Holland Park's free Playful Park of Peculiar runs 4.30pm to 7.30pm on 31 October. The first tickets have gone; more are released on 15 October. Full programme.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and Kensington’s big free event is in Holland Park from 4.30pm to 7.30pm on 31 October. Opportunity Kensington, the business district that runs High Street Kensington, is turning the park into the Playful Park of Peculiar, “a free, ticketed walk-through Halloween adventure” (High Street Kensington).

It is free but you need a ticket, and the first batch has gone. The organiser’s page reads: “Tickets now sold out, more tickets will be released on 15 October.” Tickets are booked through the Halloween Kensington ticket page.

Updated 3 October: the organiser has published the full programme. The park event now runs 4.30pm to 7.30pm, not 4pm to 7pm, and is ticketed; the first free tickets are gone and more go on sale on 15 October. The shop trail starts a day earlier, on 23 October.

The Kensington Halloween programme at a glance

What When Cost
Halloween trail through the shops Friday 23 to Saturday 31 October Free
Big Kensington Vintage Flea, gothic edition, Phillimore Walk Saturday 31 October, 10am to 4.30pm Free entry
Halloween at the Design Museum, family drop-in Saturday 31 October, 3.30pm to 7pm Free, no booking
Playful Park of Peculiar, Holland Park Saturday 31 October, 4.30pm to 7.30pm Free, ticket needed
Halloween at the Natural History Museum, adults only Saturday 31 October, 7pm to midnight From £65

Dates and times are from High Street Kensington’s Halloween page and its events and offers list, and the museum evening from the Natural History Museum.

What happens in Holland Park

The organiser promises a giant talking frog, the Circus of the Strange, the Peculiar Sisters, Professor Popp making giant bubbles, the Wandering Eyes and the Orbitor of Odd, with short performances, illuminated creatures and photo spots along the route, and themed food and drink at the end.

The useful bit is the advice on timing. “Earlier sessions will be playful and welcoming, and particularly suited to younger families. As daylight fades, the park will become darker and more atmospheric, still family-friendly, but with a little extra Halloween mischief.” Pick an early slot for small children.

Entry is through the Holland Park Gates on Kensington High Street, W8 7RG.

The trail and the shop events

The trail runs 23 to 31 October: a map through High Street Kensington’s shops with hidden clues and treats along the way. The organiser says the trail guide is “coming soon”, so the list of shops is not out yet.

Shops and restaurants have their own events across half term, all listed on the district’s events and offers page:

  • Trotters, 139-141 Kensington High Street: a Halloween Grotto from 26 to 31 October, booking essential; Knit Club on 26 October at 2pm (age 5+), Trick or Treat bag design on 28 October at 2pm (age 3+), potion making on 30 October at 2pm (age 5+), Halloween story time on 24 October at 11am, and Halloween hairstyles on 31 October.
  • Kiko Milano, 42-44 Kensington High Street: free ten-minute Halloween make-up sessions, walk-in, listed for 24 October.
  • VICKISARGE, 12 Kensington Church Street: a free cauldron lucky dip for children, 26 to 31 October.
  • The Britannia, 1 Allen Street: pumpkin carving on 29 October, booking only, then a Halloween night with live music on the 31st.
  • Waterstones Kensington, 130 Kensington High Street: a comic-making workshop with cartoonist Phil Corbett on 30 October from 2pm, age 7+.
  • The Ivy, 96 Kensington High Street: a Little Monsters Breakfast Banquet on 31 October and 1 November, £32.50 for adults and £27.50 for children, with a non-refundable £10 deposit per person.
  • Passyunk Avenue, 16 Kensington Church Street: costume contests on 31 October, children at 1pm (check-in 12.30pm) and adults at 9pm (check-in 8.30pm).
  • Petit Bateau, 5 Kensington Church Street: drop-in mask making on 31 October, 1pm to 5pm.
  • Hyde Park Sausage Walk: a Halloween dachshund walk on Sunday 1 November, 12pm to 2pm, meeting at the Physical Energy statue in Kensington Gardens. Free, with prizes for the best costumes.

The museums

The Design Museum runs a free family drop-in from 3.30pm to 7pm on 31 October for children aged 5 to 11: paper mask-making, a search-and-find trail inspired by Samhain, and a group drawing of myths and monsters. No booking, but some activities run one in, one out when busy, and adults must come with at least one child. The same afternoon there is a curator’s Halloween tour of its LAIKA exhibition, Wildwood, from 2pm to 3pm.

The Natural History Museum is the grown-up option: a vampire-themed evening in the galleries on Saturday 31 October from 7pm to midnight, 18+ only with ID checked under Challenge 25, from £65 (members from £58). Costumes are encouraged, but nothing with flames, sharp parts or flammable materials.

The July announcement also named Leighton House and Sambourne House as taking part. Neither appears on the October programme, and Leighton House’s own listings carried no Halloween event on 3 October.

The trick-or-treating question

Opportunity Kensington points families at “London’s most popular trick-or-treating and some of the area’s most extravagantly decorated homes” in the streets around the park. It does not name a street, publish a map, or say which houses take part, and it has never done so. Nothing official tells you where to go, so treat the decorated-street lists that circulate on social media each October as exactly that.

Timing the day

The flea market on Phillimore Walk finishes at 4.30pm, exactly when the Holland Park event opens, a short walk along Kensington High Street. The Design Museum, next to the park, runs from 3.30pm, so a family can do the museum first and walk into the park.

One caution on the market. The council’s traffic order closes Phillimore Walk, between Hornton Street and Campden Hill, from 7.30am until 3.00pm every Saturday to 28 November (RBKC works and events bulletin, 1 October 2026). The organiser advertises the market until 4.30pm, so the road reopens ninety minutes before the market is due to end.

Getting there

High Street Kensington and Holland Park are the nearest tube stations, and buses run the length of Kensington High Street. The Playful Park entrance is on the high street itself.

Late afternoon on the last Saturday of half term is the worst possible time to look for a space nearby. Our page on parking in Kensington and Chelsea covers the borough’s charges and bay rules, and roadworks and travel carries anything closed on the day. For the whole week, see our October half term page.

Still to come

Two things: the second ticket release on 15 October for Holland Park, and the trail guide with its list of shops. We will update this page when both appear.