October Half Term in St Austell With Kids

Short answer: St Austell in half-term week: do the outdoor banker in the morning, keep the indoor fallback ready, and check winter opening hours before driving anywhere. Half term runs 26–30 October for most schools.

Why St Austell works this week

St Austell holds Cornwall's two biggest half-term guns: Eden and Heligan, both of which treat late October as a headline week rather than a wind-down.

The dates: half term for most Cornish schools is Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 (a few academy trusts take the week before as well), and most English counties share the same week — so expect other families about, but nothing remotely like summer.

The bankers

• the Eden Project — the county's best all-weather day by design — and a serious Halloween-week programme most years; check what's on before booking.
• Heligan — the gardens in autumn are arguably their best self — wilder, muddier, made for wellies.
• Charlestown — tall ships, harbour walls and the film-set feeling, free.

When the weather turns

Have the wet plan ready before you need it — the rainy-day guide is the one to bookmark, and the pasty stop covers the refuelling.

Half-term honesty

Late October here means real weather and shorter days — plan the outdoor thing for the morning, keep the indoor thing in your back pocket, and check opening hours before driving anywhere: this is the week many places switch to winter hours, and a few close mid-week. Sunset is around 5pm, which is not a problem if you know it and a mutiny if you don't. Plenty of attractions run Halloween events through the week — check their own pages nearer the time.

The rest of the town

Everything else — filtered by who's with you — is in the St Austell guide, and the county-wide Bonfire Night guide covers what the week rolls into next.