October half term in Eastbourne is 26 to 30 October. Pumpkins at Blackberry Farm, Knockhatch's Half Term Horrors, Drusillas and Brainiac Live, with prices.
October half term for most Eastbourne schools is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Two secondary schools have a longer break: Gildredge House is off from 19 October and The Eastbourne Academy from 21 October, both for two weeks. Below are the things on in and around Eastbourne across those two weeks that have a confirmed date and price on the organiser’s own site, checked on 25 September.
The quick answer
- County half term: 26 to 30 October. Gildredge House: 19 to 30 October. The Eastbourne Academy: 21 to 30 October.
- Biggest free spectacle: the Beachy Head Marathon weekend, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, starting and finishing on Dukes Drive.
- For children: Brainiac Live! at the Congress Theatre on Tuesday 27 October at 2pm, and Shriek Week at Drusillas from 24 October to 1 November.
Updated 3 October: Oktoberfest at the Winter Garden is now listed from £27, not £20. Four Halloween events now have 2026 dates on the organisers’ own pages: Knockhatch’s Half Term Horrors, Sharnfold Farm’s trail and pumpkin carving, Blackberry Farm’s pick-your-own pumpkins, and a ghost-hunting night at the Royal Hippodrome. All are below and on our Eastbourne Halloween page.
Updated 30 September: the Cecilia Fiona exhibition at Towner is free, not £10; the £10 was the price of a talk on 10 October.
Full term dates for every school we could find are on our Eastbourne term dates page.
What’s on, day by day
| When | What | Where | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Until Sun 1 Nov | Cecilia Fiona exhibition | Towner Eastbourne | Free |
| Fri 23 Oct, 8.30pm | Looking for Ghosts (adults, overnight) | Royal Hippodrome Theatre | £55 |
| Sat 24 Oct | Beachy Head Marathon, Ultra and 10K | Dukes Drive and the South Downs | Free to watch |
| Sat 24 Oct | Tea and Tour, backstage tour | Congress Theatre | £20 |
| Sat 24 Oct | Oktoberfest (adults) | Winter Garden | From £27 |
| Sat 24 Oct to Sun 1 Nov | Halloween Shriek Week | Drusillas Park, Alfriston | See Drusillas tickets |
| Sat 24 to Fri 30 Oct | Half Term Horrors | Knockhatch, Hailsham | Park entry |
| Sat 24 Oct to Sun 1 Nov, 10am to 4pm | Halloween farm trail and pumpkin carving | Sharnfold Farm, Stone Cross | Carving £6.95 |
| Sat 24 Oct to Sun 1 Nov | Pick-your-own pumpkins, Halloween tractor ride | Blackberry Farm, Whitesmith | Pumpkins £6.75 |
| Sun 25 Oct | Beachy Head Half Marathon | Dukes Drive and the South Downs | Free to watch |
| Tue 27 Oct, 2pm | Brainiac Live! | Congress Theatre | £20.50 |
| Wed 28 Oct, 7.30pm | Two Mr Ps in a Podcast: Live | Devonshire Park Theatre | £34 |
| Wed 28 Oct, 8pm | Anton Du Beke: Steps in Time | Congress Theatre | £55.75 |
| Sat 31 Oct, 7pm | Rhythm of the 90s Halloween Party | Winter Garden | £29.50 |
| Sat 31 Oct, 7.30pm | Ruby Wax: Absolutely Famous | Devonshire Park Theatre | £42.75 |
Theatre prices are the ticket price shown on Eastbourne Theatres’ booking pages on 25 September, and re-checked on 3 October; booking fees and seat availability can change.
For families
Brainiac Live! is the one to book. The Congress Theatre listing on Eastbourne Theatres’ booking site shows a single 2pm performance on Tuesday 27 October, with tickets at £20.50. The show’s own blurb says it won the 2025 Olivier Award for best family show.
Shriek Week at Drusillas runs from 24 October to 1 November 2026, per Drusillas’ own page. Drusillas is at Alfriston, a short drive west of Eastbourne. Check the park’s own ticket page for prices before you go.
Halloween in the half-term week is mostly just outside town, at the farms and parks a short drive north. Knockhatch Adventure Park near Hailsham runs Half Term Horrors, with two 12A scare mazes, a Hansel and Gretel big-top circus show and a spooky owl display included in entry; its events list gives 24 to 30 October while the event’s own page says 24 to 31 October, so check before a Saturday trip. Sharnfold Farm at Stone Cross has a Halloween farm trail from 24 October to 1 November, with pumpkin carving at £6.95 per carver, per its Visit Eastbourne listing. Blackberry Farm at Whitesmith has pick-your-own pumpkins at £6.75 and half-price entry for children in fancy dress, per its Halloween page. Times, details and what each one costs are on our Eastbourne Halloween page.
The Congress Theatre’s Tea and Tour on Saturday 24 October takes visitors backstage and on to the stage. It costs £20, and the listing warns that there is a lot of walking and that these tours sell out.
Towner Eastbourne has Danish artist Cecilia Fiona’s first UK institutional solo show until 1 November, and it is free to attend, according to Towner’s exhibition page. The £10 ticket on that page is for a separate in-conversation with the artist and Jennifer Higgie on Saturday 10 October, 2pm to 3pm, before half term.
The marathon weekend: free, and it closes roads
The Beachy Head Marathon is in its 46th year and is run by Eastbourne Borough Council’s Visit Eastbourne team. Start times from the official marathon site:
- Saturday 24 October: Ultra 7.40am, Marathon 8.45am, 10K 9.15am
- Sunday 25 October: Half Marathon 8am
Everything starts and finishes on Dukes Drive, at the start of the South Downs Way in Meads. The organisers’ where to watch page suggests the finish line, Beachy Head, and the Seven Sisters Visitor Centre at Exceat, and says the Coaster bus route covers many viewing spots. Finishers typically arrive about 35 minutes after the start for the 10K, 1 hour 20 minutes for the half, 2 hours 40 minutes to 3 hours for the marathon and 4 hours for the ultra. It also asks spectators to avoid Litlington and Alfriston because of the traffic.
Dukes Drive and Upper Dukes Drive are closed for the event. Our Beachy Head Marathon page has the full list of roads closed in the last published order, and how to get to the start.
Adults’ nights out
Half term is also a busy week at the theatres. Two Mr Ps in a Podcast, the teachers’ podcast, is at the Devonshire Park Theatre on Wednesday 28 October; Anton Du Beke talks about his memoir at the Congress the same night; and Halloween itself, Saturday 31 October, has a 90s dance night at the Winter Garden and Ruby Wax at the Devonshire Park Theatre. The week before, on Friday 23 October, the Royal Hippodrome runs Looking for Ghosts, a paranormal investigation of the theatre from 8.30pm until 1.30am at £55 a head, per the theatre’s listing. All are on the Eastbourne Theatres what’s on list.
Still to be confirmed
- Halloween events on the seafront and at Sovereign Harbour. None had a 2026 date on an organiser’s own site on 3 October. Visit Eastbourne’s old Waterfront Halloween listing has been taken down.
- Council-run activities for children. Nothing published yet for October 2026.
- Road closure order for the marathon weekend. The council’s marathon site still links the 2024 order.
Eastbourne Bonfire is earlier than half term, on Saturday 3 October: see our Eastbourne Bonfire Night page. For getting around, check Eastbourne roadworks and travel and parking in Eastbourne.
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