Dartford Halloween 2026: Stanhill Farm's pumpkin patch is open to 30 October at £7.50 a car, and the Priory's free Scare Fest trail is Wednesday 28 October.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and Dartford’s two biggest Halloween draws both finish before it. Stanhill Farm’s pumpkin patch in Wilmington closes for the season on Friday 30 October, and the Priory Shopping Centre’s free Scare Fest trick-or-treat trail is on Wednesday 28 October. Halloween night itself belongs to Belvedere Concert Band at the Mick Jagger Centre.

Every date, time and price below was checked on the organiser’s own page on 4 October 2026. Dartford Borough Council lists no Halloween event of its own this year, and bonfire night is a week later: see our Dartford fireworks page for the Lions’ display on 7 November.

The quick answer

Stanhill Farm’s pumpkin patch is open weekends to 18 October, then every day from Tuesday 20 to Friday 30 October. Entry is £7.50 per car of up to eight people, pre-booked only, and pumpkins cost £1.50 to £15. Priory Scare Fest is Wednesday 28 October, 11am to 3.30pm, and free, but you must book: tickets are released at midday on Sunday 18 October.

Stanhill Farm pumpkin patch, Wilmington

Stanhill Farm on Birchwood Road, Wilmington (DA2 7HD), has run its pumpkin patch for thirteen years and grows every pumpkin and squash on the farm itself. Its first session was on Saturday 3 October (Stanhill Farm).

Opening days Times
Sat 3 and Sun 4 October Sat 9.30am to 3.30pm, Sun 10.30am to 2.30pm
Sat 10 and Sun 11 October as above
Sat 17 and Sun 18 October as above
Tue 20 to Fri 30 October, every day Mon to Sat 9.30am to 3.30pm, Sun 10.30am to 2.30pm

The farm is closed on Monday 19 October and on Halloween itself, Saturday 31 October.

Pre-booking is essential. The farm will not let anyone in without a ticket, printed or on a phone. A ticket costs £7.50 and covers one vehicle of up to eight people, or one walk-in group of up to eight, and includes parking and a wheelbarrow. Two cars means two tickets, and coaches and minibuses are not allowed. Your booking is a one-hour arrival window, not a time limit on your visit. Tickets are booked through Beyonk, carry a small booking fee, and are non-refundable, including on rainy days, unless the farm itself cancels.

The farm says it brought in the charge because free tickets were being booked and not used, leaving sessions half empty.

Pumpkin prices, paid at the marquee by cash or card:

Size Price
Mini £1.50
Small £2.50
Medium £4.50
Large £7
Extra large £15
A wheelbarrow full £39

The wheelbarrow deal can be all orange pumpkins, but if it mixes in squashes and white pumpkins it is limited to five of each squash variety and five white pumpkins.

New this year are face painting and glitter art, marshmallow toasting and a small number of fairground rides, all charged separately and only open to people with a patch ticket. Face painting runs on Saturday 17, Friday 23, Saturday 24, Sunday 25 and Friday 30 October only. The Berries and Beans cafe is open Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 4.30pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm.

Things worth knowing before you go:

  • No dogs anywhere on the farm, and no picnics on the patch.
  • The patch is a field. Wear wellies if it has rained and bring gloves, because the stalks are prickly.
  • Bring strong bags. The farm no longer hands out carrier bags.
  • After heavy rain the farm may close the patch at short notice if the ground is unsafe.
  • Prams and wheelchairs can go on the patch, but the farm warns mud can make it hard going.
  • The phone is not staffed in season. Questions go to info@stanhillfarm.co.uk.

The summer drought did not hit the crop, the farm says, because the pumpkins were irrigated all season.

Priory Scare Fest, Wednesday 28 October

The Priory Shopping Centre in the town centre (DA1 2HS) runs a free trick-or-treat afternoon on Wednesday 28 October, 11am to 3.30pm. Children start in the Market Place, where they make their own trick-or-treat cauldron, then follow a trail around the shops taking part to fill it with sweets (The Priory Shopping Centre).

It is free, but both the cauldron making and the trail must be booked in advance. Tickets go live at midday on Sunday 18 October on the centre’s Eventbrite page, which the centre links through a QR short link, qrco.de/bh1jwp.

Halloween night: Belvedere Concert Band

On Saturday 31 October, 7.30pm to 9.45pm (doors 7pm), Belvedere Concert Band plays “an evening of musical chillers and thrillers” at The Mick Jagger Centre, Shepherds Lane (DA1 2JZ). The band says it is a performance for all the family including young children, and that fancy dress is encouraged, with many of the players dressing up too (Belvedere Concert Band).

Tickets: adults £15, children 8 to 15 £8, under 8s free, all through Ticket Tailor.

Half-term workshops at the Orchard

The Orchard Theatre is still closed for its refurbishment and reopens on 12 December with Cinderella, so its half-term sessions are in Acacia Sports Hall, Acacia Hall, High Street (DA1 1DJ). None is Halloween themed, but they fill the week (Orchard Theatre Dartford):

  • West End Workshop: & Juliet, Monday 26 October, 10.30am to 2pm, £25. Singing, acting and dance with Miriam-Teak Lee, for ages 11 to 18.
  • Kids Craft Club, Wednesday 28 October, £8.50. Three sessions by age: 4 to 5 at 10.30am, 6 to 8 at 12pm, 9 to 11 at 1.30pm. Parents can stay in the same room.

That puts Kids Craft Club and the Priory trail on the same Wednesday, a few minutes’ walk apart.

When is half term in Dartford?

Kent’s October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. But four Leigh Academies Trust schools and Dartford Grammar School break up on Friday 16 October, so some Dartford families have two weeks off and the pumpkin patch’s weekday run from 20 October falls in their holiday. Check your school on our Dartford school term dates page.

What we could not find

  • No council Halloween event. Dartford Borough Council’s events list, read on 4 October, has nothing for Halloween or half term.
  • Bluewater had no Halloween programme on its website when we checked on 3 October. We will add it if one appears.
  • There is no public fireworks display on Halloween in the borough this year. The Lions’ bonfire and fireworks in Central Park is on Saturday 7 November, and Longfield’s free display is on 14 November; details on our fireworks page.

Getting there and parking

Stanhill Farm has free parking on site, included in the ticket, on Birchwood Road, Wilmington. For the Priory and Acacia Sports Hall, the nearest council car park is Acacia Hall on the High Street, which charges £1 for up to two hours and runs a ticketless system. Rates for every town centre car park are on our parking in Dartford page, and closures that could slow the drive in are on our roadworks and travel page.

For everything else on in the next six weeks, see what’s on in Dartford this month.

Sources