Free picks
Free things to do in October half-term 2026 near Timperley, Altrincham and Sale
Every pick is free. Museums with half-term activities, Halloween trails, library discos, crafts and fireworks near Timperley, day by day from 26 October to 1 November.
Published . Prices and booking status below are checked every week.
Every pick on this page is free to get in. A few have something you can pay for if you want it, like a pumpkin or a funfair ride, and we say so. They run from Monday 26 October to Sunday 1 November, mostly within half an hour of Timperley. Dates and booking status in each row come from our checks and update themselves.
For our pick of everything this week, free or not, see our half-term picks; for Halloween, Halloween this half-term; for a wet day, rainy day picks.
Free all week
Daily, 10am to 4pm. Aliens have landed at the Science and Industry Museum: design your own alien, go on a galactic treasure hunt, build a spaceship from a giant rocket kit and play space games on the big screen. Over-7s can animate an alien in the stop-motion studio, with limited places. Entry is free; the Horrible Science and Power Up exhibitions are extra.
Book a free slot; closed on Mondays; ends on Sunday. Nearly 100 original illustrations from animal picture books, from Elmer to Dear Zoo, with hands-on play areas made for under-7s, short storytelling sessions, a book nook and drop-in crafts. This is its last week.
Drop in, every day but Tuesday. Pick up an activity sheet at the People’s History Museum’s welcome desk and make a skeleton mask inspired by a mysterious painting in Gallery One. For ages 5 to 12, with all materials provided, and there’s a picnic area for packed lunches.
Daily to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. Collect a map from the Bean and Brush cafe, find the missing pumpkins around Stanley Square in Sale and hand in your sheet for a treat. Short enough for toddlers.
Also free all week: the Story Seekers trail at IWM North, the Palazzo Planet Trail at Trafford Palazzo and the Wilmslow Halloween trail. High Legh and Seven Sisters pumpkin patches are free to get in; you pay for the pumpkins you take.
Monday 26 October
Monday and Tuesday, 10am to 12pm, drop in. Love to Craft runs Halloween crafts inside Market Walk in Sale town centre. No booking, and the pumpkin trail is on the same square.
Trafford Palazzo’s Space Monster Kids Club (monster masks and face painting) is on Monday and Tuesday, 11am to 4pm.
Tuesday 27 October
Tuesday to Thursday, 11am to 4pm. A 10-stop trail around the Trafford Centre with Batty Beryl and Wingit Wanda: find the hidden words, finish the spooky chant and collect a treat, with a different Halloween craft each day. All indoors.
Tuesday 5 to 6pm. An hour of dancing, games and treats at Urmston Library, with prizes for the best costumes.
Wednesday 28 October
Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. On Wednesday and Thursday, Waste to Wonder turns recycled materials into a world of your own (11am to 1pm and 2 to 4pm). Billie Bee storytime, for ages 2 to 7, is on Wednesday and Friday; sign up when you arrive, as places are limited.
Wednesday 11am to 3pm, no booking. Crafts, games and a Halloween disco at Smithills Hall in Bolton, for ages 4 and up. Come in costume.
Thursday 29 October
Thursday 5 to 6pm. Timperley Library’s Halloween disco on Stockport Road: dancing, party games, treats and prizes for the best costumes.
Thursday 10.30am to 3pm, drop in. Make a Diwali lamp to take home at Hat Works, Stockport’s hat museum.
Heatons Library has a Halloween craft drop-in from 11am to 1pm the same day.
Friday 30 October
Friday 11am to 4pm, drop in. Spells, potion-mixing, a Halloween trail and a face painter at Wythenshawe Civic, and every child goes home with a sorcerer certificate. Aimed at little ones.
Friday 10am to 12pm, drop in. Make a ghost puppet at Stockport Museum, for ages 3 and up because of small parts. Stay on for the sugar skull masks from 1 to 3pm.
Friday 2 to 3pm. St Mary’s toddler groups lead a short stroll along the Bridgewater Canal towpath and back for a play in Walton Park, Sale. Meet at the miniature railway station, and wear boots; any family is welcome.
Saturday 31 October
Saturday 11am to 2pm. A bouncy castle, face painting, big garden games and a fancy-dress contest in Broomwood Park, with food and drink, run by its Friends group. Donations are welcome.
Saturday 10am to 4pm, indoors. Craft stalls inside Stockport Town Hall, with a free silent disco and story time for children.
Saturday 11.30am to 4pm, book a free ticket. A day of stories and workshops celebrating African and Caribbean culture on Manchester Museum’s top floor: meet children’s authors, join in with dance and drumming, and try mask-making, art and writing.
Saturday from 4pm. Three free displays: Little Sparks, quieter and gentler, at 5.30pm for young children, a louder one at 6.30pm and the main show at 7.30pm. The funfair and marshmallows cost extra; parking must be booked ahead.
Also free on Saturday: Halloween at Park Wood (get a free ticket first), the spooky walk at Golden Hill Park in Urmston from 5pm, The Light Stop in Altrincham for trick-or-treaters, Creepy Crafts in Market Walk, Sale (reserve a free ticket), and Make a Flying Bat at Stockport’s art gallery.
Sunday 1 November
Sunday 2 to 3pm. Pick up a spider map between the play areas in Stamford Park and hunt them down. Fancy dress encouraged.
Sunday 10 to 11am, reserve a place. A reading of There’s a Ghost in This House at Waterstones Altrincham, then colouring and a craft. Ideal for ages 3 to 7; places are free but limited, so contact the shop.
Sunday from 4pm. Salford’s free bonfire night at Prince’s Park in Irlam, with a traditional bonfire, a funfair and fireworks. Display times weren’t published when we checked, so look at the council’s page before you set off.
Free any day
Parks, playgrounds and walks cost nothing, and the libraries are warm and dry: our playgrounds, family walks and libraries pages list them nearest first. Every free event we know of is on our free things to do page.
Questions parents ask
What's free to do in half-term near Timperley?
Plenty, most days. All week there are free museum activities in Manchester and Salford and the Haunted Pumpkin Patch Trail in Sale. Day by day there’s the Little Terrors Trail at the Trafford Centre (Tuesday to Thursday), Halloween discos at Urmston Library (Tuesday) and Timperley Library (Thursday), the Sorcery School at Wythenshawe Civic (Friday), the Broomwood Spooktacular and Salford’s fireworks (Saturday), and a spider search in Stamford Park (Sunday).
Which Manchester museums are free in half-term?
The Science and Industry Museum (alien-themed activities, daily), IWM North (the Story Seekers trail, daily), Manchester Museum (half-term activities Tuesday to Saturday), the People’s History Museum (closed on Tuesdays), the Whitworth (closed on Mondays) and the Lowry’s Wild Things exhibition (book a free slot; closed on Mondays). Special exhibitions with their own tickets cost extra. More on our museums page.
What free things are there for toddlers this half-term?
Wild Things at the Lowry, made for under-7s (book a free slot); a free autumn walk and play for under-5s at Walton Park in Sale on Friday at 2pm; Waterstones Altrincham’s Read and Make on Sunday at 10am (ages 3 to 7, reserve a place); and drop-in crafts at Market Walk in Sale on Monday and Tuesday mornings.
Are there free fireworks near Timperley this week?
Yes. Salford’s Buile Hill Park on Saturday 31 October (from 4pm, with a quieter display for young children at 5.30pm), Oldham’s Feast of Fire the same night (fireworks from 5.30pm), and Salford’s bonfire at Prince’s Park in Irlam on Sunday 1 November (from 4pm). Every display, free or not, is on our bonfires and fireworks page.
What free things can we do if it rains?
The museums, the Little Terrors Trail at the Trafford Centre, the library discos and craft sessions, and the Autumn Fayre inside Stockport Town Hall on Saturday are all indoors. Our rainy day page has more.
Details change, so check with the organiser before you set off. Spotted something wrong, or know an event we've missed? Tell us.