With pumpkin spice latte season, this month’s half-term holiday and Halloween (31 Oct) is on. And while you might have a whole heap of family-friendly frights planned for the period, there’s always room for more fun, says Kathryn Conway.
Take The London Pumpkin Patch. Back in Parsons Green for another year, there is so much more available here than simply picking out and purchasing a pumpkin (24 Oct-1 Nov). Resist the temptation to get competitive playing giant Halloween-themed board games or the pumpkin bowling and keep an eye out for the playful performers along the winding paths.
Add on a trip down Trick-or-Treat Lane as an optional extra, where friendly characters wait behind colourful doors to dish out sweet treats and playful tricks, or book Twilight Magic to see the patch festooned with twinkling lights and a canopy of lanterns.
Also making a welcome return is the annual Jet & Space Week at the Royal Air Force Museum London in Colindale (24 Oct-1 Nov). Families can embark on a space odyssey inside the Galileo Dome – an immersive mobile planetarium – to help decipher asteroids from comets and Mars from the Milky Way before helping to save the museum from the cheeky clones created by cute characters Percy and Mr Fox on an Attack of the Clones trail throughout Hangers 3, 4 and 5.
Then, if you’ve any energy left, it’s time to see if you’re a sharp shooter courtesy of an exhilarating game of Laser Tag. Check for dates and times.
Chances are aviation enthusiasts will be equally excited by trains and locomotives, and at the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, half-term has a celebratory feel. This year marks the 120th anniversary of the Piccadilly line, and the museum is hosting hands-on activities inspired by London Underground’s deep-level, dark blue route in its Along the Piccadilly Line event (24 Oct-1 Nov).
The capital’s second-longest Tube line has an interesting history, including its role in safeguarding treasures from The National Gallery and The British Museum during World War II. Come and hear what else there is to discover and know that boredom won’t be on the timetable this month.
