October Half Term
13th Oct 2023
Each October Half Term, Autumn blankets our vibrant park with a stunning quilt of red, orange, and yellow leaves. Families pause the hustle of everyday life, and immerse themselves in the enchanting Wildwood forest.
Our half term schedule is brim-full of exciting activities for the family! From the tales of the long-lost Witch of Wildwood and spooktacular pumpkin carvings, to our Wildling and Junior Zoo keeper adventures. Our café will also be serving up the most delicious Toffee apple hot chocolates and Autumnal spiced lattes to accompany your adventure.
Read on to find out more!
Witch of Wildwood
A hundred years ago, legend had it that a wicked witch used to live in the woods at Wildwood. She was known as the Witch of Wildwood, and on a full moon could be seen flying over the wolves as they howled, until one cold Halloween night the witch disappeared never to be seen again... until now!
From Saturday 21st - Tuesday 31st October, the infamous Witch of Wildwood will be flying in on her broomstick for a fiendishly fun-packed howl-oween.
Wicked "Winfred" - well known for her resting witch face - will be imparting her wisdom on some brave young witches and wizards and showing them how to create potions as part of a month of fiendish fun at our wildlife park.
Pumpkin Carving Competition 🎃
Ready your carving tools! Our Pumpkin Carving Competition invites all creative souls to design the most bewitching, delightful, or spooktacular pumpkin and stand a chance to WIN some great prizes!
Our winners will get the opportunity to fill their pumpkins with animal feed and take them into selected enclosures for the animals*😮
Bring your pumpkin offering to your Witch of Wildwood time slot, or hand it into our ticket office upon arrival!
*please note, pumpkins must be free from glue, glitter, candle wax or anything artificial
Daily Keeper Q&As
11:30pm Bison (at the bison platform)
12:30pm Ravens (at the raven enclosure)
2:15pm Rats (at the rat barn)
The times for our Q&A sessions can vary for different days, so make sure to check out our talk board as you enter the park. Keep an eye out for any extra talks that may spring up throughout the summer.
Kids Clubs and Experiences
Junior Zoo Keeper
Find out exactly what it’s like to look after wild animals with our Junior Zoo Keeper Experiences. Aimed at children with a keen interest in becoming a zoo keeper or working with animals later in life. Participants will go behind the scenes at Wildwood in Kent for an introduction to the world of the zoo keeper and will learn how we make sure that our animals are well fed, interested and cared for.
Wildlings Holiday Club
Set in over 40 acres of beautiful ancient woodland, Wildwood Trust has over 200 native animals, past and present. At Wildlings Holiday Club children can get active in nature from 9am until 3pm, try new things and make new friends – both furry and human.
Our next Wildlings Holiday Club is on 25th & 26th October, with our Seedlings toddler group beginning again on November 2nd.
J C Clarke Author's Workshop
On Friday 27 October join Jo Clarke, author of the captivating Spellboda series, as she launches the latest installment - Prophecy. To celebrate, Jo will be running some exciting 30 minute workshops here at Wildwood Trust.
The workshops will include the following activities:
- Sparking imagination - interactive time including visualising a character for budding storytellers
- Crafting fun - making conservation-themed wildlife character based chatterboxes to play a game to help plan great animal stories
- A short reading from Jo to give a taste of Trevor's Spellboda adventures
No booking? No problem!
While our special events offer additional enchantment, simply wandering through our vibrant, wildlife-rich park is a joyous journey in itself.
Let the untamed beauty of Wildwood weave unforgettable family memories with every step!