A Halloween adventure at Guildenacre
A spook-tacular adventure awaits at Guildenacre this Halloween with a new trail, glitter bar and hauntingly good crafts.
The immersive play experience, which is woven within a stunning four-acre wood in the grounds of Helmingham Estate, is the setting for a new and mysterious experience for the October half term and every weekend in October.
There’s a Halloween Treasure Hunt, encouraging little witches and wizards to collect the clues and complete the trail sheet as they explore Guildenacre’s four themed play areas, which have been designed around different woodland animals and decorated for the spooky season.
There are also six mysterious Halloween installations hidden throughout the woods for children to discover as an extra delight – not a fright.
Edward Tollemache, custodian of Helmingham and co-founder of Guildenacre with his wife Sophie said: “After opening the doors for the very first time this year, Guildenacre had a fantastic debut summer and it was incredibly special to welcome so many families to our new adventure playground – something which we believe has been a brilliant addition for the region.
“As the colour of the leaves change and the nights draw in, we’re now looking ahead to Guildenacre in autumn and we have some exciting plans in store for families to celebrate Halloween here. These have been designed not to scare but to enchant children and with a spectacular setting surrounded by woodland, the atmosphere at Guildenacre is going to be something special to behold at this spooky time of year.”
Adding to the Halloween fun, there will also be pedal cars to hop on, providing an additional adrenaline-fuelled experience, as well as a glitter bar, ready to sprinkle some extra magic and bring to life some spine-tingling Halloween designs. Children can also blow away the cobwebs at the four play areas full of tunnels, slides, rope ladders, wooden walkways and bridges, monkey bars, balance beams, a zip line and more.
Edward added: “We know how Halloween can capture the imaginations of children and we’d love to encourage all adventurers to come along in fancy dress – whether that’s a witch, wizard, woodland creature, ghost, vampire or something entirely of your own creation – as long as costumes and footwear are suitable for climbing, running and exploring the woodland safely.”
To complete the Halloween experience, a selection of creepy crafts await at the Grade II listed Wades Barn where families can also take a moment to sit back and enjoy a selection of refreshments from the kitchen in the adjacent single storey brick range, run by Suffolk deli group The Black Dog Deli.
Inspired by the Estate’s beautiful surroundings and natural woodland, Guildenacre’s play areas encourage young explorers to notice and appreciate nature whilst burning off some energy in the great outdoors.
All four play areas at Guildenacre are linked with bark pathways and additional amenities include a refreshment kiosk, places to rest and refuel, and toilets. Free parking is also available on site.
The Halloween event, called the Night Guild, is available on Saturdays and Sundays throughout October and every day in the October half-term, from Monday 26th to Saturday 31st October.
To give families plenty of time to enjoy the play areas, conquer the Halloween trail and make the most of the Halloween activities at Wades Barn, Guildenacre is running two sessions per day: a morning session between 9:30am and 1pm followed by an afternoon session from 1:30pm to 5pm.
Tickets for children aged five and over are £16.50 and tickets for children aged three and four are £8.50. Children aged two and under go free and adult tickets are £8. Tickets are only available in advance and not on the day.
For further information and to book tickets, please visit: www.guildenacre.co.uk/halloween/
