To get into the spirit of things, we’ve come up with our guide to things to do and places to go over the next few days in the Mansfield, Ashfield, Worksop, Retford and wider Nottinghamshire area.
From Mansfield Museum to Creswell Crags, from Rufford Abbey to Newstead Abbey, from Sherwood Forest to Sutton Library and from Mansfield’s Palace Theatre to Retford’s Majestic Theatre, there are Halloween-themed events for the family to enjoy.
You can meet ghosts, carve a pumpkin, go on a haunted trail, enjoy a film or panto, paint your face and even dress up as your favourite scary character.
With the half-term holiday also in full swing, there’s something for everyone – and we’ve also found one or two events and activities that aren’t necessarily dripping with pumpkin juice. How about, for instance, a bit of musical nostalgia with Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton or disco queens Donna Summer, Rose Royce, Sister Sledge, Gloria Gaynor and Candy Staton?
It’s all here, but before you set off, please visit the website of your destination to check on admission prices and opening or starting times. Have a great weekend and a happy Halloween!
21. Up close and personal with feathered friends
Take a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with birds and learn how to safely handle and release our feathered friends. Join ornithologist Jack Baddams at the Creswell Crags Museum and Heritage Centre for an educational outdoor session, suitable for all, this coming Sunday (10.30 am, 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm).. Photo: Submitted
22. Haunted house garden trail
As our photo shows, few places evoke the spirit of Halloween more dramatically than Newstead Abbey. The poet, Lord Byron himself, loved to read ghost stories and was the inspiration for a vampire story. So the abbey is the ideal setting for a haunted house garden trail, taking place every day until Sunday, November 5 (3 pm). Simply pick up a trail map from the abbey shop and off you go! Photo: Submitted
23. Halloween story-telling for the family
Halloween is a time for frightening tales, bone-chilling shivers and unbridled wonder. So why not get on down to the Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre at Edwinstowe on Sunday (5.30 pm to 7 pm) for a family session with story-teller Jim Munro, who will share traditional tales of strange doings, of vengeance taken and of treasures lost and found against the twilight backdrop of the ancient woodland. Photo: Submitted
24. Return of popular trick or treat trail
Rufford Abbey's popular trick or treat Halloween trail has returned until Sunday, November 5 (10 am to 4 pm each day) -- and it promises some new twists. Investigate the spooky ruins, explore the creepy forest, see if you can find the pet graveyard and discover what lurks beneath the lake. Are you brave enough to pop on your wellies, pick up a trail sheet and have a spook-tacular time? Photo: Submitted