Half term is almost upon us and there is no better place to have a spooktacular Halloween than in Staffordshire.
Haunted walks, scarefests and firework displays are just some of the fantastic events that are taking place in the county over the coming weeks.
There is a whole host of fun activities for children, families and adults to enjoy, these include Scarefest at Alton Towers Resort which runs from 17 October until 1 November.
The annual Halloween event returns with two brand new spine-chilling horror mazes including ‘The Haunting of Molly Crowe’. Also to test your nerve is the post-apocalyptic race for survival The End Games and an over 18s late night version called Operation Lockdown.
The terror doesn’t end there with the National Forest Adventure Farm in Burton upon Trent, hosting Screamfest (15 – 31 October). Not for the faint-hearted, Screamfest 2015 features five terrifying scare mazes and a zombie paintball smash.
Staying in Burton and the National Brewery Centre is hosting a weekend of Halloween Ghost Tours (28 – 31 October) and a Halloween Ball (31 October) – both are adult only events.
For families there is a Halloween Spooktacular at Shugborough Estate on October 31 where the mansion is transformed into a haunted house. Among the activities for children is a ghost train and a weird and wonderful zombie garden in the depths of the Shugborough grounds. A disco for children is also on throughout the evening.
Whereas the second Halloween event at National Forest Adventure Farm (23 October – 1 November) is aimed at younger children with fun activities and dressing up.
Tamworth Castle has haunting activities for children throughout the October half term as well as a children’s Halloween party on October 31 and a late night Ghost Search vigil (for adults only) on the same night. For those looking not to overdo Halloween there is still plenty of fun to be had in Staffordshire.
Families can get outdoors and explore the award-winning gardens, woodland and adventure play of the Trentham Estate and follow its fairy trail around the mile-long lake as well as take a boat ride on the Miss Elizabeth catamaran.
Nearby there is the ever popular Trentham Monkey Forest where visitors can take a stroll among 140 free-roaming monkeys in their 60 acres forest home. Feeding times are quarter past every hour from 11.15am. Or perhaps for a truly immersive experience get up close to penguins, wallabies, meerkats and lemurs at the new Peak Wildlife Park near Leek.
Conkers in the heart of the National Forest is hosting a fortnight of special events and activities and there is a vast array of family friendly cycle trails to choose from around the county – try Cannock Chase to the south or the Manifold Valley in the Peaks.
Fun can also be had indoors and for arts, crafts and hands-on activities visit the recently opened iconic World of Wedgwood where visitors can have a go at the potter’s wheel or design a masterpiece as Wedgwood celebrate ‘The Big Draw’ during October half term.
The Emma Bridgewater Factory in Stoke-on-Trent will be hosting a number of events centred around the theme of birds. The highlight of this will be a ‘Meet The Owls’ event on Wednesday 28 October where visitors can get up close and personal with owls and falcons.
And for leisure activities under one roof there’s the choice of splashing around at Waterworld in Stoke-on-Trent or playing in the real snow at the SnowDome in Tamworth.
Drayton Manor Theme Park will round-off half term and Halloween with a spectacular end of season fireworks weekend. Promising to be bigger and better than ever before the attraction will celebrate its 65th anniversary with three evenings of fireworks (30 October – 1 November) set to the War of the Worlds music.
For more information go to www.enjoystaffordshire.com/halfterm