Holland Park becomes the Playful Park of Peculiar from 4pm to 7pm on Saturday 31 October, free to enter, with a half-term trail and a gothic flea market the same day.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the free part of Kensington’s programme is in Holland Park from 4pm to 7pm on 31 October. Opportunity Kensington, the business district that runs High Street Kensington, is turning the park into what it is calling the Playful Park of Peculiar, described as a “spectacular free-to-enter Halloween takeover” with spooky characters, immersive installations, interactive games and live entertainment (Opportunity Kensington, 7 July 2026).

That is the confirmed core. The detail around it is not confirmed, and the announcement says so in its own last line: “full programme details will be announced soon”. As at 3 September, they had not been.

What is confirmed so far

What When Cost
Mapped Halloween trail through the shops and attractions Throughout half term, 24 to 31 October Not stated
Big Kensington Vintage Flea, with a gothic theme Saturday 31 October, 10am to 4.30pm Not stated
Playful Park of Peculiar, Holland Park Saturday 31 October, 4pm to 7pm Free
Halloween events at Leighton House, Sambourne House and the Design Museum Dates not yet given Not stated

The trail runs the length of the half term week and takes in themed workshops and seasonal treats in participating shops. The flea market is the regular Phillimore Walk vintage market, reworked for the night: the announcement promises mid-century furniture and vintage fashion “reimagined with a darkly decadent aesthetic featuring grand candelabras, Victorian-inspired gowns, black lace and moody florals”. Its date is confirmed on the markets calendar as 31 October at Phillimore Walk, W8 7RG.

The trick-or-treating question

Opportunity Kensington points people at “the neighbourhood’s famous Halloween-decorated houses”, which it says put on “some of the capital’s best trick-or-treating”. It does not name a street, publish a map, or say which houses take part, and it has never done so. Nothing official tells you where to go, so treat the decorated-street lists that circulate on social media each October as exactly that.

Timing the day

The two events do not overlap, which is the useful thing to know if you want both. The flea market on Phillimore Walk finishes at 4.30pm and the Holland Park takeover starts at 4pm, a short walk apart along Kensington High Street.

One caution on the market end time. The council’s own traffic order for the Saturday market closes Phillimore Walk, between Hornton Street and Campden Hill, from 7.30am until 3.00pm every Saturday to 28 November (RBKC works and events bulletin, 27 August 2026). The organiser advertises the market until 4.30pm. The road reopens ninety minutes before the market is due to end, on the council’s own paperwork, and neither side explains the gap.

Getting there

Holland Park has entrances on Kensington High Street, Abbotsbury Road, Holland Walk and Duchess of Bedford’s Walk. High Street Kensington and Holland Park are the nearest tube stations, and buses run the length of Kensington High Street.

Late afternoon on the last Saturday of half term is the worst possible time to look for a space nearby. Our page on parking in Kensington and Chelsea covers the borough’s charges and bay rules, and roadworks and travel carries anything closed on the day.

Still to come

The programme detail is the gap: which shops are on the trail, what Leighton House, Sambourne House and the Design Museum are actually putting on, and whether anything in the park needs booking. The previous Halloween announcement on Opportunity Kensington’s site is dated 16 October, so the detail has historically landed close to half term rather than months ahead. We will update this page when it appears.