Hampshire half term is 26 to 30 October. Three free Halloween days in town from 28 October, Jekyll & Hyde at Milestones, and Brainiac Live at The Anvil.

October half term for Hampshire’s maintained schools is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, and the best-value days in Basingstoke are the last three: free Halloween activities in the town centre from Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October, 11am to 3pm, for children aged 3 to 13. Around them, Milestones Museum runs a paid Victorian Halloween science fair all week, and The Anvil and The Haymarket have family shows on the Wednesday and Friday. Some local schools break a week earlier, so check your own dates first.

The quick answer

  • Hampshire half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Everest Community Academy and Sherfield School break from 19 October; Costello pupils are off until Wednesday 4 November. Details on our term dates page.
  • Free: Love Basingstoke’s half term days, Wednesday 28 to Friday 30 October, 11am to 3pm, in Cross Street and Market Place, plus a pumpkin trail in War Memorial Park on the Thursday.
  • Paid highlight: The Strange Science of Jekyll & Hyde at Milestones, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, adults £19.50, children £13.50, with 20% off if you book by 23 October.

What is on, day by day

Date What Where Price
Sat 24 Oct to Sun 1 Nov The Strange Science of Jekyll & Hyde Milestones Museum £19.50 adult, £13.50 child
Tue 27 Oct, 10.30am to 12pm Halloween Trick, Treat and Create Trail Whitchurch Silk Mill £7.50 per child
Wed 28 Oct, 11am to 3pm Half term fun day Cross Street Free
Wed 28 Oct, 1pm and 3.30pm The Dinosaur That Pooped: A Rock Show! The Haymarket £21, under 16s £20
Wed 28 Oct, 7.30pm Taylormania The Anvil £31
Thu 29 Oct, 11am to 3pm Half term fun day and pumpkin trail Market Place, War Memorial Park Free
Fri 30 Oct, 11am to 3pm Half term fun day Market Place Free
Fri 30 Oct, 2pm Brainiac Live The Anvil £22.50, under 16s £21.50

Free: three Halloween days in the town centre

Love Basingstoke’s October half term listing promises “three frightfully fun days” for ages 3 to 13, all free, 11am to 3pm:

  • Wednesday 28 October, Cross Street: lightsaber skills sessions every ten minutes with Little Musketeers, a pop-up play village with a witches’ supermarket and spooky café, a slime bar with Scratchbuilt, and flying witches and bats with Fun Science.
  • Thursday 29 October, Market Place: wand and spell book crafts with Artful Kids, sock puppets with Scratchbuilt, and building a pirate ship with Inventors and Makers. The same day there is a pumpkin trail in War Memorial Park: collect a free map from The Orchard, with the last maps handed out at 2pm.
  • Friday 30 October, Market Place: a Frankenstein’s Monster science show with Genie Lab at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm, Halloween crafts, and screen-printing your own trick or treat bag with Berkshire Printmakers.

Milestones: The Strange Science of Jekyll & Hyde

Milestones Museum turns its Victorian streets into a science fair for the whole of half term, Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, from 10am. Families get a scorecard and judge four competing scientists, with “gruesome Halloween fun” along the way. Prices on the event page are £19.50 for adults, £13.50 for children and £18.50 concessions, or £64.50 with the family discount. The early bird code STRANGE20 takes 20% off when you book in advance; it ends on 23 October and is limited to the first 1,000 tickets.

The museum is normally closed on Mondays but opens on Mondays in school holidays, according to its opening hours page.

Shows at The Anvil and The Haymarket

  • The Dinosaur That Pooped: A Rock Show!, The Haymarket, Wednesday 28 October at 1pm and 3.30pm. £21, under 16s £20, or £78 for a family of four including the booking fee. The venue warns of strobe, haze, foam and steam effects. Anvil Arts listing.
  • Brainiac Live, The Anvil, Friday 30 October at 2pm. £22.50, under 16s £21.50, or £80 for a family of four including the booking fee. Anvil Arts listing.
  • Taylormania, a Taylor Swift tribute, The Anvil, Wednesday 28 October at 7.30pm, £31. Anvil Arts listing.

Whitchurch Silk Mill trail

Whitchurch Silk Mill runs a Halloween Trick, Treat and Create Trail on Tuesday 27 October, 10.30am to 12 noon. It costs £7.50 per child, one adult goes free, and it ends with a bag of treats; tell them about dietary needs when you book. Slots must be booked.

For the grown-ups

Oakley Hall Hotel runs a Spooky Murder Mystery on Saturday 24 October, 7pm to 10.30pm, at £75 a person, according to Love Basingstoke’s listing.

After half term

Bonfire Night comes a week later, and there is only one confirmed public display in the borough: see Basingstoke fireworks. Heading into town on a busy day? Check parking in Basingstoke and roadworks and travel.

Still to be confirmed

We will re-check the listings in mid October and add anything new that organisers publish for the week, such as library sessions and The Vyne’s half term programme, whose National Trust pages we could not read when we checked.