Tulleys pumpkin picking runs daily 16 to 31 Oct, the Bluebell Ghost Train 22 Oct to 1 Nov from £42, plus Borde Hill and Nymans trails. Dates and prices.

Halloween itself falls on Saturday 31 October 2026, the last day of West Sussex’s half term (Monday 26 to Friday 30 October). The district’s biggest draws are all confirmed and on sale: Tulleys’ pumpkin fields at Turners Hill, the Bluebell Railway’s Ghost Train, and children’s trails at Borde Hill and Nymans. Every date and price below was checked on the organiser’s own website on 4 October.

The quick answer

  • Pumpkin picking: Tulleys Pumpkin Festival, Turners Hill, is open every day from Friday 16 to Saturday 31 October, 9.30am, plus 9 to 11 October. Pumpkins cost £1 to £25 by size.
  • Grown-up scares: Shocktober Fest at Tulleys runs to Sunday 1 November, recommended 16+, passes from £42.95.
  • Ghost Train: the Bluebell Railway’s evening ghost story runs 22 October to 1 November, adults from £42, children from £21. The railway says it will sell out.
  • Small children: Borde Hill’s Halloween trail (17 October to 1 November, £3.50 plus entry) and the Ghost Hunt at Nymans (10 October to 1 November, free with admission).
  • Fireworks the same fortnight: Ardingly on Saturday 24 October, Tulleys’ finale on Sunday 1 November. Every display is on our Mid Sussex fireworks page.

Halloween in Mid Sussex at a glance

When What Where Cost
9 to 11 Oct, then daily 16 to 31 Oct Tulleys Pumpkin Festival (daytime) Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Book online; pumpkins £1 to £25
Selected nights to 1 Nov Pumpkin Nights Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill Book online
Nightly to 1 Nov (not 5 to 7, 12 or 19 Oct) Shocktober Fest, 16+ recommended Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill From £42.95
10 Oct to 1 Nov We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt trail Nymans, Handcross Free with admission
17 Oct to 1 Nov A Spellbinding Halloween trail Borde Hill, Haywards Heath £3.50 plus garden entry
22 Oct to 1 Nov The Ghost Train Bluebell Railway, Sheffield Park to Horsted Keynes Adults from £42, children from £21
28 Oct to 1 Nov Halloween fun on the trains Bluebell Railway Adults £27, children £1
29 to 31 Oct The Addams Family, COS Musical Theatre Chequer Mead, East Grinstead See booking page

Tulleys Pumpkin Festival, Turners Hill

Tulleys Farm on Turners Hill Road is the biggest Halloween attraction in the district, and it says it has 1.5 million pumpkins. New for 2026 is the Pumpkin Valley, an area of giant pumpkin sculptures and ponds. The daytime festival opens at 9.30am and you can stay until 5.30pm, or 5pm from Sunday 25 October once the clocks go back.

The farm’s published calendar has it open:

  • Sunday 4 October and Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October
  • Thursday 15 October: Pooches and Pumpkins, a day for dogs
  • Every day from Friday 16 to Saturday 31 October

It is closed on the other weekdays in early October. Entry times are staggered and tickets are sold online in advance; Tulleys does not publish the prices on its own pages, only on the booking system. You pay for pumpkins by size when you leave, using rings in the courtyard: £1 to £25. The whole event is cashless. Dogs are welcome on a lead, and under-16s must be with a paying adult aged 18 or over. The sat nav postcode is RH10 4PD. (Tulleys Pumpkin Festival, dates and times; Tulleys, FAQs)

Pumpkin Nights

The evening version opens at 5.30pm on selected nights and closes at 10pm, 10.30pm or 11pm depending on the night. It runs on 4 and 9 to 11 October, 15 to 18 October and every night from 20 to 31 October; it is closed on Monday 19 October. There are two live music stages, street food and bars.

The season ends on Sunday 1 November with the Pumpkin Nights Fireworks Finale, fireworks at 7.15pm. Tulleys’ two pages disagree on that night’s hours: the daytime calendar says it opens 4pm to 11pm, the Pumpkin Nights calendar says 5pm to 10pm. Check your ticket. (Pumpkin Nights, dates and times)

Shocktober Fest

Tulleys’ scream park opened on 2 October for 26 nights, ending on Sunday 1 November with a finale night and firework display. The park opens at 4.30pm and the haunts run 5.30pm to 11.30pm (5.30pm opening on 1 November). It is shut on 5, 6, 7, 12 and 19 October.

Passes start at £42.95 for entry to all haunts, rising to £152.95 with fast tracks; parking is free. Shocktober says it is a recommended 16+ event because of “intense scare experiences, adult themes, strong language, sexual references, and mature content”. Under-16s must be with a paying adult, 16 to 21 year olds need photo ID, and dogs other than guide dogs are not allowed. No masks, hoods or imitation weapons. The organisers warn of delays leaving the car park. (Shocktober Fest, passes; Shocktober Fest, FAQs)

The Ghost Train, Bluebell Railway

After selling out in its first year, the Bluebell Railway’s Ghost Train returns for a longer run, Thursday 22 October to Sunday 1 November. It starts at Sheffield Park, just over the border in East Sussex:

  • 4.30pm: Sheffield Park station opens, with food available. Arrive no later than 6pm.
  • 6.15pm: the performance starts on Platform One, outdoors.
  • 6.30pm: the train leaves for Horsted Keynes, arriving around 6.55pm, where the story plays out across the station.
  • 8.10pm: the train leaves Horsted Keynes, back at Sheffield Park around 8.25pm.

Adults from £42, children from £21. The railway says it is “not a jump-scare attraction, but it is spooky and can be frightening in places”, aimed at families with older children and adults, recommended PG, with under-16s accompanied. Much of it is on open platforms, so dress for wind and rain. (Bluebell Railway, The Ghost Train)

Daytime Halloween trains, 28 October to 1 November

For younger children, the railway runs Halloween fun at the railway on Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November: crafts on board the trains, a Halloween bingo carriage with Felix the Wizard (first come, first served) and a carved pumpkin display at Kingscote station. Fancy dress is encouraged; bring a labelled pumpkin with a battery light, not a candle, for the chance of a prize. The craft trains are the 10.30am and 1pm from Sheffield Park and the 11.30am and 2pm from East Grinstead. Adults pay £27, and children aged 3 to 15 travel for £1 with a paying adult all half term. (Bluebell Railway, Halloween at the Bluebell Railway)

Borde Hill: A Spellbinding Halloween

Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath, runs a daily story trail from Saturday 17 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 5pm. An owl called Morticus Moonfeather has been casting spells on the scarecrows in Pumpkin Patch Meadow. It is for children aged 3 to 8, costs £3.50 per trail plus garden admission, includes a prize, and is free to child and family members.

In half term there are bookable sessions in the garden marquee, all plus admission:

  • Monday 26 October: magic shows with Professor Hiccup, 10.45am, 11.45am, 1.45pm and 2.45pm, £3.50 per child
  • Tuesday 27 October: wand making, 10.30am, 11.45am and 1.45pm, £4.50 per child
  • Wednesday 28 October: Halloween Fun with Tomfoolery, 10.30am, 11.45am, 1.30pm and 2.45pm, £5 per child
  • Thursday 29 October: drop-in Halloween crafts, 11am to 12.30pm and 1.30pm to 3pm, included in admission
  • Friday 30 October: Spooky Spiders and Slithering Snakes, 10.30am, 11.45am and 1.45pm, £4.50 per child

(Borde Hill, A Spellbinding Halloween)

Nymans: We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt

The National Trust garden at Handcross runs a trail based on the We’re Going on a Ghost Hunt books from Saturday 10 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4.30pm. Children follow the bunnies to find hidden ghosts, play Halloween hoopla and race their broomsticks, collecting stickers on the way. The trail is free with normal admission, and a storyteller reads the books on Tuesday 27 October at 10.30am, 11.30am and 1pm. Admission is £21 for adults and £10.50 for children aged 5 to 17 (£23.10 and £11.60 with Gift Aid); National Trust members go free. (National Trust, Nymans)

Also on that fortnight

  • Wallace and Gromit: Fantastic Fungi Trail at Wakehurst, Ardingly, 17 October to 1 November, £3 trail pack plus garden entry. Not a Halloween trail, but it is the other big family draw of the holiday. Details on our October half term page.
  • The Addams Family, COS Musical Theatre, Chequer Mead, East Grinstead, Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October. (Chequer Mead)
  • Ardingly Fireworks Spectacular, South of England Showground, Saturday 24 October; Hurstpierpoint’s Danny Park display on Sunday 1 November. Times and prices on our fireworks page.

Trick or treat and town events

None of the three town councils (Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, East Grinstead) lists a Halloween event of its own for 2026: we checked all three what’s on pages on 4 October. If one is announced we will add it here.

Getting there and parking

Tulleys and Shocktober have their own free car parks; expect queues leaving on busy nights. Borde Hill, Nymans and Wakehurst have on-site car parks; at Wakehurst, National Trust members get in free but pay to park. For town centre car parks and charges see our parking in Mid Sussex page, and for closures on the A23, A264 and B2028 around Turners Hill see roadworks and travel. More for the week is on our what’s on this month page.

Sources