Halloween near Lichfield: pumpkin picking at Wall, Hints and the Maize Maze from 3 October, Beacon Park trails, and Chasewater's £11.95 scare train on the 31st.

Halloween falls on Saturday 31 October 2026, the last day of Staffordshire’s October half term (Monday 26 to Friday 30 October). Around Lichfield that means three pick-your-own pumpkin farms within a few miles of the city, two council trails in Beacon Park, a scare train at Chasewater, and a Halloween concert at the Garrick on the night itself.

Everything here was read from each organiser’s own website or booking system on 3 October 2026, and every entry links to its source. Where an organiser has not published a price or a time, we say so rather than guess.

The quick answer

  • Pumpkin picking: Lichfield Maize Maze, Rymans at Wall and Manor Farm Fruits at Hints all open on Saturday 3 October and close on the 31st, each on its own pattern of days.
  • Cheapest: the free Halloween I-spy trail in Beacon Park and Burntwood Park from 17 October, and the £1.50 puzzle trail in Beacon Park from 10 October.
  • Halloween night: Chasewater Railway’s Phantom Flyer scare train runs until 9pm (£11.95), and the Garrick has Halloween in Concert at 7.30pm (£34.50).

Pumpkin picking

Lichfield Maize Maze, Watling Street

The Maize Maze on Watling Street, WS14 0AW, opens for pumpkin season on weekends only for the first three weeks (3 and 4, 10 and 11, 17 and 18 October), then daily from Friday 23 to Saturday 31 October. Hours are 9am to 5pm, last entry 3.30pm, and the farm says it is not open outside those dates (Lichfield Maize Maze).

  • More than 70 varieties of pumpkins, squash and gourds, picked from the field with a wheelbarrow.
  • The ticket also covers the main maze and mini maze, reworked with “spooky (not scary!)” games for October, plus the Pumpkin House, play areas and a giant sandpit.
  • Pumpkins are not in the ticket price. They are weighed and paid for at the gift shop on the way out.
  • Quiet Time Sessions, with entry between 9am and 10am, are on Sunday 4 and Friday 23 October.
  • Under-2s are free but need a ticket; one carer goes free with a Nimbus Card or equivalent. Parking is free.

The farm strongly recommends booking online, as weekends and half term sell out, and says gate tickets cannot be guaranteed (tickets). Its public pages do not print the admission price, which is shown in the booking system.

Rymans Pumpkins, Manor Farm, Wall

Rymans grows its pumpkins on a family farm at Wall, WS14 0AH, close to the A5 and the A5127 into Lichfield (Rymans Farm).

  • Open 3 to 31 October, 10am to 4pm, with morning or afternoon timed tickets. It is closed on 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14 and 19 October.
  • Entry £5 a person, under-2s free, carers £2. Pumpkins are extra, £1 to £18 by size, paid at the barn.
  • Entry includes a tractor and trailer ride (weather permitting), wheelbarrows, games and the carving shed.
  • Pumpkin picking after dark: Friday 9 October from 6pm, £9.50 a person, with marshmallows on the fire pits.
  • A Smash Day after Halloween, £6.50 a person, invites you to bring back your carved pumpkin to be squashed into the soil. The farm has not printed its date on the page.

Book through the farm’s DigiTickets link; it says weekend slots go first. Parking is free in a field. The farm also warns that another pumpkin patch at the bottom of the village is a different business, so follow its yellow signs rather than the sat nav’s last turn.

Manor Farm Fruits, Hints

Manor Farm Fruits, on Watling Street at Hints, B78 3DF, is holding its tenth Pumpkin Fest (Manor Farm Fruits). The pumpkins are harvested and laid out in poly tunnels, so you choose rather than cut them, and they are paid for separately.

  • Dates and prices, from the farm’s booking system: 3, 4, 10, 11 and 23 October £8.50 a person booked ahead; 17, 24 and 25 October (sold as “Day to Night” tickets) and 18 and 26 to 31 October £9.50. Walk-up prices are £2 more.
  • Add-ons for Pip’s Autumn Adventure Trail or the Monster Mash Maize Maze bring a ticket to £12.50 to £13.50, or £15 to £16 for both.
  • Weekend hours are 10am to 5pm, last entry 3pm.
  • Live shows from Wardy Gourdy and Willow Boo Witch, trick or treat doors, inflatables and marshmallow toasting.
  • Dogs are welcome at £1 each but not in the pumpkin tunnels. No picnics. Parking is free.

Hints is a village in Lichfield district, on the A5 towards Tamworth.

Trails in the parks

Halloween puzzle trail, Beacon Park. £1.50. Solve puzzles on the way round and collect a small prize at the end, daily from 10 October to 3 November, 10am to 3pm (Lichfield District Council).

Halloween I-spy trails, Beacon Park and Burntwood Park. Free. Nine Halloween-themed tags hidden around both parks, for all ages, any time in park opening hours from 17 October to 3 November (Lichfield District Council).

Chasewater Railway: the Phantom Flyer

Chasewater Railway, at Brownhills West Station on the Burntwood edge of Chasewater, turns its heritage steam train into a scare train for two evenings (Chasewater Railway):

  • The Phantom Flyer runs from 5.30pm on Friday 30 October and again on Saturday 31 October, with trains until 9pm. Tickets are £11.95 a person, or £82.50 for a private compartment for up to six. There is also a Scare Maze and ghost stories.
  • Mini Monster Mash, the daytime event for younger children, is on Friday 30 October, 12pm to 4pm: tricks, treats, games and crafts, in costume. There is no need to book, and the railway still lists its price as “to be confirmed”.

At the Garrick

The theatre’s Halloween fortnight, from its own box office system (Lichfield Garrick):

Date Show Venue Price
Tue 20 Oct, 7.30pm The Haunting of Widow’s Leap Farm (16+) Main Auditorium £25
Wed 21 to Sat 24 Oct, 7.45pm (Sat 2.45pm too) Dracula, Lichfield Players (14+) Studio £18.50
Sun 25 Oct, 2pm and 4.30pm The Witch Who Couldn’t Sleep Burntwood Memorial Institute £5
Fri 30 Oct, 6pm Stitchety Craft Cinema: Hocus Pocus (PG) Studio £15
Sat 31 Oct, 7.30pm Halloween in Concert Main Auditorium £34.50

The Haunting of Widow’s Leap Farm is a supernatural thriller from the Tales from Paradise Heights series, with strong language and adult themes (Lichfield Garrick). Halloween in Concert is a live band and cast playing spooky hits, with a prize for the best costume (Lichfield Garrick). Lichfield Players’ Dracula carries a 14+ age guide, and The Witch Who Couldn’t Sleep is a sing-along musical for young children, part of Creative Burntwood.

Nearby, outside the district: Drayton Manor

Drayton Manor, near Tamworth, B78 3TW, runs Blazing Halloween from 9 October to 1 November 2026: a trick or treat sweets trail, the Revenge of the Haunted Express ride at £5 a person on top of admission (recommended for ages four and over), a fire show, a lake show every day at 6pm, and end-of-season fireworks on 31 October and 1 November (Drayton Manor). Admission is a theme park ticket bought through the resort’s own site.

What is still to be confirmed

  • Chasewater Railway’s Mini Monster Mash price.
  • The date of Rymans’ Smash Day.
  • Lichfield Maize Maze publishes its admission price only inside its booking system.

We will check these again in mid-October.

Getting there

Wall and the Maize Maze are both just off the A5 south of the city, and Hints is further east along the same road, so expect queues on half-term weekends. All three farms have free parking. For the city centre and Beacon Park, our parking in Lichfield page has the car parks and tariffs, and the roadworks and travel page has the closures.

Sources