Halloween near Stevenage: Hitchin Lavender's pumpkin patch from 10 October, Church Farm Ardeley's Spookfest from £7.95, and a free market event on the 31st.

Stevenage’s own Halloween event is a free afternoon at the Indoor Market on Saturday 31 October. For pumpkin picking you have to leave the town, but not far: Hitchin Lavender at Ickleford opens its pumpkin patch from 10 October, and Church Farm Ardeley, out past Walkern, runs its Spookfest through half term.

The quick answer

The council’s free Halloween event is on Saturday 31 October 2026, 11am to 3pm, at Stevenage Indoor Market. Hitchin Lavender’s pumpkin patch runs from Saturday 10 to Saturday 31 October, with timed entry slots. Church Farm Ardeley’s Spookfest runs from 24 to 31 October, 9am to 5pm, with day passes from £7.95 and pick-your-own pumpkins at £5.50. The Gordon Craig Theatre has Halloween in Concert on Friday 30 October. Every detail below comes from the organiser’s own website, read on 3 October 2026.

Halloween dates at a glance

Event Dates Where Price
Hitchin Lavender pumpkin patch 10 to 31 October Ickleford, SG5 3UA Ticketed; pumpkins extra
Family Saturdays: pumpkin people Saturday 10 October, 11am Stevenage Museum Free
Church Farm Ardeley Spookfest 24 to 31 October, 9am to 5pm Ardeley, SG2 7AH Day pass from £7.95
Halloween in Concert Friday 30 October, 7.30pm Gordon Craig Theatre Priced by seat
Halloween Market Event Saturday 31 October, 11am to 3pm Stevenage Indoor Market Free

The free council event, Saturday 31 October

Stevenage Borough Council’s free Halloween event takes over Stevenage Indoor Market from 11am to 3pm on Saturday 31 October. The council pitches it as a stop before trick or treating: come along, get your face painted and practise your spooky look (Stevenage Borough Council, “Free events for all this autumn and winter”, 1 October 2026). Its printed autumn calendar calls it the “Halloween Market Event” (Stevenage Borough Council, What’s On events calendar).

Two things to know. First, the date and venue have moved: the council’s spring diary had listed Halloween-tastic for Friday 30 October on Event Island (Chronicle, Spring 2026, page 6), and the October programme no longer carries that date. Second, the council has not said what is on beyond face painting. The 2025 event, on Event Island, ran from noon to 7pm with circus skills, a craft fair, a children’s disco and a fancy dress competition (Stevenage Town Centre, Halloweentastic), so this year’s four-hour indoor version looks smaller. The Indoor Market is in Boston House, Park Place.

Hitchin Lavender pumpkin patch, 10 to 31 October

The lavender farm at Cadwell Farm, Ickleford, SG5 3UA, reopens for its pumpkin season from Saturday 10 to Saturday 31 October 2026. Its ticket listing promises dozens of pumpkin and squash varieties grown on site, a haunted barn, a spooky sunflower maze, live actors, street food and hot drinks, with face painting most days at a separate price. Dogs on leads are welcome (Hitchin Lavender pumpkin patch tickets, TicketSource).

Entry is by timed slot:

  • Morning, entry between 10am and midday
  • 12 to 2
  • Afternoon, 2pm to 4pm
  • Flexi, which can be swapped up to a day before your visit

Tickets are for entry only. You pick pumpkins from the field by hand and pay for them at the exit. The farm’s FAQ says the Old Barn tearoom, shop, museum and play area are free to visit, with fees charged for the pumpkin patch (Hitchin Lavender, FAQs). Prices are on the booking page; the farm’s phone number is 01462 434343.

Church Farm Ardeley Spookfest, 24 to 31 October

Church Farm, Ardeley, SG2 7AH, runs Spookfest from 24 to 31 October, which covers the whole of the county’s half term. The farm says it is aimed at families and is “spooky rather than terrifying” (Church Farm Ardeley, Halloween Spookfest).

The All Day Spooky Farm Day Pass runs 9am to 5pm and is listed from £7.95 on the farm’s booking system. It includes the farm animals, a spooky farm trail, big bale play, tractor and digger ride-ons, the creepy fairy woodland, a scarecrow trail, spot-the-pumpkin with sweet prizes and a Halloween activity pack. Parking is free, dogs are welcome and under 2s go free.

The extras are booked on top of the pass (Church Farm Ardeley, booking system):

Extra Price listed
Pick your own pumpkin, with carving in the tent included £5.50
Trick or treat spooky woodland walk, aimed at younger children from £10.95
Horrid Hay tractor and trailer ride, 10 to 15 minutes £3.50 a person, under 2s free on a lap
Ghoulish goat walking (check the height restriction) £16.95
Eerie egg collecting £15.95

The farm’s site says early bookings are at last year’s price, so check the total on the booking page before you pay.

Halloween in Concert, Friday 30 October

The Gordon Craig Theatre on Lytton Way has Halloween in Concert at 7.30pm on Friday 30 October: a live band playing spooky hits, with a prize for the best costume (Gordon Craig Theatre, Halloween in Concert). The theatre adds a £3.50 transaction fee to each booking.

Earlier in October: witches and pumpkin crafts at the museum

Stevenage Museum on St George’s Way has two Halloween-adjacent dates before half term. Lunch and Listen on Friday 9 October, 1pm, tells the story of Jane Wenham of Walkern, the last person in England condemned to death for witchcraft, in 1712 (£4, £3.50 concessions, booking on 01438 218881). Family Saturdays on 10 October is a free drop-in craft hour making pumpkin people (Stevenage Borough Council, events).

What is not happening

  • Knebworth House has no Halloween event listed for 2026. It opens its Gardens, Park and Dinosaur Trail daily from 24 to 30 October with a £2 autumn trail for children aged 2 to 8, but nothing Halloween-branded appears on its what’s on page (Knebworth House, what’s on). The details are on our October half term page.
  • There is no pumpkin patch inside the borough. Both farms above are a short drive out of town.

Getting there and parking

Both farms have free parking, according to their own sites. For the Indoor Market on the 31st, use the town centre car parks; tariffs and the council’s pay-by-plate change are on our parking in Stevenage page. The A1(M) between junctions 7 and 8 is on a reduced speed limit through the autumn, and any closures are on our roadworks and travel page.

After Halloween, the next big night is the council’s free fireworks at Fairlands Valley Park on Thursday 5 November, gates 6.30pm and display 7.30pm: see our fireworks page. Everything else on in town is on what’s on in Stevenage this month.

Sources