Kent with Kids: The 15 best things to do for October half-term

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I’ve lived in Kent my entire life so, if you want to find the best places for frugal family fun, you’ve come to the right place – and here are my top picks for the 15 best things to do this October half-term (2025). I’ve picked out local events, free places to visit, Halloween trails, rainy day activities that won’t break the bank, kids go free offers, playgrounds, discounted attractions, scavenger hunts and all sorts – let’s get stuck in!

What are the best things to do in Kent with the kids over October half-term?

1. Make spooky potions at Brockhill Country Park

Brockhill Country Park in Hythe is a great base for a free day out with the kids in Kent – but they also host activities if you’d like something more structured to do this October half-term. The site offers lots of children’s events throughout the year including forest activities, crafting, campfires and seasonal trails. We had a great time making potions and nature bats one Halloween, as well as toasting marshmallows on the campfire. Though, if you’re on a budget, there’s plenty to do for free. Brockhill Country Park has a large play park and lovely grounds to explore – you can stroll across fields, roll down hills (I leave that to the kids!), trudge around the woods or have a saunter around the lake. It’s one of my children’s favourite places to meet their friends and get muddy! Parking is just a few pounds and, aside from that, you can bring a picnic and not spend a penny all day.

2. Get your skates on with Kent Roller Disco

It can be hard to find things to do with the kids on budget when the rain sets in but the Kent Roller Disco is a brilliant way to amuse the kids in bad weather this October half-term. It runs from various venues around the county and my kids love it – we often go over the autumn and winter months with friends. The discos are held in large halls or venues, with a DJ and disco lights to make it fun. The price (around £7-£9 depending on the location) includes all safety gear (helmets and knee / elbow / wrist pads) and skate hire, but you can also wear your own if you’d prefer. Each disco lasts 90 minutes which is plenty of time to wear the kids out indoors – it’s great fun and much cheaper than lots of other kids’ activities!

3. Go pumpkin picking at your local farm

Pumpkin picking is such good fun and it’ll keep you busy all day – spend your morning finding the perfect pumpkins and the afternoon carving them at home. October half-term usually falls nicely near Halloween so it’s a great time to hunt out a pumpkin patch in Kent and some of the sites even offer other activities for the kids to do as well. If you’re on a budget, see what your local smaller farms might have on offer – we’ve got one near us that just asks for donations – or pop to a cheap supermarket to stock up instead. For future years, if you’ve got the space, you could even have a go at growing your own pumpkins!

4. Visit Howletts Zoo – the kids go free

Howletts Wild Animal Park, in Kent, is home to an incredible range of wildlife, including gorillas, elephants and big cats – this conservation-led zoo is dedicated to protecting endangered species. They often offer reduced tickets for kids over the school holidays and this October half-term children can visit for free! You’ll need to pre-book your tickets in advance and this offer runs from the 18th October – 2nd November 2025 for kids under the age of 15. They’ve got some halloween activities on offer too, so pack up a picnic and enjoy a whole day of animal fun. For more info on Howletts Zoo – click here to check out my review.

5. Make the most of your English Heritage Membership

If you’ve got an English Heritage membership then make sure you max out on the free things to do over the half-term breaks – Dover Castle and Walmer Castle have both got activities running for the kids this October. There are Halloween themed activities available at Dover Castle for the school holidays, and Walmer Castle are hosting a scarecrow trail. If you’ve got an English Heritage membership you’ll be able to visit at no extra cost (family passes are around £10 each month), and if not Blue Peter Badges will give free entry to the children at Dover Castle to make your day out more affordable. Check out my articles on Dover Castle and Walmer Castle for more info.

6. Enjoy spooky fun at Betteshanger Park

Betteshanger Park is a huge country park in Deal that’s well known for it’s cycling tracks (on and off road!). They’ve recently added lots of activities to the site like axe throwing, a shoot out arena, an obstacle course and all sorts, but there’s also plenty to do for free so you can have a great day with the kids for the cost of parking. There are plenty of places to have a picnic, and if you pop your wellies on you can explore the wooded areas too – the site is 250 acres! The adventure playground is good fun for the kids, and they often run activities and events. This October half-term there are loads of spooky activities for the kids on offer at Betteshanger Park in Kent – they’ve got things for little ones and bigger kids to do. For the younger ones, the Halloween fun day and daytime trails are perfect and for the big kids there’s a night time trail with jump scares and a maze – it looks like great fun!

7. Let off steam at Dover Leisure Centre

The pool inflatable session at Dover District Leisure Centre is one of the best things to do indoors in Kent with the kids over the autumn / winter months! (Or just any day really! 😂 Finn and Lola love it!) It runs on weekends and school holidays, and is available for children age 5 and up. (All children are given a life-jacket to wear making it absolutely fine for the younger ones even if they aren’t yet confident swimmers.) Sessions are £11.50pp – each session is an hour long, allowing for a 15 minute safety briefing and 45 minutes on the equipment. Children under 8 must be accompanied by someone age 16+ but kids over the age of 8 can use the equipment unattended. Parents are able to watch from a seating area overlooking the pool – so if your kids are a little older then you can relax in peace whilst they have fun!

8. Follow a scarecrow trail

We’re big walkers in our family – the kids love being outdoors and this time of year we like to hunt out scarecrow trails to make our walks more fun. Scarecrow trails often pop up in Kent over September and October so it can be a nice thing to do with the kids over half-term – they’re usually free or just a few pounds for a trail sheet if you want to take part officially. We love the trail in River in Dover and do that most years. Over the October half-term, Lower Halstow (in Swale, Kent) is running a scarecrow trail, Hawkinge has a Scarecrow Festival and Whitstable Castle is hosting a halloween trail if you want something to do with the kids that’ll get them walking.

9. Get 2 hours for the price of 1 at Ninja Warrior

Ninja Warrior UK in Chatham, Kent, is child heaven and it’s one of the best indoor attractions for occupying the kids on a rainy day. It’s basically a giant warehouse filled with a huge inflatable obstacle course, and there’s also a ninja assault course which reminds me of the gladiator TV show! Finn and Lola love it – it’s always 2 hours for the price of 1 on a Sunday evening, and this October half-term they’re running the same offer all week from 6-8pm. It’s a great way to wear the kids out! Ninja Warrior is suitable for children aged 5 and above, though under 8s should be accompanied. It’s a great place for the kids to let off steam when the weather’s rubbish, and good fun for teens and adults too!

10. Take part in a Halloween scavenger hunt

Scavenger hunts are such a fun thing to do with the kids – a few towns local to us in Kent run various ones throughout the year and, during October, they’re typically Halloween themed and a great way to keep the kids busy over half-term. Folkestone are running a free weekend event – Ghostbusters Halloween Scavenger Hunt; Hythe have got a Halloween Hunt on the High Street with sweets to collect; and I’ve seen similar things advertised in places like Canterbury and Margate too. Facebook is usually a great place to hunt out local events, so get the kids dressed up and see what’s on offer near you.

11. Play in the warm at Kidz Planet Soft Play

My two spent a large chunk of their younger years having loads of fun at Kidz Planet soft play in Folkestone. (It’s right next door to Hyperspace Laser Tag too if you’ve got little and older ones to amuse.) My two are now too big for it, but if you’ve got a child aged around 10 and under then it’s a brilliant option for indoor fun. The huge warehouse has a massive soft play area with tunnels and slides for the older ones, a smaller area for toddlers, a drop slide, a cafe, a ball pit and a rocket train ride. Each session is a couple of hours, so you can head home afterwards knowing that the kids are well worn out.

12. Wrap up warm for playground fun

If you get a dry day this October half-term then make the most of the fabulous playgrounds on offer in Kent for something free to do with the kids. Lower Leas Coastal Park in Folkestone is a fantastic outdoor play area and you can wander along the beach down below there. Mote Park in Maidstone has a great play area, plenty of green space for kicking a ball around and a skate park. Whilst Kearsney Abbey in Dover has a couple of playgrounds and loads of space for walks and running around – parking is free there for up to four hours too.

13. Enjoy the seasonal events at Leeds Castle

When you buy a ticket at Leeds Castle, in Kent, it’s valid for a whole year – and they host plenty of events with extra kids’ activities added for the school holidays – they’ve got a Halloween Quest running this October half-term. The site has a castle to explore, playgrounds, adventure golf, a maze, a boat ride, birds of prey and all sorts – and they frequently run seasonal events to keep things fresh so that you can return for a new experience time and time again. If you’ve got younger kids, and you’ll visit multiple times throughout the year, the annual ticket at Leeds Castle can be good value for money.

14. Snuggle up to watch a movie at a Kent Cinema

There are lots of cinemas in Kent so, if the weather lets you down this October half-term, snuggling up to watch a movie might be a good option if you want something to do with the kids in the warm. Here’s how to visit Kent cinemas on a budget:

Cineworld offer family deals which can make tickets a bit cheaper. Alternatively, the ‘movies for junior’ showings are just a few pounds, or use your Tesco Clubcard Vouchers to see a movie for free. Rochester Cineworld and Dover Cineworld generally have cheaper ticket prices than the Ashford branch too, so compare prices between the different cinemas before you book.
The Ashford Cinema has fantastic comfy sofas, and they offer a family ticket for £25 for a family of four to make cinema trips more affordable.
Folkestone Cinema is a lovely little independent cinema which offers tickets for just £5.50 each.
There are also Odeon cinemas in Chatham and Maidstone. If you have Amazon Prime, you can get two tickets for £10 on Monday-Thursday screenings once a month with Odeon – which could be good for cheap school holiday entertainment.
Meerkat Movies offer 2 for 1 cinema tickets every Tuesday and Wednesday – and you can get this deal for about £1 by buying the cheapest qualifying insurance policy through Compare the Market. Grab an insurance that you don’t need (like a 1 day travel insurance) and you’ll benefit from the 2 for 1 deal for a year.
Kids Pass have up to 30% off cinema tickets year round.

15. Head to the capital for free fun

Kids travel for a quid on Southeastern Railways so if you fancy a change of scenery you could head to London for a day trip. There are plenty of free places to visit in London with the kids and the museums can be a great place to have fun in the warm if it’s a bit chilly. On a brighter day there are plenty of fabulous playgrounds to explore, you could check out a city farm or watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. And, the Sky Garden is a great spot to enjoy free views over the city – for more ideas and information, check out my article: The 10 best FREE days out in London with kids.

How can I save on the big attractions?

If you want to enjoy some pricier days out too, never pay full price for your adventures with the kids without having a good hunt around for the best offers! Lots of reward schemes and discount providers offer brilliant savings to make your family adventures more budget-friendly, so here are some ways to save money on paid attractions when you’re out and about with the kids:

lovetovisit.co.uk: The ‘Love to Visit’ website offers discounted tickets for family-friendly days out with the kids all over the UK – so it’s worth checking their current prices for your favourite attractions before you book.
Tesco Clubcard points: Lots of popular attractions are part of the Tesco reward scheme so save your points and you could visit for free!
National Rail 2-for-1 offers: If you’re travelling by train you can get 1/3 off or 2 for 1 tickets on loads of attractions when booked through the National Rail 2 for 1 scheme.
English Heritage: English Heritage memberships can be a great investment; once you’ve signed up you can use them time and time again for free days out. Payments can be made monthly so that they don’t seem too overwhelming – family memberships are usually about a tenner each month.

Kids Pass: You can sign up to a Kid’s Pass trial for just £1 to access discounts on days out and eating out all over the UK.
Supermarket promotions: Cereal brands like Kelloggs run promotions for discounted tickets (things like 2 for 1 tickets) for days out with the kids by purchasing specially-marked boxes so look out for these in the supermarket.
Blue Peter Badges: Blue Peter Badges are awesome because the kids can get in for free at over 200 UK attractions – literally halving the cost of your family days out! You can use them at places like ZSL London Zoo, The Tower of London, the HMS Belfast, The Heights of Abraham, The Eden Project, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, The London Bridge Experience and loads of other places – read more about it here: How can my child get a Blue Peter Badge?
Multi-attraction tickets: Look for combination tickets to get the best deals. For instance, Merlin have five main London attractions, with each typically priced at around £30pp, but book a multi-attraction ticket and it’s so much more affordable. You get 90 days to enjoy your chosen attractions so it’s worth buying in bulk – their 5 attraction deal works out at less than £12 per attraction!

Merlin Annual Pass: With a Merlin Annual Pass you can access absolutely loads of attractions including: Alton Towers, Chessington, LEGOLAND Windsor and Thorpe Park; indoor fun like SEA LIFE centres, Shrek’s Adventure!, The London Eye and Madame Tussauds; and historical and immersive experiences like Warwick Castle, The Dungeons and even Cadbury World. Kids under 90cm go free and you can check out all of the pass options and what’s included here: Are Merlin Annual Passes worth it and which pass is best?

What can I do with the kids in Kent on a rainy day?

I hope this article has helped you to hunt out some fun things to do with the kids in Kent this October half-term (2025). I’ve tried to include a mix of free activities, outdoor fun and things to do in the warm to cover all bases, but for even more ideas for entertaining kids in the event of bad weather check out my article – Kent with Kids: The 10 best indoor rainy day attractions. Have fun! 😍