Lichfield's October half term is 26 to 30 October. A Halloween steam train, free Arboretum crafts, cathedral stitch sessions and Garrick shows, with prices.

October half term for Staffordshire schools runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, with pupils back on Monday 2 November. Lichfield Cathedral School breaks a week earlier and has two weeks off, from 19 October. Full dates for every big local school are on our Lichfield school term dates page.

What follows is what is actually on in the district that week, taken from each organiser’s own listing and checked on 25 September 2026. It is ordered by day, with the things that run all week first.

The quick answer

  • Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026.
  • Free all week: drop-in crafts at the National Memorial Arboretum (11am to 3pm) and the Halloween I-spy trail in Beacon Park and Burntwood Park.
  • The big ticket: Chasewater Railway’s Phantom Flyer Halloween steam train, Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, £11.95 a head.

All week

Halloween I-spy trail, Beacon Park and Burntwood Park. Free. Nine Halloween-themed tags are hidden around both parks, and you find them at your own pace during park opening hours. It runs from 17 October to 3 November (Lichfield District Council).

Halloween puzzle trail, Beacon Park. £1.50 a trail. A separate trail with puzzles to solve on the way round and a small prize at the end, 10am to 3pm daily from 10 October to 3 November (Lichfield District Council).

National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas. Free entry, crafts free. The Arboretum’s half-term programme runs 10am to 4pm, 26 to 30 October (National Memorial Arboretum):

  • Drop-in arts and crafts, free, 11am to 3pm every weekday of half term.
  • Arbie’s i-Spy autumn trail, £2.50 a person, 10am to 4pm from 24 October to 1 November.
  • Interactive storytelling, free, but it needs booking and the Arboretum says tickets go on sale “closer to the event date”.

Entry to the grounds is free; the cost is parking, £5 a car booked in advance or £8 on the day (NMA parking). The Arboretum’s Field of Remembrance also opens on 30 October.

Lichfield Cathedral. Entry by donation. Three things for families (Lichfield Cathedral, family activities):

  • Black Poppy Stories trail, all week in visitor opening hours, aimed at primary-age children and telling the stories of seven Black servicemen, servicewomen and community leaders.
  • Poppy stitch sessions, Monday 26 to Thursday 29 October, 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm, for all ages, crocheting, knitting or sewing poppies for the cathedral’s installation.
  • Fun and Faith: Jesus the Superhero, Monday 26 and Thursday 29 October from 11am. Children can come dressed as superheroes.

Day by day

Day What Where Price
Sun 25 Oct, 2pm and 4.30pm The Witch Who Couldn’t Sleep (Creative Burntwood) Burntwood Memorial Institute £5
Mon 26 Oct, 12.30pm and 4pm Ministry of Science Live Lichfield Garrick from £20
Tue 27 Oct, 2pm The Amazing Bubble Man Lichfield Garrick from £18.50
Tue 27 Oct, 6.30pm Michael Rosen: Nice! Lichfield Garrick £14
Fri 30 Oct, 12pm to 4pm Mini Monster Mash Chasewater Railway to be confirmed
Fri 30 Oct, 6pm Stitchety craft cinema: Hocus Pocus (PG) Lichfield Garrick Studio £15
Fri 30 and Sat 31 Oct, evenings Phantom Flyer Halloween train Chasewater Railway £11.95

Garrick times and prices are from the theatre’s own box office system on 25 September; a price shown as “from” rises for better seats.

Ministry of Science Live is the loud one: liquid nitrogen clouds, exploding hydrogen balloons and fire tornadoes, and the Garrick warns of loud noises, smoke, flashing lights and pyrotechnics (Lichfield Garrick).

The Amazing Bubble Man is Louis Pearl’s long-running bubble show, including people inside bubbles, and runs about 70 minutes (Lichfield Garrick).

Michael Rosen: Nice! is the poet’s new live show, marking his 80th birthday, and the Garrick bills it as for all ages (Lichfield Garrick).

Chasewater Railway’s Halloween comes in two halves (Chasewater Railway). The Mini Monster Mash is the daytime part for younger children on Friday 30 October, 12pm to 4pm: a Trick or Treat Train, a costume competition, pumpkin crafts and face painting. There is no need to book, and the railway has not yet published its price. The Phantom Flyer is the after-dark scare train, with departures on Friday 30 October at 5.30pm, 6.45pm and 8pm, and on Saturday 31 October at 5.15pm, 6.35pm, 7.45pm and 9pm. It is £11.95 a person or £82.50 for a private compartment for up to six, and tickets are on sale now. The railway sits on the Burntwood and Brownhills edge of Chasewater Country Park.

Still to be confirmed

  • The Mini Monster Mash price at Chasewater Railway.
  • Storytelling booking at the National Memorial Arboretum, which opens nearer the date.
  • Lichfield District Council has not yet listed any 2026 half-term sports sessions of its own. We will add them if it does.

We will check all of these again in mid-October.