Half term family activities at Shakespeare Houses
The Shakespeare Houses in Stratford-upon-Avon are hosting a number of exciting daily activities for families during October half term from Saturday 23 – Sunday 31 October.
With witches’ trails, archaeology sieving to find spellbinding finds, pumpkin carving plus the chance to learn about the deadly Plague, there is plenty to entertain the entire family!
During the week visitors can take part in ‘Hubble, Bubble, Trail and Trouble’ at Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Shottery and follow the trail in the cottage to find the witches. The witches will be hidden along the way so children will need to keep their eyes peeled. A Halloween Archaeology dig is on offer at Nash’s House & New Place for visitors to sieve archaeological spoil to unearth some spellbinding finds! The Dig closes at the end of October for the winter so it will be the last chance to dig for a while! Join in the quiz to discover historic secret rituals and find out how the Tudors celebrated Halloween. Mary Arden's Farm in Wilmcote will be hosting ‘Bring out Your Dead’, where visitors can learn about illness and death throughout the Tudor period with scary trails, quizzes and pumpkin-carving.
From Saturday 23 - Wednesday 27 October, Hall's Croft will play host to ‘Trick or Treatment - The Plague’ transporting visitors back to 1665 and the year of the deadly plague. Murderous Shakespeare will take place at Shakespeare's Birthplace from Friday 29 - Sunday 31 October from 9am – 7:30pm which will see the Shakespeare Aloud actors bring to life the darker characters from Shakespeare's plays. From 5pm visitors can enjoy unique candle-lit performances inside the house for just £5 admission!
Over at Mary Arden's Farm a Winter Wake will enable families to see a Tudor style burial and wake as the Farm prepares to close for the winter from Saturday 30 - Sunday 31 October. In addition there are plenty of activities to enjoy with scary trails, quizzes, pumpkin-carving and plague face painting.
On Sunday 31 October, visitors can take part in Ghostly Goings-On at Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Taking place from 11am - 2pm will be spooky story-telling, fun, games and magical hocus pocus. The Witches from Macbeth may even pop in for a visit! Prizes will be awarded for the best costume.
Tickets to all five Shakespeare Houses are great value and best of all valid for a full year - with unlimited entry. So for the price of one ticket, you can enjoy days out at the Shakespeare houses all year round – for free! For details of all activities this October half term, visit: shakespeare.org.uk
