EDITOR'S NOTE
Half-term week, and the clocks have just gone back. Spot's Birthday Party takes over the Yvonne Arnaud from Thursday, there's a guided ghost walk from Tunsgate Arch on Tuesday and Saturday, and Tunsgate Quarter runs a free Halloween spooktacular on Thursday. For the grown-ups: Nigel Havers and Anton Du Beke at G Live early in the week, then The Wave Pictures and a Thin Lizzy tribute at The Boileroom. The practical bit: Portsmouth line trains terminate at Guildford on Sunday 1 November, and the Met Office has Monday as the warmest day at 17°C, though more rain and wind arrive early that morning.
FEATURED THIS WEEK
Half-term Halloween: ghosts, a free spooktacular and Spot
Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 October. The Gruesome Ghastly Guildford guided walk sets off from Tunsgate Arch at 11am on Tuesday 27 and Saturday 31. Tunsgate Quarter's Spooktacular Halloween is free on Thursday 29, and the Castle Keep's Half-term Hauntings run to 31 October (check the council's page for times). Little ones get Spot's Birthday Party at the Yvonne Arnaud from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31: an interactive 50-minute show for ages 2 and up, from £16 for a child. Book Spot's Birthday Party →
BEST FOR KIDS
Spot's Birthday Party, Yvonne Arnaud, Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October. Ages 2+, about 50 minutes, with songs, party games and Makaton signing; every ticket includes a meet and greet with Spot. Adults £20–£22, children £16–£18, depending on the show. For ages 5 to 9, the Little Ghouls Halloween Disco is at G Live on Saturday 31, 10.30am to noon. Book Spot →
NEW THIS WEEK
Six new council flats for Tongham. Guildford Borough Council has approved two blocks of homes (three one-bedroom and three two-bedroom flats) on land behind Manor House Flats. The council gave itself the permission; there's no start date yet.
HEADS UP
Portsmouth line trains terminate at Guildford on Sunday 1 November. Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour services end here, with replacement buses on to Godalming, Haslemere and Havant. Network Rail's Havant signalling work also stops trains at Petersfield from Monday 26 to Friday 30. Guildford to Waterloo is not listed as affected on those days. Network Rail notice →
👨👩👧 Things To Do
Kids & Family
Spot's Birthday Party, Yvonne Arnaud (Main House), Thu 29 at 2pm; Fri 30 at 10.30am and 2pm; Sat 31 at 10.30am, 2pm and 4.30pm. Ages 2+, about 50 minutes, no interval. Adults £20–£22, children £16–£18, access from £11. Tickets →
Little Ghouls Halloween Disco, G Live (Bellerby Studio), Sat 31 October, 10.30am–12pm. Ages 5–9, accompanied. Music, games, a costume contest with prizes; face painting available for a small fee. Tickets →
Gruesome Ghastly Guildford guided walk, meets at Tunsgate Arch, Tue 27 and Sat 31 October, 11am. It's on Visit Surrey with no price or booking details, so check the listing first.
Tunsgate Quarter Spooktacular Halloween, Thu 29 October. Listed as free; no time given on Visit Surrey.
The Selfish Giant, Guildford Cathedral, Thu 29 October. A family show; time and price weren't listed. Box office →
Beginners' Magic Workshop (ages 6–9), Yvonne Arnaud (River Room), Mon 26 October. The theatre lists "last few" places; the 10–13 session is sold out. Book →
Halloween Craft Club, Watts Gallery, Wed 28 October (Visit Surrey). Watts's half-term programme of trails and crafts has been running since 20 October, with the programme listed to Sunday 1 November.
Half-term Hauntings, Guildford Castle Keep, runs to 31 October. Last week's listing also had story sessions at 12.30pm on Wed 28 and Fri 30; we couldn't re-confirm the times, so check the council's page.
Adults · Date Night
Nigel Havers, G Live, Mon 26 October. Five decades of stories, from drama school to the West End and panto. Tickets →
Anton Du Beke: Steps in Time, G Live, Tue 27 October. Tickets →
Tez Ilyas: Tez Things I Hate About You, G Live, Wed 28 October. New stand-up; about 1hr 50 including an interval. Tickets →
The Wave Pictures, The Boileroom, Fri 30 October, 7pm. Tickets →
Suds & Scents: Halloween Soap-Making Workshop (ages 12+), Yvonne Arnaud, Tue 27 October. Price and times weren't listed; see the theatre's what's on page.
Weekend Events
A Celebration of Thin Lizzy — Twin Lizzy, The Boileroom, Sat 31 October, 7pm. Tickets →
Tim Burton's Universe, by Mystery Ensemble, Guildford Cathedral, Sat 31 October. Time and price weren't listed. Box office →
The Ghost Tour of Guildford, Sat 31 October, 8pm from outside Holy Trinity Church at the top of the High Street (about 1¾ hours). It also runs on Fridays; check Visit Surrey for booking.
Midnight Manor Sleepover, West Horsley Place, Sat 31 October, 6pm to 9am the next morning. £135 per ticket.
Sunday 1 November is quiet in the listings we checked: Surrey 89ers basketball has a home game at Surrey Sports Park (Visit Surrey), and Watts Gallery's programme runs through. Mind the trains (see below).
Looking ahead: the Cathedral Christmas Fair on Fri 20 and Sat 21 November (50+ independent stalls). We couldn't confirm a 2026 date for the Guildford Lions' Stoke Park fireworks; the Lions warned last year's display could be the last, so watch their channels.
🏙️ What's New in Guildford
Six new council flats for Tongham. Guildford Borough Council has approved two blocks on land behind Manor House Flats, about 400 metres from the village centre: three one-bedroom and three two-bedroom flats. Planning officers recommended approval with conditions on highways, ecology, flooding, drainage and trees, and the council was both applicant and decision-maker. No start date has been given. The Guildford Dragon reported it on 20 October.
No confirmed openings or closures this week. We checked Experience Guildford's news (latest items 13 October) and the Dragon's business coverage and found nothing new and dated this month. Not run: the Jigsaw store (September) and Guildford ShopMobility's reopening (2 October), both more than three weeks old.
🚧 Useful Guildford Updates
Trains: Portsmouth line cut at Petersfield and Guildford. Network Rail is resignalling around Havant, and the effect reaches Guildford on two days. On Sunday 1 November, South Western Railway trains between Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour terminate at Guildford, with two fast buses an hour on to Haslemere, Petersfield and Havant and a stopping service via Farncombe, Godalming and Milford. From Monday 26 to Friday 30, Portsmouth trains end at Petersfield, and on Saturday 31 at Haslemere; Guildford to Waterloo is not listed as changed on those days. Also this Sunday (25 October), Portsmouth trains end at Guildford, and the GWR North Downs line has replacement road transport on Guildford to Redhill and Gatwick. We couldn't load South Western Railway's own engineering page, so check your journey before you travel. Network Rail notice →
Roads: nothing confirmed on the A3.
A3, Hog's Back and M25 J10 at Wisley. National Highways' closure report showed no A3 or M25 J10 closures for 21 to 27 October when we checked on Thursday, and it doesn't publish the following week's overnight works until closer to the date. Last week's overnight Hog's Back closure was listed only to 20 October. Look again on Monday before a late drive. Closure report →
Ash Neighbourhood Plan referendum. Last week we flagged Thursday 29 October as polling day. We couldn't re-confirm the date from the council this week, so check Guildford Borough Council's elections page before you go.
Planning: a quiet list. In the week beginning 12 October the council validated 44 applications (all read) and decided 63 (all read). Mostly extensions, trees and conditions. Worth watching:
A request for an EIA screening opinion was registered for land at Woodhill, Send. That's an early step before a large scheme, but no details are public yet.
26–28 Swan Lane, Guildford: an application to replace the existing shopfront at a commercial premises. An early sign of a tenant moving or a refresh.
Sutton Green Golf Club: Woking Borough Council has consulted Guildford on an outline application for the site, which a local paper has reported as a retirement-homes scheme. Woking makes the decision.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Mon 26: Nigel Havers, G Live · Beginners' Magic Workshop (6–9), Yvonne Arnaud · Warmest day, 17°C, with more rain and wind early on
Tue 27: Gruesome Ghastly Guildford walk, Tunsgate Arch, 11am · Anton Du Beke, G Live · Soap-making workshop (12+), Yvonne Arnaud · 13°C
Wed 28: Tez Ilyas, G Live · Halloween Craft Club, Watts Gallery · 14°C
Thu 29: Spot's Birthday Party opens, Yvonne Arnaud, 2pm (to Sat) · Tunsgate Quarter Spooktacular (free) · The Selfish Giant, Cathedral · 14°C
Fri 30: Spot's Birthday Party, 10.30am and 2pm · The Wave Pictures, The Boileroom, 7pm · 14°C (provisional)
Sat 31: Halloween. Gruesome Ghastly walk, 11am · Little Ghouls Disco, G Live, 10.30am · Spot's Birthday Party, 10.30am, 2pm, 4.30pm · Ghost Tour, 8pm · Twin Lizzy, The Boileroom · Tim Burton's Universe, Cathedral · 12°C (provisional) · Portsmouth trains end at Haslemere
Sun 1: Portsmouth line trains terminate at Guildford · Surrey 89ers home game, Surrey Sports Park · Weather beyond reliable range
HIDDEN GEM OF THE WEEK
Abbot's Hospital. Opposite Holy Trinity Church on the High Street, a doorway leads into a brick courtyard: a Jacobean almshouse founded in 1619 by George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury and a Guildford man. Its courtyards are laid out like an Oxford or Cambridge college, it is Grade I listed, and it is still a home for older residents, run as a charity. The first residents moved in on 29 October 1622, which makes this Thursday its 404th anniversary. It's a private residence, so enjoy the doorway and frontage from the pavement, and check Heritage Open Days listings for the chance to see inside. Thursday is forecast at 14°C, a fair day for a High Street wander.
WEATHER THIS WEEK
A mild start and then a cool, changeable week. The Met Office has Monday 26 at 17°C (low 10°C), though the regional outlook has further rain and stronger winds early that morning, after a windy but largely dry Sunday. Tuesday is 13°C (low 8°C), Wednesday and Thursday 14°C (low 9°C). Friday 30 is 14°C and Saturday 31 is 12°C (low 7°C), though the Met Office marks both as provisional (beta). Daily rain chances weren't available for the coverage days, so for the Saturday ghost walk, wrap up warm and look again on Friday. Sunday 1 November is beyond reliable range (the Met Office's early look at Monday 2 is "very low certainty"): check again on Friday 30. Before the week starts, Storm Austen brings rain and gales on Friday 23, and Saturday 24 turns wet and windy.
Forecast from the Met Office Guildford page (daily maximum and minimum temperatures) and the London & South East regional outlook, updated 4am on Thursday 22 October. Retrieved Thursday 22 October.
👀 WORTH KNOWING
Caricatures at the Arnaud, and a textile show with a week to run. Theatre-themed caricatures by Sidney Sime are now on view at the Yvonne Arnaud (the Dragon reported it on 21 October); ask at the box office about viewing times. Down the road, Signature XIII by the Zero3 Textiles group at Guildford House Gallery runs to Saturday 31 October (Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4.30pm), and the gallery's Creative Collages workshop is on Tuesday 27.
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