EDITOR'S NOTE
Halloween season opens early, the clocks go back, and the trains are clear all week. Guildford Castle's Keep turns haunted from Wednesday, Watts Gallery starts its monsters-and-magic programme on Tuesday and the Cathedral has a free Family Fun Day on Thursday. For the grown-ups: Jenny Seagrove in The Anastasia File at the Arnaud, Nish Kumar and Susan Calman at G Live, and The bEAT on Monday. The practical things: the clocks go back an hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October, National Rail lists no engineering works at Guildford all week, Monday brings the heavier showers, and the A3 southbound is still shut overnight on the Hog's Back.
FEATURED THIS WEEK
Halloween starts early: three days out before half-term
Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October. The Castle Keep's Half-term Hauntings run Wednesday to Saturday, 12pm to 4.30pm (last entry 4pm): a ghost hunt, costume photos on a spooky throne and Halloween colouring. It's £5 for adults, £2.50 for children and £12 for a family (two adults and up to two children), under-fives free, and you don't need to book. At Watts Gallery, the monsters, magic & mischief programme starts on Tuesday 20 and runs daily, 10.30am to 4pm, with a woodland witches trail, a potion station and a monster menagerie. Under-16s go free and booking is online. And on Thursday 22 the Cathedral's free Family Fun Day (10am to 12.30pm) is autumn crafts. Book Watts Gallery →
BEST FOR KIDS
Halloween Movie and Make, G Live, Monday 19 October, 10am to 1pm. Ages 6 and up (under-12s need an adult). A screening of The Nightmare Before Christmas in the Bellerby Studio, then biscuit decorating; fancy dress welcome. For under-fives, Pop-up Play is back at the Yvonne Arnaud on Friday 23, 10am to noon (free). Book the Halloween workshop →
NEW THIS WEEK
The former House of Fraser has a leasing pitch. Agents Green & Partners are marketing the North Street building, empty since 2023, as a mixed-use flagship: shops, leisure, offices and a rooftop restaurant. It's a marketing plan, not a planning application, and there's no tenant or start date.
HEADS UP
The clocks go back an hour at 2am on Sunday 25 October. Extra hour in bed, darker evenings. Trains are clear all week: National Rail lists no engineering works at Guildford from Monday 19 to Sunday 25. Overnight A3 closures continue (details below).
👨👩👧 Things To Do
Kids & Family
Half-term Hauntings, Guildford Castle Keep, Wed 21 – Sat 24 October, 12pm–4.30pm (last entry 4pm). The pick above. Ghost hunt, costume photos and colouring; £5 adults, £2.50 children, £12 family, under-fives free, no booking. It runs to 31 October.
Halloween Movie and Make Workshop, G Live (Bellerby Studio), Mon 19 October, 10am–1pm. Ages 6+. The Nightmare Before Christmas and biscuit decorating. Tickets →
October half-term: monsters, magic & mischief, Watts Gallery, Compton, from Tue 20 October, 10.30am–4pm daily. Witches trail, potion station, monster menagerie and spooky crafting; costumes encouraged. Under-16s free. Book →
Family Fun Day, Guildford Cathedral, Thu 22 October, 10am–12.30pm. Free, drop-in autumn crafts. The Cathedral's page says both "must be booked" and "no booking necessary", so check the box office first. Box office →
Guildford Explorers guided walk (ages 7–11), Thu 22 October, 11.45am, and Young Explorers Walk, Fri 23 October, 12pm from the Castle Keep. Both are on Visit Surrey with few details, so check the listing before you go.
Pop-up Play, Yvonne Arnaud (River Room), Fri 23 October, 10am–12pm. Free weekly session for pre-schoolers and their grown-ups; toys, colouring and dressing-up.
Adults · Date Night
The bEAT, with The Selecter and a Rhoda Dakar DJ set, G Live, Mon 19 October. Dave Wakeling's 2-Tone band on its Dance Crazed Too tour, with Pauline Black's The Selecter. The standing area is 18+. Tickets →
The Anastasia File, Yvonne Arnaud, Tue 20 – Sat 24 October, 7.30pm (matinees Wed, Thu and Sat at 2.30pm). Jenny Seagrove returns to the role in Royce Ryton's play about the woman who may have been Grand Duchess Anastasia. Simon Shepherd co-stars; directed by Roy Marsden. About 2hr 5; limited advance seats from £24, standard from £36. Captioned performance Thu 22, 2.30pm. Tickets →
Celya AB: We Must Stop Meeting Like This, G Live, Wed 21 October. Stand-up. Tickets →
Nish Kumar: Angry Humour From A Really Nice Guy, G Live, Thu 22 October. Tickets →
Fountain Centre Fundraiser Celebration, with Something 4 The Weekend and Anna Palmer, The Boileroom, Thu 22 October, 7pm. A charity night. Tickets →
Susan Calman: Tall Tales, G Live, Fri 23 October. Her first tour in ten years: cruising, driving tanks, cats and getting older. Listed as selling fast. Tickets →
Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, The Boileroom, Fri 23 October, 7pm. Folk-scene fiddler Sam Sweeney with singer Grace Smith. Tickets →
Weekend Events
The Anastasia File, Yvonne Arnaud, Sat 24 October, 2.30pm and 7.30pm. The last two performances of the run (details above). Tickets →
General Levy, The Boileroom, Sat 24 October, 7pm. The jungle MC. Tickets →
The Blindboy Podcast Live, G Live, Sat 24 October. The Irish storyteller's live podcast, with a surprise guest at every show. Tickets →
Sunday 25 October is quiet in the listings we checked. Watts Gallery's half-term programme runs on Sunday, and the clocks go back at 2am.
Looking ahead: Nigel Havers at G Live on Mon 26 and Anton Du Beke on Tue 27; Half-term Hauntings story sessions at the Castle Keep on Wed 28 and Fri 30 (12.30pm); Watts Gallery Halloween Craft Club on Wed 28 and Thu 29; the Ash Neighbourhood Plan referendum on Thu 29; Spot's Birthday Party at the Arnaud from Thu 29 to Sat 31; The Wave Pictures at The Boileroom on Fri 30 and Twin Lizzy on Sat 31; and the Little Ghouls Halloween Disco at G Live on Sat 31.
🏙️ What's New in Guildford
The former House of Fraser has a leasing pitch. Green & Partners, the agents appointed by owner Moretons Investments, are pitching the North Street building as a mixed-use flagship with shops, leisure space, offices and a rooftop restaurant. Last week we said nothing had been announced; this is a marketing plan, not a planning application, and there's no tenant, timetable or consultation yet. The Guildford Dragon reported it on 14 October.
No confirmed openings or closures this week. We checked Experience Guildford and the Dragon's shop-front coverage and found nothing new and dated this month.
🚧 Useful Guildford Updates
Trains: a clear week. National Rail lists no engineering works at Guildford on any day from Monday 19 to Sunday 25 October. That covers South Western Railway and the GWR North Downs line. Engineering notices can still change at short notice. Check before you travel →
Roads: the A3 at night, and a closed towpath.
A3 southbound, Hog's Back, overnight. National Highways lists a carriageway closure southbound between the Hog's Back slips every night from Friday 16 to Tuesday 20 (the furthest ahead it publishes), plus southbound Thursley to Liphook, the Hindhead stretch, from Saturday 17. Closures generally run 8pm to 6am. Closure report →
A3 and M25 J10 at Wisley, Monday and Tuesday night. Listed: the A3 northbound Wisley Interchange to M25 clockwise J10 link road on Monday 19, and the A3 southbound Wisley to Send on Monday 19 and Tuesday 20.
Tumbling Bay towpath bridge at Millbrook is still closed. The National Trust says the new weir (the old one collapsed in 2019) is nearly finished, but the towpath and footbridge stay shut for a few more weeks while an extra section is built off-site. The Dragon reported it on 14 October.
Woking Road (A320): we couldn't confirm this week's overnight schedule. Last week's notice said the work moves to the northbound side next, so check Surrey County Council's roadworks map before a late drive.
Buses: nothing new. We found no fresh notice on the Friary bus station refurbishment. Earlier coverage pencilled phase two in for about Monday 26 October, subject to change; we couldn't confirm it.
Planning: a quiet list, with a few signals. In the week beginning 5 October the council validated 49 applications (all read) and decided 68 (60 read). Mostly extensions, trees and conditions. Worth watching:
A request for an EIA screening opinion was registered for Merrist Wood Golf Club, Holly Lane, Worplesdon. That's an early step before a large scheme, but no details are public yet.
Two new dwellings are proposed at 21 St Omer Road, Guildford, with a relocated vehicle access.
High Street shopfronts: new signage applications for 152 High Street (fascia and projecting sign) and 133–135 High Street (a projecting sign), and listed building consent to repaint the façade of 9 North Street. Early signs of tenants moving or refreshing.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Mon 19: Halloween Movie and Make, G Live, 10am · The bEAT with The Selecter, G Live · Heavier showers, 14°C · A3 and M25 J10 overnight closures at Wisley
Tue 20: The Anastasia File opens, Yvonne Arnaud, 7.30pm (to Sat) · Watts Gallery half-term starts (daily to 1 Nov) · 14°C
Wed 21: Half-term Hauntings, Castle Keep, 12pm–4.30pm (Wed–Sat) · Celya AB, G Live · Anastasia matinee, 2.30pm · 15°C
Thu 22: Family Fun Day, Cathedral, 10am–12.30pm (free) · Guildford Explorers walk, 11.45am · Nish Kumar, G Live · Fountain Centre Fundraiser, The Boileroom · Warmest day, 16°C
Fri 23: Pop-up Play, Yvonne Arnaud, 10am (free) · Young Explorers Walk, Castle Keep, 12pm · Susan Calman, G Live · Sam Sweeney and Grace Smith, The Boileroom · 15°C
Sat 24: Anastasia File final day, 2.30pm and 7.30pm · General Levy, The Boileroom · Blindboy Podcast, G Live · Gertrude Jekyll exhibition, Guildford Museum, last day · 15°C
Sun 25: Clocks go back one hour at 2am · Watts Gallery half-term continues
Every night: A3 southbound Hog's Back closed overnight (listed to at least Tue 20).
HIDDEN GEM OF THE WEEK
St Catherine's Chapel. A ruined medieval chapel on the hill just south of town, built in 1317 as a chapel of ease for St Nicholas Church in Guildford. It gave its name to the village below, and the hill was once called the Hill of the Dragons. In 2020 a cave turned up beneath the site when a railway embankment collapsed at the mouth of the tunnel under the hill; an archaeologist suggested it is older than the chapel. It's an open-air ruin on the Pilgrims' Way, so there's nothing to book, but it's a hill: wear boots. Thursday is the warmest day at 16°C, so aim for then.
WEATHER THIS WEEK
A cool, settled-looking week, with the showers on Monday. The Met Office has Monday at 14°C (low 9°C), with showers becoming more frequent and heavier through the day. Tuesday is 14°C, Wednesday 15°C and Thursday the warmest at 16°C (low 8°C). Friday 23 is 15°C and Saturday 24 is 15°C (low 10°C), though the Met Office marks those two days as a provisional forecast. The daily forecast doesn't give usable rain chances beyond Monday, so for the Castle Keep and Watts trails, look again on Monday morning. Sunday 25 is beyond reliable range: check again on Friday 23.
Forecast from the Met Office Guildford page (daily maximum and minimum temperatures) and the London & South East regional outlook, updated 4am on Thursday 15 October. Retrieved Thursday 15 October.
👀 WORTH KNOWING
Two exhibitions with days left. The Gertrude Jekyll exhibition at Guildford Museum (Wednesday to Saturday, 12pm–4.30pm) ends on Saturday 24 October. Signature XIII by the Zero3 Textiles group at Guildford House Gallery runs to 31 October (Tuesday to Saturday, 10am–4.30pm). Check the gallery's website for admission.
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Published by Getbrief, a trading name of RJP Group Ltd