Solihull's October half term is 26 to 30 October 2026: lantern walks at Castle Bromwich, Berryfields' pumpkin field, Disney On Ice and the Knowle fireworks.

Solihull’s October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, and most schools go back on Monday 2 November. Several secondary schools add INSET days either side, so some pupils finish as early as Wednesday 21 October. Below are the dates, the schools that differ, and what is actually on in and around the borough that week, taken from the organisers’ own pages.

The quick answer

  • Council dates: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Solihull School’s half term is two weeks, 19 to 30 October.
  • The big family ticket: Disney On Ice at bp pulse LIVE, NEC, from Wednesday 28 October, from £18 plus fees.
  • Free with admission or membership: Packwood House’s woodland trail, every day 24 October to 1 November, 9.30am to 4pm.
  • Halloween: Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens’ lantern walks, 28 to 30 October at 5pm, and pumpkin picking at Berryfields Farm, Meriden, daily 24 to 31 October, from £5. All of it is on our Solihull Halloween page.
  • Fireworks end the week: the Solihull Hospital Charity display at Silhillians, Knowle, is Sunday 1 November, adults £8, advance tickets only.

Updated 4 October: Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens has added Halloween lantern walks on 28, 29 and 30 October and Woodland Wizards on 28 and 29 October; Touchwood has listed a Zombie Survival game, 26 to 30 October; Berryfields’ pumpkin field is open 24 to 31 October.

Half term dates by school

Solihull Council’s term dates give half term as 26 to 30 October. Tudor Grange Academy Solihull, Arden Academy, Alderbrook and St Peter’s all use the same week. What moves the break is the INSET days:

School Last day before half term Back
Council-maintained schools Friday 23 October (INSET days vary) Monday 2 November
Tudor Grange Academy Solihull Wednesday 21 October Tuesday 3 November
Arden Academy, Alderbrook Thursday 22 October Monday 2 November
St Peter’s Catholic School Friday 23 October Tuesday 3 November
Solihull School (independent) Friday 16 October Monday 2 November

Sources: each school’s own 2026/27 calendar, linked from our Solihull school term dates page, where the full list of INSET days is set out.

What’s on: families

Disney On Ice presents Discover the Magic, bp pulse LIVE, NEC. The show runs from 28 October to 8 November. Half term performances are Wednesday 28 October at 2.30pm and 6.30pm, Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October at 11.30am and 3.30pm, Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November at 10.30am and 2.30pm. There is no evening show on Halloween itself. Tickets are from £18 plus fees. Under-14s must be with an adult aged 18 or over, and under-2s on a lap go free. Characters come from Frozen, Moana, Coco, Toy Story, Aladdin, Lilo and Stitch, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid (bp pulse LIVE). Every show time for both runs is on our Disney On Ice Birmingham page.

Mystical and Magical Woodland Trail, Packwood House. Every day from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, 9.30am to 4pm. Children search the Welly Walk for autumn treasures and “spooky surprises”, with themed crafts through the week and a prize for finishing. No booking; normal admission applies for non-members, currently £18 adult, £9 child (5 to 17), £45 family, and under-5s are free. Packwood is on Packwood Lane, B94 6AT, two miles east of Hockley Heath (National Trust, Packwood House).

Halloween at Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens. Children’s Halloween Lantern Walks run on Wednesday 28, Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October, 5pm to 5.45pm: a staff-led trail round the gardens after dark, for ages 5 to 10, at £12 for one child and one adult with a hot chocolate, £5 for each extra adult (Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens). Woodland Wizards, nature wands and muddy potions outdoors, is on 28 and 29 October, 11am to 12pm, £3 to £13 (Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens). Before the holiday proper, a Forest School session on Saturday 24 October is £3 to £12, and a Junior Falconry Experience on Sunday 25 October is £8 to £20. The gardens open Wednesday to Sunday, 10.30am to 4.30pm (Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens).

Halloween At The Barn, Berryfields Farm, Meriden. Pick-your-own pumpkins in a five-acre field, open daily Saturday 24 to Saturday 31 October (and 17 and 18 October), arrival slots 10am to 4pm. Entry £5 a head, £19 for a family of four, pumpkins from about £3. Berkswell Road, CV7 7LB, free parking (The Barn At Berryfields).

Halloween Zombie Survival, Touchwood. A 50-minute Minecraft game on laptops, Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, sessions at 10am, 11am, 12pm, 2pm and 3pm, £5 per child, ages 7 and over, pre-booked only (Touchwood).

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, The Core Theatre. STAMPS’ Solihull premiere of the musical runs Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 October, so the final Saturday falls on the first day of the break. Better suited to teenagers than small children (The Core).

Solihull Hospital Charity Firework Display, Knowle. Sunday 1 November, gates 4.30pm, fireworks 6pm, at Silhillians Sports and Conference Centre, Warwick Road, Knowle, B93 9LW. Adults £8, children £3 (with an adult), under-3s free, NHS staff and club members £6. Tickets are not available on the door (Solihull Hospital Charity). Every other display in the borough is on our Solihull fireworks page; the Round Table’s big Tudor Grange Park display is on Saturday 7 November, the Saturday after half term, with early bird tickets from £9 until 9 October (Solihull Round Table).

What’s on: grown-ups at The Core

The Core Theatre’s half term week is aimed squarely at adults (The Core, what’s on):

  • Monday 26 October: Hong Kong Cinema, Unidentified Murder, a Cantonese comedy with English subtitles.
  • Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October: Think Floyd, playing The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here.
  • Thursday 29 October: The Opera Boys featuring Paul Potts, billed as their final tour. Sold out.
  • Friday 30 October: Funny to The Core, the monthly comedy club, headlined by Milton Jones.
  • Saturday 31 October: Gracie, the Gracie Fields story, in the Studio, and AD Concert Band’s fiftieth anniversary concert in the main house (The Core).

What is not happening

Solihull BID’s Spooktacular has dropped out of its diary. The BID’s 2026 events diary listed a Spooktacular for Saturday 31 October when it was first published in January. It had gone by the 18 September edit, and the version updated on 30 September lists only the Festive Feast market, 15 to 22 December, after the September food festival (Solihull BID, 2026 events). If a Halloween event returns to the town centre we will add it here.

Every Halloween event we have found, with prices and booking rules, is on our Solihull Halloween page.

Getting about that week

Late-evening Avanti West Coast trains from Euston will skip Birmingham New Street from Monday 26 to Wednesday 28 October, with buses from Birmingham International, because of engineering work (National Rail). Solihull’s road closures that week are on our roadworks page, and charges at the council’s car parks are on our parking in Solihull guide.