Putney's free Halloween trail and pumpkin carving is Friday 30 October, noon to 4pm. Plus the zoo's half-term Halloween, BAC's The Dark and the Grand's nights.

Halloween 2026 falls on a Saturday, and Wandsworth’s biggest free Halloween event for children is the day before: Putney’s Toy Story-themed trick or treat afternoon on Friday 30 October, run by the Positively Putney business improvement district. Around it, half term (26 to 30 October for most schools) brings a gentle Halloween at Battersea Park Children’s Zoo and a children’s show at Battersea Arts Centre, while the Clapham Grand runs nine Halloween nights for adults. Every detail below was read from the organiser’s own page on 3 October.

The quick answer

  • Putney, Friday 30 October, 12 noon to 4pm, free: a trick or treat trail round local businesses, a hunt for “power cells” ending at Putney Exchange with Buzz Lightyear, and pumpkin carving on Lacy Road from 1pm to 3pm.
  • Battersea Park Children’s Zoo, 24 October to 1 November: “Not So Spooky” Halloween crafts, games and storytime for primary-age children and younger.
  • On the night itself, Saturday 31 October: the Clapham Grand has Rocky Horror at 6pm and a costume club night from 10pm, both over-18s only.
  • No fireworks on Halloween in the borough. Battersea Park’s display is the following weekend, 7 and 8 November.

Putney trick or treat, Friday 30 October

Positively Putney’s Halloween 2026 page sets out the afternoon, which runs from 12 noon to 4pm across Putney town centre. All activities are free.

  • The mission. Evil Emperor Zurg has hidden power cells around the town centre. Children track them down and take them to “Star Command”, an interactive hub inside Putney Exchange, where they meet Buzz Lightyear and get a printed photo to take home.
  • The trick or treat trail. Participating businesses open their doors to children in costume. The BID says the full list of shops, and a Google map of the trail, will be added to its page “nearer the time”.
  • Pumpkin carving on Lacy Road, 1pm to 3pm, with pumpkins donated by Lidl.
  • Face painting from Putney Arts Theatre, and model balloons from Get Set Swim.

The BID’s event listing gives the same date and times and lists the location as Putney High Street. It is a weekday, but it falls in half term for Wandsworth’s council schools and the local secondaries we checked, including those that break a week early (see school term dates).

Battersea Park Children’s Zoo, 24 October to 1 November

The zoo’s Not So Spooky Halloween runs for nine days across half term: “mysterious minibeast encounters, games and crafts” and Halloween storytime, pitched at primary school children and younger. The zoo says some activities are included in the entrance ticket and suggests booking the visit.

Day tickets, from the zoo’s ticket page:

Ticket Price
Adult (16 to 59) £17.50
Child (2 to 15) £13.95
Under 2 Free
Family (2 adults and 2 children, or 1 adult and 3 children) £53.95
Seniors (60+), students and military £16.50

Children under 16 must be with an adult. The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October, and the zoo’s hours shorten that day to 10am to 4.30pm, last entry 4pm, according to its opening times calendar. On Saturday 24 October it is still open until 5.30pm.

More for small children

  • The Dark, Battersea Arts Centre, Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 October, 11am and 2.30pm. Peut-Être Theatre’s dance-theatre version of Lemony Snicket’s picture book. Ages 4+, 50 minutes, every performance relaxed. Pay what you can, recommended £15, plus a £2 fee per order (BAC).
  • Halloween Fun at Macaroni Penguin, Battersea Power Station, Sunday 1 November. A Halloween trail round the soft play with a treat bag at the end, and spooky stencil painting, both included in every soft play session that day at no extra cost. The power station says to book ahead (Battersea Power Station).
  • Meet Charlie the Chimney, the Chimney Lift’s mascot, on Monday 26 and Wednesday 28 October and Sunday 1 November, at 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm, free (Battersea Power Station). It is not a Halloween event, but it is the same week.

The rest of the half term week, including the free library clubs, is on our October half term page.

For teenagers: two scarier shows

  • Ghost Huns: Live from Cheerful Earful, Sunday 11 October, the Clapham Grand. The comedians Hannah Byczkowski and Suzie Preece bring their horror podcast’s Halloween show to the stage: “jump scares, laughs, leopard print”. Doors 11.45am. Age 14+, with under-18s accompanied by an adult over 21. Seats £26.41 (the Grand).
  • Room 13, Battersea Arts Centre, 16 October to 1 November. A 35-minute immersive horror about what the arts centre’s 2015 fire left behind, in timed slots. Age 16+. Standard £20, peak £24.50, or pay what you can at a recommended £16, plus the £2 order fee; arrive 20 minutes before your slot (BAC).

For adults: the Clapham Grand’s Halloween run

The Grand, at 21-25 St John’s Hill, SW11 1TT, lists nine Halloween events on its Halloween 2026 page. The venue is over-18s unless a listing says otherwise, and club nights need physical photo ID.

Date Event Times Tickets on 3 October
Wed 21 Oct The Twilight Drag Show 6.30pm to 10.30pm Sold out, waiting list
Thu 22 Oct The Gallifrey Cabaret: Monsters and Aliens Ball 6.30pm to 10.30pm On sale
Thu 29 Oct Hocus Pocus Halloween Movie Night Doors 6pm, film from 7pm, last entry 8pm Stalls seats £12.50
Fri 30 Oct Ogrepalooza: 25 Years of Shrek, with The Ogretones 7pm to 11pm On sale
Fri 30 Oct We Are Still Young: Halloween Party (emo and pop punk) 10.30pm to 3am, last entry 12.45am On sale
Sat 31 Oct Bongo’s Bingo Matinee: Halloween Special 12 noon to 4pm On sale, photo ID needed
Sat 31 Oct The Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie Night Doors 6pm, film from 7pm, last entry 8pm Final release £30 only
Sat 31 Oct The Grand’s Massive Halloween Party Doors 10pm, until 3am £35 now, then £45
Fri 6 Nov The Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie Night Doors 7pm, film from 8pm On sale

Two warnings from the Grand’s own party listing: tickets guarantee entry only until 11.45pm, with last entry at 12.30am, and last year’s party sold out well in advance. Costumes are expected. The earlier releases (£17.06 to £32.06) have gone.

For something less rowdy, La Dame de Pique at Battersea Arts Centre is Gothic Opera’s Halloween staging of Halévy’s Queen of Spades, unstaged since 1850: Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October at 7.30pm and Sunday 1 November at 2.30pm, £25 to £50, age 12+ (BAC).

Pumpkin patches and fireworks

There is no pick-your-own pumpkin patch in Wandsworth; it is an inner London borough with no farmland. Putney’s free carving session on Lacy Road (1pm to 3pm on 30 October) is the borough’s pumpkin event.

Nor is there a fireworks display on Halloween. Wandsworth’s only display is Battersea Park Fireworks on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, advance tickets only. A page on putneysw15.com still lists free displays in Wandsworth Park and on Tooting Bec Common; it is headed 2003, and neither runs now.

Getting about

Putney’s event is on and around the High Street; see parking in Wandsworth for the town centre bays and rates, and Wandsworth roadworks and travel before you drive. The Clapham Grand has no parking of its own and asks visitors not to park on Severus Road or Eckstein Road. Its FAQs list the night buses that serve it, including the N19 and N31.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a Halloween trick or treat event in Wandsworth?

Yes, in Putney on Friday 30 October, 12 noon to 4pm. Participating businesses hand out treats along a trail, and the list of shops will be published by Positively Putney nearer the day.

What is on for Halloween in Battersea?

Battersea Park Children’s Zoo’s Not So Spooky Halloween (24 October to 1 November), The Dark for ages 4+ at Battersea Arts Centre (27 to 31 October), Halloween at Macaroni Penguin soft play (1 November), and the Clapham Grand’s adult Halloween nights on St John’s Hill.

Is there a Halloween party on 31 October?

The Clapham Grand’s Massive Halloween Party runs from 10pm to 3am on Saturday 31 October, over-18s with photo ID. The £35 release was on sale on 3 October; tickets only guarantee entry before 11.45pm.

Are there Halloween fireworks in Wandsworth?

No. The borough’s display is at Battersea Park on 7 and 8 November.

We will add the Putney trail’s list of shops and map when Positively Putney publishes them. If you are running a Halloween event in Wandsworth, email hello@wandsworthnews.co.uk.

Sources