Halloweenville at Partridge Lakes, Warrington Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS EXPERIENCE WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST/S FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.
Reviewed by Alison Rood
Returning for their fourth year, Halloweenville is kicking off the spooky month in style.
Having been lucky enough to visit in 2024, I was intrigued to see what, if any, changes have been implemented and if the family run event had managed to improve on its already impressive spooky offerings.
Set on Partidge lakes in Culcheth, Halloweenville’s aim is to provide family friendly spooky entertainment for all ages. Live actors keep older guests and teens suitably entertained whilst the impressive lights and structures wow the younger visitors.
Upton arrival, car parking (payable) was well managed with plenty of staff to give direction. We were there quite early so were super close to the venue’s entrance, but I don’t think any parking section is particularly far away.
Entering the lakes, we were immediately hit with the wow factor. The bell tents were decorated with hanging paper pumpkins and fairy lights, a lovely cozy combination for an autumnal October night. Live music added to the ambiance and the lit up lake was a beautiful backdrop to a well thought out entrance area. It’s quite mild weather wise, but the heaters were still a welcome addition and added to the aesthetic and cosy vibes.
Toilets were close by which is always handy for a family event! Also dotted around the bell tents were food stalls, bar, cafe and a face painting tent. As with most of these kinds of events, they were quite pricey. The cafe which is there all year round was more reasonably priced with things like chicken nuggets and burgers on offer. But the private vendors selling more exciting things such as Mexican, pizza and halloumi were on the pricier side. This is understandable as they’ll pay vendor fees, but for larger families it can soon add up. You’re not allowed to bring your own food and drink to the event, so if you’re not into paying high prices for food, make sure you eat before you get there.
If you fancy a sweet treat there are marshmallows on offer which you can toast on the open fire. Free biscuits are provided for you to make your own s’mores which is a nice touch.
We visited as a family of 5; 2 adults, 2 x 8 year old boys and a 5 month old baby. We did originally bring the baby sling for ease of movement through the trail, but the event is actually quite pram friendly. It’s a mix of stones and wood chip, so it was a bit tricky to navigate at certain points, but I managed fine!
We got off to a bit of a rocky start upon entering the trail. There was quite a large queue to get to the first part of the attraction which resulted in a few of younger kids around us getting bored. There are decorations around the queuing area but those only kept them entertained for so long. It may be a good idea to introduce characters around that area; to help set the scene of what’s to come, but also to keep the kiddies entertained.
I don’t want to give too many spoilers so will try to keep the trail info to a bit of a minimum, but our first character was Monty. He introduced us all to what part we would play in helping save Halloweenville – we needed to channel our good magic. He interacted well with the group and spoke to a few of the kids (and parents!) directly, making them feel really involved and engaged.
We then bumped into our first witch (we meet many of her sisters along the way!) who directed us to the witches’ library, which was a stunningly decorated area with more witchy characters waiting to greet us.
I think this was the main difference to my previous visit a couple of years ago. There’s so many more live characters My personal favourite was Duggie the grave digger.
Along the tail we were treated to stunning lights, animated figures, more characters and even some interactive sections such as learning to use a sword which the kids loved.
The attention to detail was incredible. Especially in sections such as the spider and bat caves. Again, no spoilers, but watch out for Cedric if you’re not a fan of spiders!
For those who like to take lots of photos, there are plenty of photo opportunities on the trail. Between the characters, animatronics and props, you’re bound to get the perfect Instagram shots! Lots of venues such as this don’t allow photography. But the owners of Halloweenville encourage this and love it when you post to socials.
After about 60 minutes we came to the end of the trail where we were greeted by Luna and Victor and their bubbling cauldron who congratulated the children on helping to save Halloweenville with their good magic. There were a couple of fairground style games for the kids to play here, toilets and a drink/marshmallow stall.
I was impressed in 2024, but 2026 was even better. It’s clear that the family are investing profits into the trail in order to improve it and make it even bigger and better. The additional characters, animatronics and built up areas improved on an already amazing trail. What an amazing event!
The trail runs from 3rd October to the 1st November and takes place at Partridge Lakes, Culcheth, Warrington, WA3 4AQ.
Well behaved dogs are welcome if kept on a lead.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets are available from https://halloweenville.co.uk/