October half term runs 26 to 30 October. Four Halloween ghost walks leave High Barnet tube, the RAF Museum runs Jet and Space Week, artsdepot has four shows.

October half term in Barnet is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, and Halloween falls on the Saturday straight after it. Three things in the borough are already on sale with fixed dates and prices: four nights of a ghost walk from High Barnet tube, a week of space and laser tag at the RAF Museum, and four family shows at artsdepot. Everything below was checked against the organisers’ own booking pages on 6 September.

The dates

Barnet’s community schools take half term from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, per the term dates published by St Margaret’s in Barnet, which follow the council’s pattern. Academies, free schools and voluntary aided schools set their own dates and a few differ, so check your own school’s calendar before booking anything.

Halloween itself is Saturday 31 October, and the first Monday back, 2 November, is an inset day at several Barnet primaries.

The Halloween ghost walk, four nights

Barnet and London Walks runs Things That Go Bump in High Barnet on Thursday 29, Friday 30, Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November, all at 7.30pm. It is a guided walk through High Barnet and Monken Hadley, taking in the Pirate’s Grave and stories of witchcraft and grisly deaths, and the guide’s own listing promises audience participation.

The practical bits, from the walks page: you meet outside High Barnet tube station by the car park, walks run about two hours, and you should bring a torch or a phone because part of the route goes through a churchyard. It costs £15, or £5 for accompanied under-12s. The organiser asks you to phone or email before you come, on 07506 761294.

Four nights is unusual for a single walk and suggests it sells. If you want the Saturday, ring early.

RAF Museum London: Jet and Space Week, 24 October to 1 November

The RAF Museum in Colindale runs its half term programme from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November, which is longer than the school week at both ends. Museum entry stays free. The three activities are ticketed separately:

  • Percy and Mr Fox: Attack of the Clones, ages 3 and up, a hunt for cloned characters hidden through Hangars 3, 4 and 5. Sessions at 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm every day from 24 October to 1 November. £5, and adults do not need their own ticket but must stay with their children.
  • Space Odyssey Planetarium, ages 6 and up, a 45 minute show inside a mobile planetarium. Same five session times, but only on 24 to 27 October. £6.50, and adults do need their own ticket.
  • Laser Tag, ages 7 and up, with inflatable obstacles. Sessions at 11am, midday, 1pm and 2pm every day from 29 October to 1 November. £6.50, adults do not need a ticket.

The two ticketed activities in the second half of the week overlap, so a family with a six year old and an eight year old can do the clone hunt together on any day, but the planetarium and the laser tag never run on the same date.

The museum is on Grahame Park Way, NW9 5LL, open daily 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4.30pm, and the outdoor playground and the museum trails are free. It also flags that vehicles cannot park on site before 10am unless they are part of a pre-booked group.

artsdepot: four shows in one week

artsdepot at Tally Ho Corner, 5 Nether Street, North Finchley N12 0GA, has the busiest half term programme in the borough. All of these are on general sale, and the performance times below come from the venue’s own booking system.

Dear Zoo, Pentland Theatre, Friday 23 to Tuesday 27 October. The stage version of the lift-the-flap book. Seven performances: 1pm on the Friday, 10am and 1pm on the Saturday, 11am and 2pm on the Sunday, 11am on the Monday and 11am on the Tuesday. Fifty-five minutes with no interval, ages 1 and up, from £15. The Sunday 2pm has audio description and a touch tour.

Club Origami, Studio Theatre, Sunday 25 October at 11.30am and 2.30pm. Forty minutes plus stay and play afterwards, recommended for ages 2 to 5, from £13.75. The 2.30pm is a relaxed performance.

Kevin Quantum: Anti-Gravity, Studio Theatre, Tuesday 27 October at 7pm. Two hours including an interval, age guidance 8 and up, from £19. This one is an evening show, so it is the option for older children.

The Amazing Bubble Man, Pentland Theatre, Thursday 29 October at 2pm. One hour ten minutes with no interval, recommended for ages 2 and up, from £15.

Booking three or more shows takes 10 per cent off under the venue’s Pick and Mix offer, and groups of ten or more should call the box office on 020 8369 5454.

artsdepot also runs four holiday day camps that week, each about five and a half hours from 10am: Robotics with LEGO kits on Monday 26 October, Minecraft Coding on Tuesday 27, Yoga and Art on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29, and Camp Perform: Spooktacular Show In A Day on Friday 30. Those are not listed on the website with prices, so book them through the box office.

What is not out yet

Barnet Council’s libraries have run Halloween craft and story sessions in past years, at Golders Green, North Finchley, East Finchley and Burnt Oak among others. Nothing for 2026 has been published anywhere we can reach: the council’s own website has been unreachable to us since the summer and its events feed is behind the same wall. If a library programme appears, it is usually free and usually announced two or three weeks ahead.

The Spires in High Barnet and Brent Cross had nothing half term or Halloween related on their sites when we checked on 6 September.

Getting around

High Barnet station is on the Northern line and the ghost walk starts at its door. For artsdepot, Woodside Park and West Finchley are the nearest tubes and the North Finchley council car parks at Castle Road, Lodge Lane, Stanhope Road and Woodhouse Road all run the same tariff, so pick on walking distance. Full tariffs are on our parking in Barnet page, and anything dug up that week will be on the Barnet roadworks page.

Sources