What's On in Gloucestershire

The Art of Autumn Family Trail

Venue: Westonbirt Arboretum

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/art-of-autumn

This autumn, take the whole family to Westonbirt Arboretum and explore their Family Autumn Trail, a hands-on adventure celebrating the season’s spectacular colours, textures, and creativity. Pick up...

Newark Park's Special Species

Venue: Newark Park

Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Learn about the special species at Newark Park this September and October among the autumnal colours.Pick up a free leaflet at Visitor Reception to learn more about the special trees in the garden including...

Boosting confidence at Samurai Martial Arts

Venue: Gloucestershire

Website: www.samurai-martialarts.co.uk

Through structured practice, kids learn respect for themselves and others, boosting confidence and resilience. Martial arts also teach goal-setting and perseverance, as progress is earned through consistent...

Brickus Orpheus

Venue: Corinium Museum

Website: www.coriniummuseum.org

Families can discover the incredible Brickus Orpheus trail, that tells the Orpheus myth using statues of many of the animals and characters all made from LEGO® bricks. The trail is part of the celebration...

Colliers Trail at Beechenhurst

Venue: Beechenhurst

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/beechenhurst/colliers-trail

The Colliers Trail is a family cycling trail - a fully waymarked, circular route, with connecting routes to villages and picnic sites. This route has been especially surfaced and is suitable for all ages...

Cotswold Education

Venue: 200 Reservoir Road, Gloucester

Website: www.cotswoldeducation.co.uk

Cotswold Education offer individual consultations, signpost to resources and help you with applying for grammar school and completing appeals if the results weren't what you hoped. They also run online...

Kids Laser Tag

Venue: BattleSports Glos

Address: Elton Farm Leisure, Littledean Road

Website: www.battlesportsglos.com/kids-laser-tag

BattleSports Glos specialise in birthday parties, large group bookings, sports teams and school trips. Once you arrive on site with your group the team of highly trained marshals will do the rest, including...

Level-Up Your Weekend at FlyUp 417 Bike Park!

Venue: Crickley Hill Farm

Website: www.417bikepark.co.uk

FlyUp’s Kids MTB Skills Club is the perfect way for young riders to gain confidence and master essential biking skills, all while having heaps of fun! Held on weekends during term time, these sessions...

The Stick Man Trail at Beechenhurst

Venue: Beechenhurst

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/beechenhurst

The interactive family trail follows Stick Man on his journey as he tries to get back to the family tree. Enjoy the wonderful world of Stick Man as you complete lots of fun stick-based activities, discover...

Bewitching Bats Trail

Venue: Hidcote

Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

From 1 October to 2 November, take part in a family trail around the gardens. Pick up a trail sheet from Visitor Reception and explore the gardens, finding all of the trail points as you go - what spooky...

Pumpkin Patch

Venue: Cotswold Farm Park

Website: https://cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk

The much-loved Pumpkin Patch is coming back to Cotswold Farm Park this October! Sign up to their mailing list to be notified when events are published.

Dunster Castle School of Magic - The Spellbound Familiars Trail

Venue: Dunster Castle and Watermill

Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/dunster-castle-and-watermill

One of the professors' creature companions has naughty streak and has cast a spell over all the other creatures to confuse their keepers. Follow the trail around the grounds, complete the activities and...

Halloween Activities at Mendip Activity Centre

Venue: Mendip Activity Centre

Website: www.mendip.co.uk/halloween

It's time for Halloween adventures this October at Mendip Activity Centre. Test target skills with the Zombie Outbreak Response Team, swish down the haunted toboggan slope or book one of the new Nerf and...

PYO Pumpkins

Venue: Over Farm

Website: www.overfarm.co.uk

Find the perfect pumpkin in the 17-acre PYO patch and enjoy an authentic Autumnal experience, pumped full of fun. Ideal for a fun family morning out or even a unique daytime date, this PYO pumpkin patch...

Cheltenham Literature Festival

Venue: Montpellier Gardens

Website: www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/whats-on

This October, The Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival returns for 10 days of fun for the whole family, featuring your favourite authors, comic artists and stars of stage and screen.Enjoy...

Boosting confidence at Samurai Martial Arts

Venue: Gloucestershire

Website: www.samurai-martialarts.co.uk

Through structured practice, kids learn respect for themselves and others, boosting confidence and resilience. Martial arts also teach goal-setting and perseverance, as progress is earned through consistent...

Brickus Orpheus

Venue: Corinium Museum

Website: www.coriniummuseum.org

Families can discover the incredible Brickus Orpheus trail, that tells the Orpheus myth using statues of many of the animals and characters all made from LEGO® bricks. The trail is part of the celebration...

Colliers Trail at Beechenhurst

Venue: Beechenhurst

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/beechenhurst/colliers-trail

The Colliers Trail is a family cycling trail - a fully waymarked, circular route, with connecting routes to villages and picnic sites. This route has been especially surfaced and is suitable for all ages...

Cotswold Education

Venue: 200 Reservoir Road, Gloucester

Website: www.cotswoldeducation.co.uk

Cotswold Education offer individual consultations, signpost to resources and help you with applying for grammar school and completing appeals if the results weren't what you hoped. They also run online...

Kids Laser Tag

Venue: BattleSports Glos

Address: Elton Farm Leisure, Littledean Road

Website: www.battlesportsglos.com/kids-laser-tag

BattleSports Glos specialise in birthday parties, large group bookings, sports teams and school trips. Once you arrive on site with your group the team of highly trained marshals will do the rest, including...

Level-Up Your Weekend at FlyUp 417 Bike Park!

Venue: Crickley Hill Farm

Website: www.417bikepark.co.uk

FlyUp’s Kids MTB Skills Club is the perfect way for young riders to gain confidence and master essential biking skills, all while having heaps of fun! Held on weekends during term time, these sessions...

The Stick Man Trail at Beechenhurst

Venue: Beechenhurst

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/beechenhurst

The interactive family trail follows Stick Man on his journey as he tries to get back to the family tree. Enjoy the wonderful world of Stick Man as you complete lots of fun stick-based activities, discover...

Material Futures: Home-Educator Workshop

Venue: The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

Website: www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk

Textiles can tell stories, share ideas, and help us imagine new futures. In this hands-on workshop for home-educated children begin with a short visit to Material Worlds, The Wilson’s new exhibition...

Cotswold Outdoor Fun

Venue: Westonbirt Arboretum

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/cotswold-outdoor-fun

A fortnightly group for home-educated children aged 10-15 with additional needs who would love to spend more time outdoors. This group runs year-round but sessions at Westonbirt Arboretum. Also 29 Oct...

The Crypt School Open Event

Venue: Podsmead Rd

Website: https://cryptschool.org/open-events

Families can meet current students, speak to staff and explore its purpose-built facilities. The school provides a supportive and inclusive environment with a strong pastoral system and a wide-ranging...

Marling School Open Evening

Venue: Marling School

Website: www.marling.school

Marling offers a broad, challenging curriculum and a wealth of clubs, trips, and enrichment activities, ensuring every student can discover and develop their own interests and talents. Attend their Open...

Mystical Marsh Lantern Experience

Venue: WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre

Website: www.wwt.org.uk

This Halloween, escape the ghouls and goblins and experience a wildlife-packed lantern trail that will leave big and little nature fans spellbound. For those who love the super natural but not the spook,...

Dog Shows at The Big Bark

Venue: Cirencester Park

Website: www.gawa.org.uk

Cheltenham Animal Shelter will be hosting the ever-popular Fun Dog Show throughout both days so go along and show off your pooch in a variety of light-hearted, tail-wagging competitions. It’s a fantastic...

Super Natural October Half Term 2025

Venue: WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre

Website: www.wwt.org.uk

Explore the super natural this October half-term at WWT Slimbridge.Get ready for a fun-filled Halloween, bubbling over with magical activities for the whole family to enjoy on 18,19 October and 25 Oct-2...

Time-Travelling Scarecrow Hunt

Venue: Painswick Rococo Garden

Website: www.rococogarden.org.uk

This October Rococo Garden comes alive with a magical twist on the Great Scarecrow Hunt. Discover Time Traveller Scarecrows from every era. Local schools, groups and organisations have created these colourful...

Out Of The Box

Venue: Gloucester Guildhall

Website: www.gloucesterguildhall.co.uk

Family-friendly circus comedy show, which sees an unlikely character and his box bring audiences together through joyful awe, never knowing what to expect next. With every opening of the box comes new...

Home Educator Event: Sir Peter Scott – his life, his work, and his legacy

Venue: WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre

Website: www.wwt.org.uk

Learn about Sir Peter Scott, the founder of WWT and, according to David Attenborough, a ‘patron saint’ of conservation.Take a tour of Scott’s studio bursting at the seams with his personal belongings...

Stargazing Evening

Venue: Dunster Castle and Watermill

Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/dunster-castle-and-watermill

Enjoy an evening of stargazing activities using telescopic equipment, laser guided star mapping, constellation story telling and much more. Wet weather options will include VR headsets and a mobile planetarium....

Halloween at the Castle

Venue: Sudeley Castle and Gardens

Website: www.sudeleycastle.co.uk

Embark on an epic pumpkin trail across the castle grounds—a seasonal adventure filled with mystery, discovery, and delight. On All Hallow's Eve journey back in time and uncover the darker side of history...

Halloween Trick Or Treat Trail

Venue: The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

Website: www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk

Shadows move, whispers echo, and a trail of mysterious clues winds through the galleries. Seek out hidden ingredients for a secret spell—but beware, not everything is what it seems.The trail runs during...

October half-term bug trail

Venue: Dyrham Park

Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

Find out about creepy crawlies this autumn in a fun family trail. The trail will take you through the parkland to eight trail stations with fun facts about how scientists used microscopes to look at and...

Roman Riches Revealed - October Half Term at Chedworth Roman Villa

Venue: Chedworth Roman Villa

Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk

This October half term, uncover the financial secrets behind one of Britain's most luxurious Roman villas. From precious coins and imported treasures to the eye-watering costs of Roman mosaics and central...

Halloween at Berkeley Castle

Venue: Berkeley Castle

Website: www.berkeley-castle.com

Be enchanted by Owls in the Great Hall, their silent wings and piercing eyes adding to the Castle’s medieval splendour.Gather round for Spooky Storytelling, where tales of mystery and folklore will send...

Archaeology Adventures

Venue: The Roman Baths

Website: www.romanbaths.co.uk

Dig for Roman artefacts (replicas) in the special excavation trench and learn how to identify, record, and uncover hidden treasures—just like a real archaeologist. Discover, Investigate, Identify, Reconstruct...

Five Valleys Fireworks

Venue: Marling School Playing Field

Website: www.fivevalleysfireworks.org.uk

Formerly known as the Ebley Fireworks, the Rotary Five Valleys Fireworks is Gloucestershire's premier fireworks event. Organised by the Rotary clubs of Stroud, Stonehouse and Nailsworth this is a charitable...

Mosaic Makes - Free Family Crafts

Venue: The Roman Baths

Website: www.romanbaths.co.uk

Enjoy some fun family craft sessions this October half-term, included in your admission. Create a spider or pumpkin mosaic based on the myth of Arachne - the mortal women zapped into a spider by the goddess...

Autumn Wonders

Venue: Westonbirt Arboretum

Address: Learning Centre

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/autumn-wonders

Go along to this free family event to discover the science behind autumn colour change. Get creative and make your own autumn leaf crown, or autumn mobile! Take part in their autumn colour challenge activity...

Halloween Play in a Day!

Venue: The Roses Theatre

Website: www.rosestheatre.org/events/halloween-play-in-a-day

Led by theatre-maker, Sam Strachan, children will explore their creativity, learn new acting skills and bring a haunted story to life on stage. Whether they’re a seasoned performer or new to the stage,...

Material Futures

Venue: The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

Website: www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk

In this workshop play with fabric, thread, and colour to shout, whisper, dream, and remember. What do you want the world to look like? How can textiles help us say it out loud? Please note this is not...

Creative Explorers

Venue: The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

Website: www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk

An artist led holiday club for 5-11 year olds who love to make, share and play. Collaborate on engaging individual and group craft projects with a focus on nature, the world around us and free play to...

Halloween Party

Venue: The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

Website: www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk

Two enchanted hours filled with curious crafts, eerie experiments, and a fang-tastic Trick or Treat Trail. Little witches, wizards, and brave explorers can dive into all sorts of magical mischief and mysterious...

Phantoms and Fireworks

Venue: Sudeley Castle and Gardens

Website: www.sudeleycastle.co.uk

As dusk falls, the castle will come alive with a mischievous Halloween funfair, and a trail leading you towards the heart of the evening—the Hop Field, with its panoramic views of an illuminated Sudeley...

Home Educated Learning

Venue: Westonbirt Arboretum

Website: www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt/home-educated

Using the arboretum’s magnificent surroundings, students will have the opportunity to engage creatively with the natural setting. Each event has a different theme and learning activity for the children...

Cheltenham Cricket Club's Fairview Fireworks Party 2025

Venue: Cheltenham Cricket Club

Website: www.clubsports365.com/clubs/cheltenham-cricket-club

On Friday 7th November, the annual Cheltenham Cricket Club's Fairview Fireworks Party returns, hosting not one, but two displays (one without loud bangs, they will still bang a bit!!). Food, Bar, and live...

Twilight Tobogganing at Mendip Activity Centre

Venue: Mendip Activity Centre

Website: www.mendip.co.uk/twilight

Slide into holiday adventures with Twilight Tobogganing! Race down the outdoor slope beneath a canopy of 10,000 sparkling lights and dancing lasers. Each group gets private use of 8 toboggans followed...

Dursley fireworks 2025

Venue: Dursley Recreation Ground

Website: www.girlguidingdursley.org.uk/fireworks.html

No need to book, just turn up on the gates with your pennies to spend. Gates open at 5pm, fireworks start at 6pm. There are two sets of 10 minute displays, the first being a quieter more gentle set, and...

Fireworks at Miserden

Venue: Miserden

Website: www.miserden.org/fireworks-2025

Family friendly fun evening, helping to raise funds for Miserden School. Remember, remember the fifth of November...wrap up warm and head over to Miserden for a fantastic fireworks display and bonfire...

Practical Fine Art for Children – Winter Term

Venue: The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum

Website: www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk

The perfect complement to school art lessons, whether studying at primary or GCSE level. Practical, how-to skills: observational drawing techniques, multi-media exploration, adventures in colour and more....

Carnival Sunday

Venue: Cheltenham Race Course

Website: www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham/events-tickets/the-november-meeting/sunday

Get ready for a day of colour, excitement, and family fun at Carnival Sunday, part of The November Meeting. Celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Minions and meet them in person, alongside Shetland pony...

Spectacle of Light 2025

Venue: Sudeley Castle and Gardens

Website: www.sudeleycastle.co.uk

Discover the Court of King Arthur and the Magic of Merlin as you experience this wondrous after-dark adventure around Sudeley's magical castle grounds. Meet mythical characters from the Arthurian legend...

Enchanted Garden by Night

Venue: Painswick Rococo Garden

Website: www.rococogarden.org.uk

As night falls over Painswick Rococo Garden, the magic of Christmas awakens…This Christmas, step into a glowing Garden and stroll among playful woodland animals. Enchanting scenes await at every turn...

Robin Hood and His Merry Men

Venue: Everyman Theatre

Website: www.everymantheatre.org.uk

Tweedy is back in Gloucestershire’s biggest, best and most renowned pantomime, along with a cast of returning Everyman favourites in a heart-pounding thrill-ride for the entire family. Tickets, starting...

Jack and the Beanstalk

Venue: The Roses Theatre

Website: www.rosestheatre.org

Join Jack, his quirky family and a cast of colorful characters on a giant-sized adventure packed with laughter, magic, and plenty of beans! Will Jack outwit the fearsome giant, save the day and find his...

The Big Batsford Elf Hunt

Venue: Batsford Arboretum

Website: www.batsarb.co.uk

Santa's naughty elves have gone missing at Batsford Arboretum, find them to win a prize! £3 per child, plus admission fees. See website for full details and Christmas opening hours.

The Snowman with Pop-Up Interactive Orchestra

Venue: Gloucester Guildhall

Website: www.gloucesterguildhall.co.uk

This fun and interactive event gives you the opportunity to join a lively pop-up orchestra workshop, which begins with a vocal warm up to the unforgettable classic Walking in the Air.

Santa's Grotto

Venue: Batsford Arboretum

Website: www.batsarb.co.uk

Santa is returning to his magical grotto at Batsford this Christmas on the 6th, 7th, 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st December. See website for full details and to book.