A Spooky Evening at Moors Valley Country Park’s Halloween Trail: A Review

If you're looking for a family-friendly Halloween experience that blends outdoor adventure with spine-tingling fun, Moors Valley Country Park’s brand new Halloween Trail is the perfect destination! We recently visited on opening night, and from the creative displays to the eerie ambiance, it offered the ideal blend of Halloween thrills without being too scary for younger visitors.

There are three different time slots to consider. Daylight - which is perfect for younger visitors, Twilight - the scare level ramps up a notch, and Moonlight - as scary as it gets but still suitable for all. 

We arrived for our Daylight slot at 5pm and we were guided towards the main carpark. Be prepared for the carpark to be very busy at peak times - you may end up in the overflow carpark so it would be wise to bring a torch.

Before you begin your journey into the forest, you can grab a bite to eat at one of the many food vendors. Our group had hog roast, burgers and hotdogs but there were plenty of choices including greek and waffles. Prices were to be expected but the portions were very generous, as demonstrated by the size of my daughters hotdog!

Hot dogs at Moors Valley Halloween

The Halloween Trail winds through part of the park’s vast woodland and takes between one to two hours to complete, depending on how long you linger at each stop. Visitors follow a mapped path, where they’re greeted by engaging characters, creepy props, and spooky sounds that set an eerie but enjoyable tone.

The sun was setting as we walked around and it made for a spooky backdrop to my photos, with the orange glow peeking through the trees. We took our time exploring and I appreciated booking the earlier time slot as it wasn't too busy. We were able to take lots of photos and never felt rushed. 

Headless Horseman - Moors Valley Halloween Trail

Midway round the trail, we found a small pitstop area where a pop up bar was selling amazing looking hot chocolates and spooky themed drinks. There was also Candy Cauldron where the kids bought apples dipped in freshly melted chocolate and covered with spooky sprinkles. Definitely a highlight of the evening for them!

Once the sun had set and darkness arrived, we saw the forest from a different perspective. It felt quite spooky and we wondered what (or who!) we would encounter at each twist and turn of the path. 

Family-Friendly Fun

The Moors Valley Halloween Trail is an excellent option for families with children. It avoids the extreme frights you’d find in a traditional haunted house, making it accessible for younger kids who want to join in on the Halloween fun. The interactive elements encourage exploration and curiosity, and the characters along the way are much more friendly than frightening.

If you’re a Halloween enthusiast hoping for something truly terrifying, you might find this experience more on the mild side. However, for a festive, spooky evening with the family, the Halloween Trail offers just the right balance.

Practical Tips

If you’re planning to visit, here are a few tips to make the most of your experience:

• October evenings can be chilly, so bundle up and wear comfortable walking shoes since you’ll be navigating forest paths.

• While some parts of the trail are lit, a torch can help you see the path clearly and add to the spooky fun.

• There are no toilets on the trail so make sure you use the ones in the event village before you begin

• Take your time and look up! There is lots to see on the trail and I'd recommend taking your time so you don't miss anything. We spent almost two hours on the trail from start to finish (including time eating chocolate apples 😀)

Halloween Trail by torchlight

Final Thoughts

The Moors Valley Country Park Halloween Trail is a delightful Halloween outing that families and kids of all ages can enjoy. It combines outdoor exploration with gentle frights and offers an experience filled with magic and creativity. 

Overall, it’s a fantastic seasonal experience for anyone looking to enjoy Halloween festivities without too many scares. Highly recommended for families and Halloween lovers who appreciate a blend of nature and enchantment with a spooky twist. 

The Halloween trail is running everyday until Sunday 3rd November with timed entry slots. For more information including ticket prices and booking information, check out the website here.

*Disclaimer - We were given tickets to the opening night in exchange for an honest review - we really loved it though and will definitely be returning next year! 

Feeling Spooky at Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway, Hampshire

 Our October Half Term was a bit of a weird one last year. Obviously we had  lockdown to contend with but with the rules relaxed somewhat, we wanted to have a few covid safe days out to make things as normal as possible! 

We love a spooky day out and my kids love nothing more than donning fancy dress so it was with great excitement that we booked a day out at Exbury Gardens & Steam Railway in Hampshire for their special Halloween festivities. 

Managed by the Rothschild Family, Exbury Gardens has over 200 acres of beautiful walks and gardens, suitable for all ages. With the Steam Railway on site, it's the perfect family day out if you're visiting the New Forest area. 

We raised a few eyebrows as we pulled up with the Grim Reaper sat in the back of the car! We had pre-booked our tickets online and it was nice and straightforward getting in. We loved the spooky decorations in the foyer, one of those witches looked awfully familiar...

Once inside, we made our way over to the Rock Garden where the Halloween trail was. This was a big hit with the kids and we spent lots of time looking for the clues and letters. The decorations were brilliant and really spooky, but without taking away how pretty the gardens were. 

It was soon time to board the ghost train and we were all excited/a little nervous about this! The train station was decked out in fantastic Halloween decorations and I loved all the little details like the spooky posters. 

The steam train began it's journey and we were entertained by the ghoulish characters on board who told jokes and sang for us. Along the way we caught glimpses of more spooky characters who popped up alongside the carriage! 

The route around the gardens takes in Summer Lane Garden, Rock Garden, Dragonfly Pond and even through a creepy, dark tunnel. The little ones weren't too keen on the tunnel, especially when the witch appeared and chased after the train! 

Look carefully at the far side of the lake! 

There are a couple of options for food and drink at Exbury - obviously these depend on Covid regulations and seasonal openings. When we visited, Mr Eddy's Restaurant was offering take-away only but there were lots of  options for families and reasonably priced. We picked up some chicken goujons and fries (plus a giant burger for Elliot!) and were able to find a bench outside to eat on. I also spotted a vegan pop up kiosk near the entrance that seemed to be busy! 

We spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring the rest of the gardens and taking in all the gorgeous Autumnal colours. It really is a photographer's dream here in October with so many vibrant colours. 

We had a fantastic spooky day out at Exbury Gardens and will certainly return to explore the bits we didn't get to see. We loved the Halloween event, and we won't forget the ghost train in a hurry! 

At the time of writing, Exbury Gardens are currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions but are due to reopen on March 29th 2021. The Steam Railway is scheduled to open on Monday 12th April. If you're planning a visit, please check the website before you go to ensure they are open. 

Halloween at Mapperton House Dorset

Back in the Summer we visited Mapperton House and it was definitely one of the most picturesque places we have ever been to. I was keen to return later in the year to see the Autumn colours so in the recent half term we made the 1 hour journey over to West Dorset to take part in the Halloween Fun Day. The drive down to Mapperton was really foggy which definitely added to the spooky feel of the day!

We bought along some friends and the children were excited to explore, dressed in their scariest Halloween costumes! We picked up our trail sheets from the shop and we couldn't wait to start. The trail was nice and easy for the children and it was very straightforward for them to follow the arrows.

  The trail led us around the gardens which were decorated fantastically for Halloween. Giant spiders, pumpkin heads, witty gravestones, shrunken turnip heads with teeth, floating skeletons, concluding with a visit to the witches house for a spidery treat.

The only one brave enough to knock on the witches door was surprisingly Erin. We weren't actually expecting the door to open so it made us jump when the door swung open and the witch greeted us!

 Once we had completed the trail we headed back up to the Coach House cafe for some warming hot chocolates and spooky cupcakes. As we were visiting on the Halloween fun day, there was the bonus of free face painting in the cafe. Unfortunately, there was only one face painter so we ended up waiting over 90 minutes until it was our turn which was a bit frustrating.

Erin passed the time by jumping in puddles!

Whilst the addition of a free face painter was good (and she did do a fab job!) the queue just didn't move quick enough unfortunately. Instead it would have been great to see some Halloween themed crafts in the cafe, or even in a marquee like they had set up in the Summer.

Never the less, we had a really fun time at Mapperton and luckily managed to finish the trail before the rain arrived in the afternoon. I loved how the grounds were decorated and the mist really added to the Halloween atmosphere!

Mapperton is now closed for the Winter months but I'd highly recommend a visit in March when they reopen. The gardens are well worth a visit and the hot chocolates in the cafe are some of the nicest I've had!

*Disclaimer - We received a free entry in exchange for an honest review

SPOOKY SEAS AT WEYMOUTH SEALIFE ADVENTURE PARK

If you're heading down to Weymouth Sealife Adventure Park this half term, you might find some spooky surprises! From Saturday 21st October - Sunday 29th October, the Spooky Seas event is on - you will have the opportunity to come face to face with creepy creatures including Spider Crabs, Batfish, Dead Man's Fingers and Scorpion Fish.

The Sealife Park will also welcome back Zelda the Enchantress who resides in her creepy enchanted cabin, tucked away in the wetlands. Little visitors will get the chance to make some spooky slime with her plus take part in a pumpkin hunt, spooky fact finding, creepy crafts and a yucky dip. And of course, costumes are welcome!

We visited the Sealife Park again over the weekend and got a sneaky preview of Zelda in her cabin before she's officially open from the 21st. The cabin looks great, very authentic with it's pumpkins and cobweb covered trees. You'd definitely know a witch lives there! Inside the walls are covered in cobwebs and the shelves are filled with potions, spiders and other witchy bits and bobs. Her cauldron sits in the corner bubbling away.

Once inside, she helped Elliot make some spooky sticky slime - this was the perfect activity for him, he loves slime! I personally hate the stuff so I'm glad he was getting her tablecloth messy and not mine ;) There was a quick photo opportunity and then it was time to say farewell to Zelda.

Elliot was able to take the slime with him in a pot but just a little warning...it's so sticky and the lids don't fit on the pots very well so make sure it doesn't come loose in your bag. He also left with totally covered sticky hands so we had to head straight to the toilets to clean up!

We decided to head straight over to Caribbean Cove after our Zelda encounter. This play area is one of the best I've seen and Elliot was so excited to be let loose on the equipment! Handily there is a Costa and picnic benches so I was able to sit and relax with a hot chocolate while he played.

We also bumped into some friends who joined us and the kids had a whale of a time playing in the play area. Elliot even managed to master the fireman's pole!

spot the slime!

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the park and I even had to extend our car park ticket as we were having so much fun! My highlight was the ocean tunnel which can be found in the Turtle Sanctuary Zone. It was amazing seeing all the fish and turtles swimming above our heads. Erin was transfixed!

Elliot really enjoyed the rock pools and was able to stroke a starfish. The park was nice and quiet so he was able to take his time and he spent quite a while with his arm dunked in the pools!

Thank you Sealife Adventure Park Weymouth, we had a brilliant day out! 

For more information and ticket prices, visit the website: https://www.visitsealife.com/weymouth/

Looking back at our Halloween Half Term!

I had all good intentions of writing about Halloween straight after but as it often does, life got in the way and it's only now, two weeks later that I'm able to sit down and talk about what we got up!

Elliot had the week off pre-school as it was half term so we had lots of exciting things planned...and several different fancy dress costumes to wear!

On the Wednesday we met up with some of our close group of friends at one of our favourite places, Kingston Lacy. We all have National Trust memberships so it's always a nice cheap day out and the kids absolutely love it there! We took a picnic and did some Autumn crafts - my friend Louise also brought some print outs for the kids to do. This was a fantastic idea, they had to tick off certain items from their sheets and they all had different themed sheets such as fairies and pirates - they loved it!! All the activities were downloaded from https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/naturedetectives/activities/ - we will definitely be doing this again :)

Later on that day I took Elliot to a local garden centre who were holding a special Halloween event for children. They had lots of things happening such as fancy dress competitions, spooky stories, pumpkin carving, spooky food and a scary tunnel. Elliot didn't win the fancy dress competition but there were over 40 kids in his age bracket so lots of competition and lots of little Dracs! The scary tunnel was actually really scary, we got about a foot inside and Elliot decided he didn't like it so we had to turn around and come out again....maybe one for the bigger kids! Although saying that my 29 year old sister was freaked out by someone dressed up as a zombie so she made a pretty hasty exit too!

Strutting his stuff on the catwalk!! 

On the Friday we hosted a little Halloween party for Elliot's friends - it's become a bit of a tradition  and we love hosting! It was a great excuse to decorate the house and of course, another excuse for Elliot to wear a different costume :)

It gets harder and harder to get a photo of all the children looking in the same direction!!

On the Sunday of Halloween weekend we couldn't decide what to do but Elliot wanted to visit Corfe Castle...even though he'd been there just a few days before with his grandparents! It's another brilliant National Trust property here in Dorset and we love visiting. There were lots of special activities on as it was half term, such as teddy zipline, spooky story telling and a Halloween themed quiz. 

Over the weekend we also managed to get a bit creative in the kitchen to make some spooky food thanks to a lovely hamper from the Co-op. Our favourite were the smores which were lovely big thick chocolate chip cookies with melted marshmallows and jam inside....yummy! To see some of the recipes head over to the Co-op website.

Finally on Halloween itself, I took Elliot trick or treating with one of his little friends. This is the first year he's really understood it and was so excited about getting some treats! We were planning on just knocking at a few houses we knew such as friends and family but on the way we spotted lots of houses decorated with pumpkins so we did spend a bit longer out than planned...both kids were sooo tired at the end of the evening!

Hope you all had a fun Halloween! 

Halloween with Home Bargains

Halloween is one of my favourite times of year and it's great that Elliot has inherited this love of mine! We will be hosting not one but two Halloween parties this year so we've been on the look out for spooky things that will make our parties extra special. Home Bargains have a brilliant range of Halloween supplies and we were sent a bumper box of goodies to try out...

They have literally covered all angles with decorations, costumes, crafts, sweets and even pumpkin carving kits!

The first thing Elliot picked out of the box was the skeleton costume - he loves dressing up so is definitely going to get lots of wear over the Halloween half term week! Home Bargains have a fab range of costumes and prices start at £4.99 which is an absolute bargain.

If your little skeleton isn't a fan of masks (they never stay on Elliot) then there is always the option of painting their faces instead. The family make up kit is only £2.99 and has a range of sponges and colours so you'll be able to have a practise before the big night! (There are some great Halloween make up tutorials on YouTube that I've spent far too long watching this morning....)

Make up kit - £2.99
Skeleton costume - £4.99

For all your trick or treating needs, Home Bargains have plenty of sweets, treats and even a ghostly loot scoop! Elliot was very taken with his loot scoop and has been testing it out all week ;) The big bags of sweets are great value, the only trouble I find is that I'm tempted to open them early and by the time Halloween comes, I'm out of sweets! (Just me?!)

Loot scoop - 99p
Pumpkin Jar with marshmallows - £1.99
Swizzels monster treats - £1.99

As we are hosting two Halloween parties this year we will be going to town on decorating and I love getting Elliot involved too. One of the most effective things you can buy is the spider webs and spiders - for only 99p you get a really large bag and I find this goes a long way. The more you stretch it, the creepier and cobweb-like it looks! The pumpkin LED lights are a great idea as they are battery powered and obviously don't need plugging in which gives you a bit more flexibility in where you are decorating. I like to drape them over my fireplace with lots of LED candles (safer!) and plenty of cobwebs. The plaques are great value too at 79p!

Pumpkin Lights - £2.99
Web & Spiders - 99p

Halloween Plaque - 79p 

The last thing for us to test was the pumpkin carving sets (99p)- the kits come with a tool that has a serrated edge, perfect for making your pumpkins as scary as possible plus a really useful scooper for getting the insides out. (That is my least favourite bit about pumpkin carving!). If you're not feeling very creative then you can also buy pumpkin push-ins (59p) which is a fantastically cheap and cheats way of making your pumpkin spooky without the work!

I'll be posting lots of photos from our Halloween party on our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) so look out for these and let me know what you think of our decorating skills!

The Halloween range at Home Bargains can be found online  and instore

*Disclaimer - All items were sent to us for the purpose of this review. All views are my own