Half term runs 26 to 30 October. Steam trains, Freaky Fun Fest at Mead Open Farm, a £4 Rushmere trail and family shows at the Library Theatre, with prices.

October half term in Leighton Buzzard runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, with the weekends either side making it a nine-day break from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November. Everything below is taken from the organisers’ own listings, with the price they charge.

The quick answer

  • Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, the same at every Leighton Buzzard school we checked. Schools break up for Christmas on Friday 18 December.
  • Biggest days out: the Leighton Buzzard Railway Steam Gala on 24 and 25 October, and Freaky Fun Fest at Mead Open Farm, 24 to 31 October, £19.95.
  • Cheapest: the £4 Autumn Trail at Rushmere Country Park, and a free bird day there on Sunday 25 October.

The dates come from Central Bedfordshire Council’s calendar, and the school-by-school differences later in the year are on our school term dates page.

What’s on, day by day

Date What Where Price
Fri 23 Oct to Sun 1 Nov Autumn Trail Rushmere Country Park £4 a sheet
Sat 24 and Sun 25 Oct Steam Gala Leighton Buzzard Railway Rover from £17.50 child
Sat 24 to Sat 31 Oct Freaky Fun Fest Mead Open Farm, Billington £19.95
Sun 25 Oct Feed the Birds day Rushmere Country Park Free
Mon 26 Oct, 2pm Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (U) Library Theatre £7.70, under-16s £6.45
Wed 28 Oct, 2pm Three Little Pigs, musical Library Theatre £15.25, under-16s £13.50
Wed 28 and Thu 29 Oct Ordinary steam trains Leighton Buzzard Railway £12.70 adult, £9 child
Thu 29 Oct, 10am Autumn Animal Detectives Walk Rushmere Country Park £5 a child, adults free
Sat 31 Oct and Sun 1 Nov Halloween weekend Leighton Buzzard Railway Normal fares

Leighton Buzzard Railway: steam gala, then Halloween

The narrow-gauge railway at Page’s Park, Billington Road, LU7 4TG, runs on five days of the holiday. Its own timetable lists steam haulage on every one of them. (Leighton Buzzard Railway, times and fares)

  • Steam Gala, Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October. A four-train timetable with 12 departures on the Saturday and 11 on the Sunday, and what the railway calls “rare dusk running for the first time in many years”. The first visiting engine announced is the 1897 French-built Decauville No. 246 Victory, marking 25 years of the railway’s twinning with a line on the Somme. Single trips can be booked online; rover tickets are sold on the day at the station. (Leighton Buzzard Railway, Steam Gala)
Gala rover Adult Senior Child
One day £26.50 £23.50 £17.50
Whole weekend £44.00 £37.00 £28.00
  • Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October: ordinary running, on the red timetable, with departures from Page’s Park at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm. A trip takes about 90 minutes including 25 minutes at Stonehenge Works. The booking system prices a standard ticket at £12.70 for an adult, £11.30 for a senior (60+) and £9 for a child (2 to 17); under-2s are free. Gift Aid prices are £14, £12.50 and £10.
  • Halloween, Saturday 31 October and Sunday 1 November. The station is decorated and volunteers are in costume, with a treasure hunt at Page’s Park and a letter hunt at Stonehenge Works for a prize. Dressing up is encouraged. Sunday 1 November is the last day of the regular season. (Leighton Buzzard Railway, Halloween)

One thing to know first: the timetable page currently says trains are “terminating at Stonehenge Work due to track damage on Munday’s Hill”. Check it again before you go.

Mead Open Farm: Freaky Fun Fest

Mead Open Farm on Stanbridge Road, Billington, LU7 9JH, runs Freaky Fun Fest from Saturday 24 October to Saturday 31 October, 10am to 5pm. It is £19.95 per person; the farm says booking online saves 20%, and annual members get in free without booking. (Mead Open Farm, Freaky Fun Fest)

The ticket covers a circus in the Big Top with a new daredevil act, two indoor Halloween walk-throughs (Horrid High and Scary Tales), a new trick-or-treat trail of “trap doors”, the pumpkin patch with one free pumpkin per paying or member child, and the farm’s normal indoor and outdoor play and animals.

Rushmere Country Park: the cheap option

Rushmere Country Park is on Linslade Road, Heath and Reach, LU7 0EB. The Greensand Trust, which runs it, has three half-term events on its own listing. Car parking is charged on top of every one. (Greensand Trust, events)

  • Autumn Trail, Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November, 10am to 4pm. Buy a trail sheet at Visitor Services for £4, which includes the trail and a treat, then follow the clues round the park. (Greensand Trust, Autumn Trail)
  • Feed the Birds, Sunday 25 October, 10am to 3pm. A free family day on how to help garden birds. No booking; bring binoculars. (Greensand Trust, Feed the Birds)
  • Autumn Animal Detectives Walk, Thursday 29 October, 10am to noon. A guided woodland walk for children aged 3 to 12 with the trust’s education team: building a hedgehog den and making an insect house to take home. £5 per child, accompanying adults free, booked in advance. It leaves the surfaced path for up to 1.5km of uneven ground, so wear boots. No dogs. (Greensand Trust, Autumn Animal Detectives Walk)

Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre

The council-run theatre on Lake Street, LU7 1RX, has two family shows in the week. Prices are from its box office system; the council adds a £1.25 booking fee per ticket. (Central Bedfordshire Ticketsolve listing; Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre)

  • Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (U), Monday 26 October, 2pm. The Halloween film. £7.70, under-16s and concessions £6.45.
  • Three Little Pigs, Wednesday 28 October, 2pm. A touring family musical by Lost The Plot Theatrical, 55 minutes, doors 1.15pm. £15.25, under-16s £13.50.

The pantomime, Aladdin, is not until January. Dates and prices are on our pantomime page.

Getting there

The railway is at Page’s Park station on Billington Road, and Mead Open Farm is on Stanbridge Road, Billington. For town-centre car parks and their charges, see our parking page, and for current closures on the way, the roadworks page.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Further visiting engines for the Steam Gala. The railway says more announcements follow “in the coming weeks”.
  • Whether the Munday’s Hill track damage is repaired before the holiday, which decides how far the trains run.

This page is rechecked in mid October, and listings are added as organisers publish them. If you run a half-term event in Leighton Buzzard or Linslade, tell us.

For the rest of the winter, see the bonfire night page and the Christmas lights switch-on.