Your East Midlands Weekend Starts Here 🍂
16–18 October 2026
Autumn has properly arrived, but staying in would be a terrible waste of a weekend.
There are spooky castles, folklore creatures, live music, Oktoberfest steins, outdoor cinema, historic houses and a surprising amount of dancing on offer across the East Midlands over the next three days.
We’ve done the scrolling so you don’t have to. Here are our picks.
⭐ EDITOR’S CHOICE
Mayhem Film Festival 2026 📽️
📍 Broadway Cinema, Nottingham
📅 Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 October
If October isn’t the perfect month to spend a weekend watching horror, sci-fi and cult movies in one of Nottingham’s best independent cinemas, when is?
Mayhem Film Festival takes over Broadway Cinema across the weekend with screenings and guests for lovers of the strange, scary and slightly unhinged.
Why we’ve picked it: It’s a genuine weekend-long event rather than something you’ll race to for a couple of hours, and feels particularly appropriate two weeks before Halloween.
[TICKETS]
🔥 BEST EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
🍺 Oktoberfest at Binks Yard
📍 Binks Yard, Nottingham
📅 Friday 16 & Saturday 17 October
The giant steins are back. Binks Yard is bringing Oktoberfest back for a fourth year, complete with a heated marquee, German food, Oktoberfest decor and a live Oompah band. Tickets start at £16.50. [Details]
🧙 Hocus Pocus Outdoor Cinema Spooktacular
📍 Lincoln Castle, Lincoln
📅 Saturday 17 October, 6pm
Watching Hocus Pocus is already an October tradition. Watching it outdoors inside a medieval castle is considerably better.
Hocus Pocus Outdoor Cinema Spooktacular brings the Disney Halloween favourite to a huge outdoor screen at Lincoln Castle on Saturday evening.
Blanket strongly advised.
🕯️ Candlelight: Tribute to Leonard Cohen
📍 The Guildhall Museum, Leicester
📅 Saturday 17 October
One of Leicester’s most atmospheric historic buildings plus candlelight plus the music of Leonard Cohen. That’s a pretty persuasive combination.
The concert takes place at The Guildhall Museum on Saturday evening.
[TICKETS]
🎪 Planet Circus OMG: Daredevils Stunts
📍 Gresley Common, Swadlincote
📅 Sunday 18 October
This one has proper old-school weekend-out energy. The big top arrives in Swadlincote with an all-family stunt show featuring daredevil performers from Argentina. Sunday performances begin from 12.30pm. [skiddle.com]
🎭 Stranger Folk at Hardwick
📍 Hardwick, Derbyshire
📅 Sunday 18 October
Things have apparently gone rather wrong at Hardwick.
A crack has opened between our world and the spirit world, releasing assorted creatures from old folklore whose ambitions apparently include eating Hardwick’s cakes.
You use the free Stranger Folk app to follow clues around the estate and attempt to send them back where they came from. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
Frankly, this sounds right up our street.
🗺️ FIVE PLACES YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE DISCOVERED YET
No big headline event required. Sometimes you just need somewhere new to explore.
1. Bellmount Tower, Grantham
This 18th-century tower overlooking the Belton Estate is open for a special drop-in session on Sunday from 10am–12pm, with countryside views from the top. Parking at the tower is free and there’s no need to book. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
2. Gunby Estate, Hall and Gardens, Lincolnshire
A proper country-house discovery near Spilsby, complete with gardens and parkland. There’s even a three-mile guided walk from Gunby to Bratoft Manor on Sunday morning. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
3. The Children’s Country House at Sudbury, Derbyshire
A country house where children are actively encouraged to get involved rather than being repeatedly told not to touch anything. This weekend also coincides with its Very Hungry Caterpillar trail. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
4. Grantham House, Lincolnshire
This National Trust property hides away on Castlegate. On Sunday its courtyard and gardens host the monthly market, filled with local arts, crafts and sweet treats from 10am–4pm. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
5. Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire
Yes, you may know the name, but how much have you actually explored? Sunday’s free five-mile guided walk is a good excuse to discover more of this huge estate. It runs from 10.30am–1pm, with normal park admission applying. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
🎸 LIVE MUSIC PICKS
The big one: Alison Moyet
📍 Buxton Opera House
📅 Saturday 17 October
One of Britain’s most distinctive voices heads to one of Derbyshire’s finest venues on Saturday night. Alison Moyet performs at the magnificent Buxton Opera House from 7pm.
Also worth a look…
Courtney Barnett
📍 Rock City, Nottingham
📅 Friday 16 October [TICKETS]
Steve Hackett – Best of Genesis & Solo Gems
📍 Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
📅 Friday 16 October [TICKETS]
The Wonder Stuff & Inspiral Carpets
📍 O2 Academy Leicester
📅 Saturday 17 October
Francis Rossi
📍 Embassy Theatre, Skegness
📅 Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm
Folk Side of the Moon
📍 Masons Arms Hotel, Louth
📅 Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm [TICKETS]
🍻 FOOD & DRINK
Prost! It’s apparently Oktoberfest weekend
If giant beers and Bavarian food are calling your name, you have options.
Oktoberfest at Binks Yard takes over Nottingham on Friday and Saturday with steins, German food and an Oompah band. [
Over in Leicester, there’s another Oktoberfest taking place at Merchant’s Yard’s Winter Tipi on Saturday.
Prefer cake to beer?
Grantham House Monthly Market runs from 10am–4pm on Sunday, with locally produced food and sweet treats alongside arts and crafts.
👻 FAMILY FRIENDLY
October Half Term at Clumber Park
📍 Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire
Things are getting weird in the woods.
Families can tackle two adventures at Clumber Park: a Guardian of the Forest trail featuring riddles, codes and mysterious creatures, and the folklore-inspired Stranger Folk experience featuring goblins, bogarts, worm charming and wassailing. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Trail
📍 Belton Estate, Lincolnshire
Kids can wiggle their way around the Italian Garden following a trail inspired by Eric Carle’s much-loved caterpillar, with games, activities and nature facts along the way. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
Hallowtide at Hardwick
📍 Hardwick, Derbyshire
This one includes witches-hat hoopla, a broomstick barefoot walk and traditional apple games around the Stableyard. The autumn half-term activities run alongside Hardwick’s folklore-themed programme. [nationaltrust.org.uk]
⛸️ Half-term ice skating
📍 National Ice Centre, Nottingham
From Friday, the National Ice Centre launches its October half-term skating programme with Halloween-themed sessions and seasonal extras. Tickets start from £8.
👀 ONE MORE THING…
Witch Masquerade Ball
📍 Newark Town Hall
📅 Saturday 17 October, 7pm
We couldn’t leave this one out.
On Saturday night, Newark Town Hall is hosting a full-blown Witch Masquerade Ball.
The promise? Mystery, magic and gothic glamour, with guests encouraged to dress accordingly. It runs from 7pm until 11.30pm.
If you’ve spent all year waiting for an excuse to turn up at Newark Town Hall looking like an aristocratic vampire, this is your moment.
