Photo of a young child holding a lantern and an adult looking up at something in a woodland in the autumn

Top 5 Things To Do in October

This October, we’ve got plenty of ideas for fun days out, inspiring events and ways to get involved in heritage.

A young girl dressed in a witch costume wearing black and white face paint stands in the ruined walls of Bolsover Castle with two adults and a child in the background.

2. Join us for a ghoulishly great Halloween

Gather your little monsters for frightening fun at our Halloween half-term events across the country.

Join the Great Pumpkin Party as we celebrate the season with interactive storytelling and spooky games, as well as a themed trail and seasonal selfie spot around the sites. Don't forget your best costumes!

Visit Whitby Abbey for an autumnal evening at Illuminated Whitby. See the breathtaking Gothic ruins bathed in dramatic, colourful lights. Have your camera at the ready as you explore after dark and enjoy spook-tacular food and drink from our brilliant local vendors.

Find a Halloween event near you
Photo of two cavalry soldiers on horseback at the Battle of Hastings reenactment

2. Relive England's most famous battle

This October, see warriors clash and mud fly as over 300 re-enactors bring the Battle of Hastings to life on the very spot where it was fought in 1066.

Start by exploring the rival Saxon and Norman camps - see the chainmail and weaponry makers, meet the falconers and their birds of prey alongside them and weave your way through the tents where there’s food to prepare, logs to chop and clothes to mend.

Then take your spot for the highlight of the day as the hard-hitting armies clash in combat and battle rages.

Book tickets for the Battle of Hastings
Photo of a woman in a red and pink dress dancing in front of Marble Hill House with a dhol drummer dressed in blue standing next to her

3. Celebrate Diwali at Marble Hill

Celebrate the Festival of Lights in style at Marble Hill in London on Saturday 24 October. Expect illuminations, dancers, dhol drummers, giant puppets, hands-on lantern making workshops and more!

Entry's free, so why not bring your friends and family? While you're there, you can also discover a taste of Georgian life and explore over 60 acres of riverside parkland, restored gardens, reinvigorated woods and take the kids to let off some steam in the playground too.

Book tickets for Diwali at Marble Hill
Photo of a gardener planting in Osborne's Walled Garden

4. Enjoy harvest food and drink

October is the month of harvest, when we get the fruits (and vegetables) of our labour from earlier in the year.

The kitchen gardens of some of the country estates in our care provided fruit, vegetables and cut flowers for the household, with some continuing to serve this function to this day by providing food and drink for our cafés and tearooms.

Now's the perfect time of year to visit a historic site and share some food and drink to toast the harvest, just as generations before us have done over the centuries.

Find out about our kitchen gardens
Photo of the ruins of an abbey on a sunny day with a wildflower meadow in the foreground

5. Help protect free-to-enter historic sites

Over 300 of our treasured sites are free to enter. They're open to everybody, no matter their means. They’re woven into our lives - places where memories are made, where communities come together, and where we discover the stories of our nation.  

But free to enter doesn't mean free to maintain. It costs over £4.2 million a year to care for these special places - and that's why we need your help.

Please donate today to help protect them for tomorrow.

Help protect free-to-enter historic sites

The Month in History

  • King Harold, England’s last Anglo-Saxon king, was killed during the Battle of Hastings 960 years ago on 14 October 1066. The victory for William the Conqueror and his Norman army changed the course of English history.
  • The Women’s Social and Political Union was founded on 10 October 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst. Its members used tactics including civil disobedience to campaign for women’s rights, becoming known as suffragettes. A blue plaque marks the home of Emmeline and her daughter Dame Christabel Pankhurst.
  • King Richard III was born on 2 October 1452. Explore one of his childhood homes at Middleham Castle in North Yorkshire.
  • On 11 October 1982 the Mary Rose, Henry VIII’s flagship, was raised. She sank off Portsmouth in 1545, and over 22,000 artefacts were recovered from the depths.
  • Harold Moody, physician and campaigner for racial equality, was born on 8 October 1882. His home in Peckham is now the site of a blue plaque.

More to explore

  • Seasonal highlights

    Autumn’s the perfect time to take a closer look at historic sites, with the colours of trees changing and the sun getting lower in the sky.

  • THE ENGLISH HERITAGE PODCAST

    Every object has a story to tell - but how can one mystery item lead us on a journey through history, people and places? Amy Matthews explores tales from unexpected places.

  • Become a member today

    Enjoy unlimited access to hundreds of historical places with an annual membership. Plus there's free entry for up to six children!