Dulwich October half term 2026 ran 26 to 30 October, or from 19 October at some schools. What was on, from free library crafts to owls and Day of the Dead.

October half term in Dulwich is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 for Southwark and Lambeth community schools. But Kingsdale, the Charter School East Dulwich and Harris Girls’ East Dulwich break a week earlier, from Monday 19 October, and the independent schools stay off until Friday 6 November. Our term dates page has the school-by-school table.

Below is what is actually on nearby in the main week, from each venue’s own listings, with the prices they publish.

The quick answer

  • Free, Tuesday 27 October: pond dipping and an under-5s nature storytime at the Centre for Wildlife Gardening, and a Breakfast Club Adventure story and craft session at Grove Vale Library.
  • Free all week: the Horniman Museum and Gardens, open daily 10am to 5.30pm, and the Dulwich Picture Gallery’s collection for under-18s.
  • Big day out: Saturday 31 October. Owls at the Picture Gallery and Day of the Dead mask making for £6. The Horniman’s Day of the Dead family festival and the Herne Hill Velodrome fireworks are both sold out.
  • Book ahead for the Octonauts sessions, Club Origami, the Enchanted Cinema and the owl drawing class: all are ticketed sessions at set times.
  • Pumpkin carving: the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich Village on Tuesday 27 October (£5, under-16s) and The Plough on Lordship Lane on Saturday 31 October (£4.50 a child).

Updated 26 October: added the Bach to Baby family concert at St Barnabas Church, Dulwich Village, this morning at 10.30am (£16 an adult, up to two children free), from its listing on Southwark Presents. Still no Halloween events listed for Dulwich Park or Peckham Rye Park.

Updated 19 October: the Horniman’s Day of the Dead family festival on 31 October is sold out, and so is the Herne Hill Velodrome fireworks night. Added the Horniman’s free Saturday craft afternoon on 24 October. Both bus stops outside the Horniman are closed because of burst water mains, the museum says.

Updated 15 October: Southwark has listed its half-term sessions. Added free crafts at Camberwell and Grove Vale libraries and two free drop-ins at the Centre for Wildlife Gardening in Peckham. No Halloween events are listed for Dulwich Park or Peckham Rye Park.

Updated 12 October: the Horniman has added In Our Hands, a hair, memory and making day with Charlotte Mensah on Sunday 25 October (£5). Everything else re-checked and unchanged.

Updated 3 October: two pub pumpkin-carving sessions added. Everything else re-checked against the venues’ own listings and unchanged. Halloween night itself, fireworks included, is on our Halloween in Dulwich page.

Day by day

Day What Where Price
Sat 24 Oct Family craft afternoon: make little bats, 2pm to 4pm, drop in Horniman Free
Sun 25 Oct The Enchanted Cinema, 11.30am and 1.30pm Horniman £10 child, £10 adult
Sun 25 Oct In Our Hands: Curl Power masterclasses with Charlotte Mensah, 11am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm Horniman £5 adult, £5 adult and child
Mon 26 Oct The Enchanted Cinema, 10am, 12pm, 2pm Horniman £10 child, £10 adult
Mon 26 Oct Club Origami dance show, 10.30am and 12pm Dulwich Picture Gallery £12 adult, £12 child
Mon 26 Oct Bach to Baby family concert, 10.30am to 11.15am St Barnabas Church, Calton Avenue £16 an adult, up to two children free
Mon 26 Oct Caribbean Hats craft session, 2.30pm to 3.30pm Camberwell Library Free
Tue 27 Oct Nature Storytime for under-5s, 10.30am to 11.30am Centre for Wildlife Gardening, Peckham Free
Tue 27 Oct Family Nature Discovery: pond dipping and minibeasts, 1pm to 3pm Centre for Wildlife Gardening, Peckham Free
Tue 27 Oct Breakfast Club Adventure story and craft, 2pm to 3.30pm Grove Vale Library, East Dulwich Free
Tue 27 Oct Kids’ pumpkin carving, 12pm to 3pm, under-16s Crown and Greyhound, Dulwich Village £5 a pumpkin
Tue 27 and Wed 28 Oct Octonauts storytelling and craft, 10am, 11.15am, 1pm, 2.15pm Horniman £8.50 per child with one adult
Sat 31 Oct Halloween mask making, 11am to 3pm Dulwich Picture Gallery £6 per child
Sat 31 Oct Wild Life Drawing: Owls, 11am and 2pm Dulwich Picture Gallery £60 for one adult and one child
Sat 31 Oct Day of the Dead family festival, 11am to 4pm Horniman Sold out
Sat 31 Oct Family Space with Sadie St Hilaire, 11am to 1pm South London Gallery, Peckham Free
Sat 31 Oct Kids’ pumpkin carving, 2pm to 5pm The Plough, Lordship Lane £4.50 a child
Sat 31 Oct Halloween bonfire and fireworks, gates 5pm Herne Hill Velodrome Sold out (waiting list)
All week Voyage to the Deep, until Sunday 1 November Horniman from £7 child, £9.80 adult
All week Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, from 20 October Dulwich Picture Gallery from £21.50 adult, under-18s free

The gallery on Gallery Road is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, according to its visit page. Under-18s go free to exhibitions and the collection.

  • Club Origami, Monday 26 October at 10.30am and 12pm. An interactive dance show about a land made of paper, with live music. £12 for adults and children alike, and the ticket includes the ArtPlay Pavilion.
  • Halloween Mask Making, Saturday 31 October, 11am to 3pm. A Day of the Dead mask workshop for all ages. £6 per child, £1 on Universal Credit. Children must be with an adult.
  • Wild Life Drawing: Owls, Saturday 31 October, 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm. Draw a barn owl, an eagle owl and a great grey owl, led by the artist Jennie Webber. £60 for one adult and one child, £30 for each extra child.
  • Hokusai opens on Tuesday 20 October: the complete Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, shown in full in the UK for the first time, including The Great Wave. Adults from £21.50.
  • ArtPlay Pavilion, the play space for under-8s, is open daily from 9am to 4.45pm. Sessions are £9 per child, including up to two adults.

More on the gallery’s winter season: Dulwich Picture Gallery this winter.

Horniman Museum and Gardens, Forest Hill

Just over the Lewisham boundary in Forest Hill. Its website says both bus stops outside the museum are closed because of burst water mains. The museum and gardens are free to visit, and the museum is open daily, 10am to 5.30pm, according to its visit page. Paid events:

  • The Enchanted Cinema: The Music of Spirit Animals, Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October. Children make the live soundtrack to animations with instruments and sound effects. Ages 5 to 12. £10 per child and £10 per adult; babes in arms free.
  • In Our Hands: Hair, Memory and Making with Charlotte Mensah, Sunday 25 October. A family day in the Conservatory about how hair knowledge is passed between generations, open to all hair types, with three Curl Power mini masterclasses at 11am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm, zine-making and objects from the Horniman’s handling collection. Adults and children both need a ticket: £5 for an adult, £5 for an adult and child. Ages 3 and up.
  • Octonauts Storytelling and Craft, Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 October. A story, then a 3D coral reef made from recycled paper. Ages 4 to 7, in the Pavilion by the Bandstand. £8.50 per child, including one adult.
  • Day of the Dead Family Festival, Saturday 31 October, 11am to 4pm. Mexican performances, activities and an artisan market in the gardens. Adults £8, children under 16 £6, under-2s free. Sold out: the event page read “This event is now sold out!” on 19 October.
  • Saturday craft afternoons, 2pm to 4pm, last entry 3.30pm. Free drop-in family crafts in the Education Centre for ages 3 and up, with an adult. Saturday 24 October is bats. There is no session on 31 October.
  • Voyage to the Deep closes on Sunday 1 November, so half term is the last chance. Children from £7, adults from £9.80, family of four £27, £2 on Universal Credit.

The free Family Space with Sadie St Hilaire runs on the last Saturday of each month from September to November, 11am to 1pm, for children aged 5 to 12 with an adult. October’s last Saturday is 31 October. Drop in, or register in advance.

Libraries and the Centre for Wildlife Gardening

All four sessions are free and listed on the council’s Southwark Presents events pages.

  • Caribbean Hats, Camberwell Library, Monday 26 October, 2.30pm to 3.30pm. Children design and decorate a Caribbean-inspired headpiece with feathers, ribbons and gems, and take it home. The library is at 48 Camberwell Green, SE5 7AL.
  • The Breakfast Club Adventure, Grove Vale Library, Tuesday 27 October, 2pm to 3.30pm. A story time from Marcus Rashford’s detective books, then crafts. The library is at 18-22 Grove Vale, SE22 8EF, near East Dulwich station.
  • Nature Storytime, Centre for Wildlife Gardening, Tuesday 27 October, 10.30am to 11.30am. Nature stories and activities for children aged 5 and under. No need to book.
  • Family Nature Discovery, Centre for Wildlife Gardening, Tuesday 27 October, 1pm to 3pm. Pond dipping, minibeast hunting and bird food making, drop in. The centre is at 28 Marsden Road, SE15 4EE.

The two Centre for Wildlife Gardening sessions are listed by the organiser, not the council.

If your school breaks on 19 October

Children at Kingsdale, Charter East Dulwich and Harris Girls’ get the week of 19 October too. Two dated things fall in it: Hokusai opens at the Picture Gallery on Tuesday 20 October, and the Picture Gallery’s Curtain Up! display of theatre portraits closes on Sunday 25 October. The Horniman is free and open daily in both weeks.

Still to be confirmed

  • Halloween events in Dulwich Park or Peckham Rye Park: none listed on Southwark’s events pages as of 15 October.

We will check again before half term starts.