Kendal's October half term is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Twelve things on, from Nick Cope at Brewery Arts to Sizergh and the Lakeside steam trains.

October half term in Kendal is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 for Westmorland and Furness Council’s schools and for Kirkbie Kendal, The Queen Katherine School, Dallam and The Lakes School. Kirkbie Kendal pupils also get Friday 16 October off for a training day, and Sedbergh School breaks up a week early, on 16 October. Below are the dates, then twelve things that are genuinely on that week, each taken from the organiser’s own listing.

The quick answer

  • Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026. Schools go back on Monday 2 November.
  • Kendal’s own family show of the week is Nick Cope at Brewery Arts on Saturday 31 October, at 11am and 2pm, £20.
  • Sizergh, the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway and the World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness all run full half-term programmes; the steam railway’s season ends on Sunday 1 November.

Half term dates by school

The council’s dates are on its term and holiday dates page. Individual schools set their own training days, and two local calendars differ from the council’s in the run-up to the break:

  • Kirkbie Kendal School is closed on Friday 16 October for a training day (term dates, PDF).
  • Sedbergh School, the independent boarding school, breaks up at 2pm on Friday 16 October and returns on Sunday 1 November, a two-week break (senior school term dates).

The full year, with Christmas and the differences between schools, is on our Kendal school term dates page.

What’s on in Kendal

Nick Cope’s Family Show, Brewery Arts, Saturday 31 October. Two shows, at 11am and 2pm, age guidance 3+. Tickets are £20, and Brewery Arts adds that a commission of £2.50 to £3.50 is included in its ticket prices (Brewery Arts listing).

Frightful Family Crafts, Brewery Arts, Saturday 24 October. A Halloween craft session from 2.15pm to 3.45pm in Studio 3 for children aged 4 and over with an adult. It falls on the Saturday before half term. Booked together with the Hocus Pocus screening that follows, it is £12 per person (Brewery Arts listing).

Kendal Town v Newcastle Blue Star, Saturday 31 October. A 3pm kick-off at the Westmorland Flooring Stadium, £8 on the gate, as listed on Visit Kendal’s events diary.

Sizergh, near Kendal. The National Trust’s house is open Tuesday to Sunday through half term, 12pm to 4pm, with the garden, shop and café open 10am to 5pm. The house is closed on Monday 26 October, when only the garden, café and shop open. Sunday 1 November is the last day the house opens before it closes to prepare for Winter at Sizergh (Sizergh, National Trust). Admission to the house and garden is £15 for an adult and £7.50 for a child aged 5 to 17; National Trust members go free. The car park charges non-members £3.50 for an hour up to £9.50 for the day, and the machine takes coins only. More on the winter programme is on our Sizergh at Christmas page.

What’s on around Windermere

World of Beatrix Potter, Bowness. The attraction has a show or activity on almost every day of the break, all listed on its events page:

  • Sunday 25 October, 2pm: Top Secret, a magic science show.
  • Monday 26 October, 11am and 2pm: On Your Bike Baffo, a stunt and comedy show with live music.
  • Tuesday 27 October, 11am and 2pm: Astro Norma, a musical show.
  • Thursday 29 October, 11am and 2pm: Claytime, where the audience plays with clay.
  • Friday 30 October, 10.30am to 4pm: bird box decorating, £6.50 per box.
  • Saturday 31 October, 10.30am to 4pm: Bea-tricks and Bats, decorating a bat box for Halloween.

Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. The steam railway’s 2026 season runs to Sunday 1 November, so it operates all through half term. Its timetable page warns that “the 09:50 and 10:20 trains do not operate from 28th Sept to 1st Nov 2026”, so the first trains of the day are later than in summer (current timetable).

Windermere Jetty Museum, Bowness. A free drop-in Halloween craft session, making a fish mask inspired by the creatures of Windermere, runs on Saturday 24 October and Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, 11am to 3.45pm, in the museum’s Learning Centre. That detail is from Windermere Lake Cruises’ events listing; the museum’s own site blocked our checks, so confirm with Lakeland Arts before travelling.

Not confirmed yet

Two regular half-term fixtures had not published 2026 details when we checked on 25 September. Brockhole on Windermere ran a ticketed Halloween Experience in October 2025, but its current site lists no 2026 date. Several Grasmere and Windermere Halloween events are listed by Windermere Lake Cruises but the organisers’ own pages either do not match or do not yet carry them, so they are left off this page until they do. We will check again in mid-October.

For getting about, see parking in Kendal and the current Kendal roadworks and travel page.