Herefordshire half term is 26 to 30 October 2026. Several Courtyard festival events have sold out, and no trains run Hereford to Worcester all week.
October half term in Herefordshire runs from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026, so most children are off from Saturday 24 October and back on Monday 2 November. Two things shape the week locally: the Courtyard’s family festival, which packs most of its events into Wednesday 28 October, and a week-long closure of the railway between Worcester and Hereford.
Updated 17 October: several Courtyard Family Festival sessions have now sold out (marked below), Hereford Cathedral’s Messy Church is on Thursday 29 October, and the rail closure notice has been rechecked.
The quick answer
- Half term: Monday 26 to Friday 30 October 2026 for council schools, Bluecoat, Whitecross and the Hereford Marches Federation academies. Hereford Cathedral School is off for two weeks, from 17 October to 1 November.
- No trains between Hereford and Worcester all week. Buses replace trains from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, and London trains start and end at Worcester Shrub Hill.
- The Courtyard’s Family Festival has shows from £9 and a string of £1 to £3 activities, mostly on Wednesday 28 October. The silent disco, the music workshop and the free Tiddler screening have sold out.
Half term dates by school
The council’s term dates page sets half term as Monday 26 to Friday 30 October. Some schools add a day either side:
| School | Off from | Back on |
|---|---|---|
| Council-maintained schools | Sat 24 Oct | Mon 2 Nov |
| Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat | Fri 23 Oct (INSET) | Mon 2 Nov |
| Hereford Marches Federation academies | Fri 23 Oct (INSET) | Mon 2 Nov |
| Whitecross Hereford | Sat 24 Oct | Mon 2 Nov |
| Hereford Cathedral School | Sat 17 Oct | Mon 2 Nov |
| Hereford Sixth Form College | Fri 23 Oct | Mon 2 Nov |
Sources: Bluecoat, HMFA, Whitecross, Hereford Cathedral School, Hereford Sixth Form College. The full year, with Christmas and INSET days, is in our Herefordshire school term dates page.
What is on: the Courtyard Family Festival
The Courtyard on Edgar Street has published a sea-themed half term programme under its Family Festival banner. Every item below is from the Courtyard’s own event pages, first read on 25 September and rechecked on 17 October.
| Day | Event | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 24 Oct, 11am | The Three Billy Goats Gruff, Garlic Theatre puppets and live music, 45 mins | £9 |
| Tue 27 Oct, 11am | The Witch Who Couldn’t Sleep, a story-time musical, 50 mins | £9 |
| Tue 27 Oct, 10.30am | Spirit of the Sea inclusive workshop for young people with SEND, ages 8 to 15, book by email | See listing |
| Wed 28 Oct, 11.30am | Ahoy There! Family Ceilidh, 45 mins | £1 |
| Wed 28 Oct | Little Play World, pop-up role-play village for ages 0 to 8. 10.30am sold out; last few for 11.45am, 1.30pm, 2.45pm and 4pm | £3 |
| Wed 28 Oct | Drama Tots: Underwater Adventure, 11.30am and 1pm, both sold out | £3 |
| Wed 28 Oct | Spirit of the Sea drawing workshop. Morning and 12.45pm sold out; last few at 2pm, places at 3.15pm | £2 |
| Wed 28 Oct, 1.30pm | Tiddler (U), a relaxed 23-minute first cinema trip, sold out | Free |
| Wed 28 Oct, 3pm | The Storm Whale, storybook concert for ages 3 to 7 | £5 to £8 |
| Wed 28 Oct, 3pm | Splash! Crash! Have a Bash! music-making workshop, sold out | £1 |
| Wed 28 Oct, 3pm | Shark Tale (U) family screening | £1.50 |
| Wed 28 Oct, 4pm | Silent disco, biscuit decorating and face painting, disco sold out | £1 disco |
| Thu 29 Oct, 11am | Clare and Cory Share a (Glorious) Story, Really Big Pants Theatre, 45 mins | £9 |
| Sat 31 Oct, 11am | Halloween Family Rave, dress up, 1 hour | £6 |
On 17 October the ceilidh was down to its last few tickets. For a sold-out session, the Courtyard’s pages say to call the box office to join the waiting list.
The Courtyard is also screening Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (U) from 17 October to 1 November, with tickets at £9 to £9.50, and there is a relaxed screening listed separately.
Hereford Cathedral that week
The cathedral’s events listing has three things in or around half term:
- Messy Church, Thursday 29 October, 12pm to 2pm, at 5 College Cloisters, billed as fun for all the family (details)
- The Hereford Mysteries, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October, 7.30pm (details)
- The Music of The Beatles by Candlelight, Saturday 31 October, 7.30pm (details)
The listing does not give prices; check each event page before you go.
Travel: the railway is shut to Worcester
National Rail’s notice says no trains will run between Worcester Foregate Street and Great Malvern or Hereford from Monday 26 to Friday 30 October, with buses replacing them between Worcester, Great Malvern and Hereford (National Rail).
- GWR London trains via Oxford will run between London Paddington and Worcester Shrub Hill only. Tickets are valid on the replacement buses.
- West Midlands Railway trains to Birmingham will not reach Hereford; buses cover the gap. On Monday 26 October WMR runs a heavily reduced service to Worcester Foregate Street, and from Tuesday to Friday no trains use Foregate Street at all, so Birmingham trains run to Worcester Shrub Hill.
- Replacement buses call at Ledbury, Colwall, Great Malvern and Malvern Link on the way.
- Transport for Wales trains towards Newport and Cardiff are also affected late at night. On Sunday 25 October the 20:30 Manchester to Cardiff terminates at Hereford with a bus onwards (National Rail), and some late-night and early-morning trains via Abergavenny are retimed from Monday to Thursday (National Rail).
The notices published so far for the line south through Abergavenny cover late-night trains only. For the normal timetable see Hereford train times to London, and for road closures see Hereford roadworks and travel.
Other things to know that week
- The tips are on winter hours from 1 October: 8am to 4pm, bookings required. See Hereford tip opening times.
- Bonfire Night is the weekend after half term. The St Michael’s Hospice fireworks at Hereford Racecourse are on Saturday 7 November; details on our Hereford fireworks page.
- Parking for the Courtyard and the city centre is covered on our parking in Hereford page.
Still to be confirmed
When we checked again on 17 October, Herefordshire Council’s events listing had no half term events at Hereford Museum or the Black and White House. Goodrich Castle’s events page also listed nothing. We will add them if they appear.
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