Halloween around Lewes 2026: Lewes Castle's trail 26 to 30 Oct, the Bluebell Ghost Train from £21 a child, Depot's horror week and Newick's bonfire on the 31st.

Halloween in Lewes district in 2026 runs across the October half term, Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October, and Halloween night itself is a Saturday. The headline family events are Lewes Castle’s Halloween trail (26 to 30 October, with admission), Newhaven Fort’s daily programme and the Bluebell Railway’s Ghost Train at Sheffield Park, from £21 a child. For adults, Depot runs a horror film week ending with The Blair Witch Project on the 31st. Newick holds its bonfire night on Halloween too.

The quick answer

  • Halloween is Saturday 31 October 2026. Most Lewes district schools are off from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October; our half term page has the dates and the two schools that break a week early.
  • In Lewes itself: the castle trail (26 to 30 Oct, 10am to 4pm, with a normal ticket), a Spooky Party for little ones at the Con Club on Sunday 25 October, and Depot’s Halloween films from 26 to 31 October.
  • Biggest ticketed event: the Bluebell Railway Ghost Train, 22 October to 1 November from Sheffield Park, adults from £42. The railway itself warns it will sell out.
  • No pick-your-own pumpkin patch is confirmed near Lewes this year. See pumpkins below.

Halloween events near Lewes at a glance

Every entry was checked on the organiser’s own website on 4 October 2026.

When What Where Cost
Until Sun 1 Nov Gristle Grotlin’s Halloween trail Paradise Park, Newhaven With entry
Thu 22 Oct to Sun 1 Nov The Ghost Train Sheffield Park Station Adults from £42, children from £21
Sat 24 Oct to Sun 1 Nov Halloween Shriek Week Drusillas, Alfriston With entry
Sun 25 Oct, 2pm to 4pm Go Kid Music Club Spooky Party The Con Club, Lewes £8.50, four for £29
Mon 26 to Fri 30 Oct Halloween Adventures trail and crafts Lewes Castle With admission
Mon 26 to Sat 31 Oct A different Halloween event each day Newhaven Fort With admission
Mon 26 to Sat 31 Oct Halloween film season Depot, Lewes Per film
Sat 31 Oct Newick Bonfire Night Newick Roads closed 6pm to 11pm

Lewes Castle: Halloween Adventures

Sussex Past’s Halloween Adventures in Lewes runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, 10am to 4pm. It is a trail around the castle grounds about the medieval festival of All Hallows’ Eve and how its rituals have changed, with craft activities where children make “spooky creations” to take home. It is for all ages and included with a normal ticket.

The castle’s admission prices are £12 adults, £6.50 children aged 5 to 17 and students, £11 seniors (65+), £23 for one adult and up to three children, and £34 for two adults and up to four children. Under 5s and essential carers go free, and Sussex Archaeological Society members get in free.

The Ghost Train, Bluebell Railway

The Bluebell Railway’s Ghost Train returns for a longer run, 22 October to 1 November, starting and ending at Sheffield Park Station. Prices start at £42 for adults and £21 for children; whole First or Third Class compartments can also be booked for a group.

The railway’s own instructions:

  • Sheffield Park Station opens from 4.30pm. Arrive no later than 6pm; trains leave on time and there are no refunds if you miss yours.
  • At 6.15pm you are called to Platform One for the start.
  • Free parking on site, with disabled parking in the top car park.
  • It is “not a scare/fright event”. The railway rates it PG, aimed at families with older children and adults; under 16s must come with a parent or guardian. It uses loud noises, explosions, flashing lights and immersive effects, so it may not suit anyone with epilepsy or light sensitivity.
  • Part of it is outdoors with steps and a subway, so dress for the weather. Bring a printed ticket or a screenshot, as mobile signal is weak at the station.

Depot’s Halloween season

Depot, the cinema by Lewes station, has a Halloween week of cult films with guests:

  • Monday 26 October, 8.30pm: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (15), introduced by Depot’s Bob Prosser.
  • Wednesday 28 October, 5.50pm: Ghostwatch (12A), the 1992 piece of British television history, with a live Q&A with director Lesley Manning, presented by Cinelogue.
  • Thursday 29 October, 8pm: Kill List (18), with a Q&A with director Ben Wheatley.
  • Friday 30 October, 8.30pm: Ken Russell’s The Devils (18) in a 4K restoration, introduced by programmer Katie Spooner.
  • Saturday 31 October, 8.30pm: The Blair Witch Project (15). A talk on found footage horror, Found Footage 101, runs in the Studio beforehand and is booked separately.

For little ones: the Spooky Party

Lewes Town Council’s events listing carries the Go Kid Music Club Spooky Party at the Con Club on Sunday 25 October, 2pm to 4pm. It is the club’s first session at the venue. Tickets are £8.50 each or £29 for a group of four; children aged 2 and under and Compass Card holders go free. Book through Go Kid Music.

Newhaven: the Fort and Paradise Park

Newhaven Fort’s half term programme changes daily:

  • Monday 26 October: witch storytelling and witch crafts
  • Tuesday 27 October: Reptylers, with snakes and “all things creepy crawly”
  • Wednesday 28 October: the Wacky Wizard Magic Show and wizard crafts
  • Thursday 29 October: spooky tunnels, plus an evening family ghost hunt booked separately through the-pigs.co.uk
  • Friday 30 October: spooky tunnels
  • Saturday 31 October: spooky tunnels and Halloween crafts

The fort recommends the tunnels for children over 8, and they have steps, so they may not suit anyone using a mobility aid. Its 2026 prices are £19.95 adults (16 to 59), £16.95 children aged 4 to 15, £17.95 seniors and students, and £67.95 for a family of two adults and two children or one adult and three children. Under 4s and carers are free, and tickets cover return visits during the seasonal opening.

Paradise Park’s Halloween trail

Paradise Park’s Halloween trail runs 3 October to 1 November: Gristle Grotlin’s Creepy Creatures Discovery Trail through the gardens, with characters including Barry the Burping Bog Monster. It is included with standard entry, and the gardens are open 9am to 6pm daily at Avis Road, BN9 0DH. The park’s ticket page was still headed with its summer saving prices on 4 October, so check the price when you book.

Drusillas, Alfriston

Halloween Shriek Week at Drusillas runs from 24 October to 1 November 2026. The page does not yet list the activities or say whether anything costs extra beyond admission.

Halloween night is a bonfire night in Newick

Newick Bonfire Society’s diary puts its bonfire night on Saturday 31 October: the Make a Guy competition (drop off at Newick Village Hall by 9am), a bonfire breakfast at the village hall at 10am, and roads closed from 6pm to 11pm. Isfield’s bonfire is the night before, Friday 30 October. Every society night, including Lewes on Thursday 5 November, is on our bonfire nights near Lewes page.

Pumpkins

Older listings still advertise “PYO Pumpkins and Halloween Maze” at a Picking Patch site on Littledene Lane, Glynde. Picking Patch’s own website now lists only two locations, Fordingbridge in the New Forest and a pop-up at Preston Manor in Brighton, and nothing at Glynde. Treat the Glynde listing as out of date unless the farm announces it. Middle Farm at Firle is not a pumpkin patch, but its Open Farm puts its scarecrow competition entries on display over half term (£10 day admission, under 3s free).

Still to be confirmed

  • Drusillas’ Shriek Week programme and any extra charge.
  • Paradise Park’s autumn prices.
  • Lewes Castle on Monday 26 October: the event page gives 26 to 30 October, but the castle’s opening times list Tuesday to Sunday only, so ring before a Monday visit. From 25 October the castle closes at 4pm and the museum at 5pm.

Driving to Sheffield Park or Newhaven? Check roadworks and travel first, and parking in Lewes for the castle and Depot. Everything else on in the next six weeks is on what’s on in Lewes this month.