out how it works:
*collect a free trail sheet fromThe Crown Hotel
- look for the potion ingredient at each location and write it down
- take the sheet back to The Crown Hotel for a Halloween prize
The 10 stops are:
- The Crown Hotel
- Starling, Oxford Street
- Søstrene Grene, Cambridge Street
- Verity Frearson, Albert Street
- Tap on Tower Street, Tower Street
- Mama Doreen’s, Station Square
- On the Rhodes, Victoria Shopping Centre piazza
- Altham’s Travel, Cambridge Street
- Harrogate Theatre, Oxford Street
- Harrogate Town AFC Shop, Commercial Street
The BID also promises Halloween crafts and games on Crown Place. It has published a trail map but no daily times, so allow for shop opening hours. Last year’s Monster Trail, which worked the same way, was done by more than 10,000 people, the BID says (BID, 5 November 2025).
Getting there
For car parks and charges in town, see parking in Harrogate. For road closures and works, see Harrogate roadworks and travel. Lightwater Valley and Birchfield both have free parking. At Mother Shipton’s, only car tickets include a space. Our October half term page has the school dates and the rail engineering works on both half-term weekends.
Still to be confirmed
- Ticket prices for Mother Shipton’s Halloween, and Frightwater Valley’s standard price once the early bird offer ends.